Gévaudan
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Gévaudan is an area of France, in Lozère département. Gévaudan got its name from the Gaul tribe of Gabales, who were allied to Arverns.
[edit] History
After the conquest, the Romans preserved the capital city of the Gabales, Anderitum, which they renamed Gabalum (now Javols). In the early Middle Ages Gévaudan was known as Pagus Gabalum and was placed under the rule of the Count of Toulouse. In 1096 the Count of Toulouse, leaving for the Crusade, transmitted his rights on the eastern part of Gévaudan to the Bishop of Mende. In the beginning of the 10th century, Mende had supplanted Javols as religious and administrative capital of the Gévaudan. The western part of Gévaudan constituted the Viscounty of Grèzes. In the 11th century Adalbert, Bishop of Mende, decided to take advantage of the lack of interest of the nominal rulers of Gévaudan to increase his personal power. Louis VII granted him the temporal power on the area by the Golden Bull of Gévaudan (Bulle royale du Gévaudan). Therefore, Gévaudan was the first Occitan-speaking country to acknowledge the nominal suzerainty of the king of France. Gévaudan was divided into eight baronies which were in constant rebellion against the Bishop of Mende. According to the 1307 pareage the Bishop of Mende was granted the title of Count of Gévaudan and could mint coins and dispense lower justice. Although being nominally part of Languedoc, Gévaudan kept its own States General until 1789. During the same period, Gévaudan was a crossroad of pilgrimage trails. In the beginning of the 16th century Gévaudan was extremely wealthy, but the religious wars ruined the country. The Protestants settled in the city around 1550.
As many other areas in France, Gévaudan was bled dry during the two World Wars.
[edit] See also
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