Rivière-Basse is a natural region of Gascony to the north of the department of Hautes-Pyrénées and southwest of the department of Gers .
31-523: Rivière-Basse is located in the middle Adour valley, around the river which marks a sharp bend between Bigorre and Gers. The main towns are Marciac and Plaisance (Gers); Maubourguet and Castelnau-Rivière-Basse (Hautes-Pyrénées). The "pays" covers the fertile plains of the lower reaches of the Arros and Bouès rivers up to their confluence with the Adour . The terrain is made up of alluvium and boulbène ,
62-576: A density of 69 inh. per km (179 inh. per sq. mile). The largest urban areas in Bigorre are Tarbes, with 77,414 inhabitants in 1999, Lourdes , with 15,554 inhabitants in 1999, and Bagnères-de-Bigorre , with 11,396 inhabitants in 1999. At the time of the Roman conquest, the area of Bigorre was inhabited by the Bigorri or Bigerri , who gave their name to the region. The Bigorri were probably speakers of Aquitanian ,
93-599: A final advance on Septimania , to no avail. He fought against the barbarians who menaced the kingdom and quelled a rebellion of his niece Basina at the Holy Cross abbey of Poitiers with the aid of many of his bishops in 590. He died at Chalon-sur-Saône in 592, and his nephew Childebert II succeeded him. He was buried in the Church of Saint Marcellus , which he had founded in Chalon . Almost immediately, his subjects proclaimed Gontrand
124-750: A highly sought-after soil for ceramics. The Bigourdan portion of the Adour valley lies downstream of Maubourguet, where the valley narrows; the slopes to the west of the Madiran vineyards (AOC) overlook the river plain. In the Gers portion of the Adour valley, the plain is around 5 km wide. Together, with the Vic-Bilh [ fr ], the Rivière-Basse forms a coherent whole within the Pays du Val d'Adour (Madiran region). The Bouès valley comprised
155-412: A language possibly related to Basque . Bigorre was conquered by the Roman general Julius Caesar in 56 BC and incorporated into the province of Gallia Aquitania . In the fourth century, Aquitania was divided in three, for administration; the region that became Bigorre was part of the southernmost section, Aquitania tertia or Novempopulana . Like the rest of Aquitaine, Bigorre was subsumed within
186-492: A marriage with Gontrand, the eldest remaining brother, though a council convened at Paris as late as 557 had forbidden such tradition as incestuous. Gontrand decided to house her more safely, though unwillingly, in a monastery in Arles . In 573, Gontrand was caught in a civil war with his brother Sigebert I of Austrasia , and in 575 summoned the aid of their brother Chilperic I of Soissons . He reversed his allegiance later, due to
217-565: A miller's son named Ballomer. Gundowald fled to Comminges and Gontrand's army proceeded to besiege the citadel. He could not capture it, but did not need to. Gundowald's followers gave him over and he was executed. In 587, Fredegund attempted to assassinate him but failed. On 28 November he went to Trier to conclude a treaty with Childebert; Brunhilda , his sister-in-law, Sigebert's wife, whose ally he had always been; Chlodosind, Childebert's sister; Faileuba , Childebert's queen; Magneric , Bishop of Trier ; and Ageric, Bishop of Verdun . This
248-647: Is obscure. It was apparently part of the Basque Duchy of Gascony which was often at odds with the Frankish Duchy of Aquitaine . The County of Bigorre was formed by the Dukes of Gascony in the ninth century and inherited by scions of the ducal house in the tenth. It remained semi-independent of ducal authority throughout the next two centuries, and was briefly attached to the Viscounty of Béarn (1080–1097). Thereafter
279-472: The département of Hautes-Pyrénées , with two small exclaves in the neighbouring Pyrénées Atlantiques . Its inhabitants are called Bigourdans . Before the French Revolution , the province of Bigorre had a land area of 2,574 km (994 sq. miles). Its capital was Tarbes . At the 1999 French census, there lived 177,575 inhabitants on the territory of the former province of Bigorre, which means
310-450: The morganegyba of Galsuintha from her husband, Chilperic I . On Galsuintha's murder it passed to her sister Brunhilda as part of the arbitration imposed by Guntram of Burgundy . By the Treaty of Andelot (587) Guntram acquired possession of it and it remained with Burgundy until the reunion of various Frankish kingdoms in 613. The history of Bigorre in the seventh and eighth centuries
341-773: The Basque provinces). For judicial matters, Bigorre depended from the Parlement of Toulouse . Unlike so many other French provinces, Bigorre kept its provincial parliament, its estates , until the Revolution. The provincial estates of Bigorre decided the level of taxation in Bigorre, and how much tax money was given to the king of France. In 1789 Bigorre sent four representatives to the Estates-General in Versailles . The representatives of Bigorre lobbied quite successfully because in 1790 it
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#1732883662237372-576: The Treaty of Brétigny (1360), which marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War . Recaptured by the French and their allies the counts of Foix between 1370 and 1406, Bigorre was granted by King Charles VII of France to Count Jean I of Foix in 1426. Thus, Bigorre was incorporated into the estates of the House of Foix-Grailly , which included the county of Foix , Béarn , and Nébouzan . Later,
403-755: The Visigothic kingdom during the fifth century. After the Battle of Vouillé (507), where the Franks defeated the Visigoths and forced them out of Aquitaine, Bigorre became part of the Frankish kingdom , usually held by the same king who controlled Toulouse . Under the Merovingian kings, Bigorre was a civitas ( Latin Begorra ), the chief settlement of which was Cieutat . It was part of
434-618: The baptism of Chlothar II , his other nephew, who now ruled in Neustria. Supposed to take place on 4 July, the feast of St. Martin of Tours , in Orléans , it did not and Gontrand turned to invade Septimania . Peace was soon made. In 584 or 585, one Gundowald claimed to be an illegitimate son of Chlothar I and proclaimed himself king, taking some major cities in southern Gaul , including Poitiers and Toulouse , which belonged to Gontrand. Gontrand marched against him, calling him nothing more than
465-655: The Counts of Bigorre, notable participants in the Reconquista , the Crusades , and the war against the Cathars , strongly asserted their independence, though on a few occasions they prudently acknowledged the suzerainty of another; as of Alfonso II of Aragon in 1187. Confiscated in 1292 by King Philip IV of France who intervened in a quarrel over the succession of Bigorre, the area was surrendered to Edward III of England by virtue of
496-463: The ancient county of Pardiac . Bigorre Bigorre ( French pronunciation: [biɡɔʁ] ; Gascon : Bigòrra ) is a region in southwest France , historically an independent county and later a French province , located in the upper watershed of the Adour , on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees , part of the larger region known as Gascony . Today Bigorre comprises the centre and west of
527-658: The apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1858, becoming the largest modern pilgrimage center of Western Europe: 12 million people visit the religious shrines annually. Guntram of Burgundy Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône ), also called Gontran , Gontram , Guntram , Gunthram , Gunthchramn , and Guntramnus , was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He
558-555: The balance of his prosperous reign he attempted to govern by Christian principles. According to St. Gregory of Tours , he was the protector of the oppressed, caregiver to the sick, and the tender parent to his subjects. He was generous with his wealth, especially in times of plague and famine. He strictly and justly enforced the law without respect to person, yet was ever ready to forgive offences against himself, including two attempted assassinations. Gontrand munificently built and endowed many churches and monasteries. St. Gregory related that
589-474: The character of Chilperic, if we may give him the benefit of the doubt in light of St. Gregory 's commendation, and Chilperic retreated. He thereafter remained an ally of Sigebert, his wife, and his sons until his death. When Sigebert was assassinated later in 575, Chilperic invaded the kingdom, but Gontrand sent his general Mummolus , who was always Gontrand's greatest weapon, for he was the greatest general in Gaul at
620-399: The east of Bigorre, as well as several areas of Gascony to the north of Bigorre, would be joined with Bigorre to create the new département of Hautes-Pyrénées. Quatre-Vallées and Nébouzan protested vehemently against the decision, saying they wished to join with the province of Comminges with which they had historical and economic ties, but it was to no avail. Tarbes, the capital of Bigorre,
651-568: The estates of the House of Foix-Béarn passed through heiresses to the House of Albret , then eventually to the House of Bourbon with Henry III of Navarre, son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret . Henry III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France in 1589. In 1607, he united to the French crown those of his personal fiefs that were under French sovereignty (i.e. County of Foix , Bigorre, Quatre-Vallées , and Nébouzan , but not Béarn and Lower Navarre , which were sovereign countries outside of
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#1732883662237682-459: The king performed many miracles both before and after his death, some of which St. Gregory claimed to have witnessed himself. In 567, his elder brother Charibert I died and his lands of the Kingdom of Paris were divided between the surviving brothers: Gontrand, Sigebert I , and Chilperic I . They shared his realm, agreeing at first to hold Paris in common. Charibert's widow, Theudechild, proposed
713-421: The kingdom of France), and so Bigorre became part of the royal domain . Before the French Revolution , Bigorre was made part of the gouvernement (military area) of Guienne - Gascony , whereas for general matters it depended from the généralité of Auch like the rest of Gascony (although for a certain period of time it depended from the généralité of Pau , like Béarn , Nébouzan , County of Foix , and
744-547: The quotation below from the former's Decem Libri Historiarum , in which St. Gregory discussed the fate of Gontrand's three marriages: The good king Gontrand first took a concubine Veneranda, a slave belonging to one of his people, by whom he had a son Gundobad. Later he married Marcatrude, daughter of Magnar, and sent his son Gundobad to Orléans . But after she had a son Marcatrude was jealous, and proceeded to bring about Gundobad's death. She sent poison, they say, and poisoned his drink. And upon his death, by God's judgment she lost
775-514: The son she had and incurred the hate of the king, was dismissed by him, and died not long after. After her he took Austregilde , also named Bobilla. He had by her two sons, of whom the older was called Clothar and the younger Chlodomer. Gontrand had a period of intemperance. He was eventually overcome with remorse for the sins of his past life, and spent his remaining years repenting of them, both for himself and for his nation. In atonement, he fasted, prayed, wept, and offered himself to God. Throughout
806-763: The time, to remove him. Mummolus defeated Chilperic's general Desiderius and the Neustrian's forces retreated from Austrasia. In 577, Chlothar and Clodomir, his two surviving children, died of dysentery and he adopted as his son and heir Childebert II , his nephew, Sigebert's son, whose kingdom he had saved two years prior. However, Childebert did not always prove faithful to his uncle. In 581, Chilperic took many of Gontrand's cities and in 583, he allied with Childebert and attacked Gontrand. This time Gontrand made peace with Chilperic and Childebert retreated. In 584, he returned Childebert's infidelity by invading his land and capturing Tours and Poitiers , but he had to leave to attend
837-538: Was also enemy of Fredegund, who sent the Saxons of Bayeux to aid Waroch. Beppolem fought alone for three days before dying, at which point Waroch tried to flee to the Channel Islands , but Ebrachain destroyed his ships and forced him to accept a peace, the renewal of the oath, and the surrender of a nephew as a hostage. This was all to no effect. The Bretons maintained their independent mindedness. In 589, Gontrand made
868-704: Was called the Treaty of Andelot and it endured until Gontrand died. Also in 587, Gontrand compelled obedience from Waroch II , the Breton ruler of the Vannetais . He forced the renewal of the oath of 578 in writing and demanded 1,000 solidi in compensation for raiding the Nantais . In 588, the compensation was not yet paid, as Waroch promised it to both Gontrand and Chlothar II , who probably had suzerainty over Vannes. In 589 or 590, Gontrand sent an expedition against Waroch under Beppolem and Ebrachain, mutual enemies. Ebrachain
899-401: Was decided that Bigorre would become a French département (instead of being subordinated to the neighboring province of Béarn, also turned into a département , as had been initially planned). However, it was felt that Bigorre was not large enough to meet the criteria of a département , so it was decided that the province of Quatre-Vallées and a fragment of the province of Nébouzan , both to
930-467: Was made the capital of the new département . Geographically, Bigorre consists of two distinct areas: the plains to the north around Tarbes rising into the foothills and the high mountain slopes to the south, rising to the Pic du Midi de Bigorre , with the mineral spa of Bagnères-de-Bigorre at its foot. Although Tarbes is the capital of Hautes-Pyrénées, the nearby town of Lourdes has eclipsed it in fame since
961-447: Was the third-eldest and second-eldest-surviving son of Chlothar I and Ingunda . On his father's death in 561, he became king of a fourth of the Kingdom of the Franks , and made his capital at Orléans . The name "Gontrand" denotes " War Raven ". King Gontrand had something of that fraternal love which his brothers lacked; the preeminent chronicler of the period, St. Gregory of Tours , often called him "good king Gontrand", as noted in