Gascons

Origins

Their ancestors are the Aquitains, a population which lived in the same area during the antiquity and which spoke an ancestor about the language current Basque. The Gascons owe their name with the Vascons, of the same people origin than them, established in the South of the Pyrenees, which will politically dominate Novempopulanie starting from the end of the Life century a. J-C. Conquered by the Romans in 56 av J-C, these Aquitanian occupied the Roman province of Aquitaine which went from the Garonne to the Pyrenees. Towards 16 or 13 av J-C, Auguste joins together this original Aquitaine with grounds populated by Celtes or Gaulois extending until the the Loire. With the turning of IIe and IIIe century, the Aquitanian ones obtained their separation of Gallic by obtaining their own province between the Garonne and the Pyrenees: the Novempopulanie (either “Province of the nine people”).

" The arrivée" of Vascons

At the end of the 6th century and at the beginning of the 7th century, those which one called in Latin the Vascones , people which lived the current Navarre and the west of the Aragon, but being part of the same group ethnolinguistic that the Aquitanian ones, “took again” the Novempopulanie and dominated it politically. Towards 630, Novempopulanie changes name to be called the Wasconia (or Vasconia ) ancestor of the names Gascogne and Basque Country. The name of the Vascons is at the origin of the terms Basque and Gascon. The Gascons are in fact of the strongly Latinized Basques and the fact that they adopted so easily the name of " Vascons" probably state that they still were very basquisés with the Life-VIIe centuries. The Gascon - one of the languages or dialects of Oc - contains linguistic traces coming from the Basque, which clearly distinguishes it from the other languages (or dialects) from close Oc . According to a recent study, a proto-Gascon existed already at the 7th century. But it is necessary to await the 11th century and testimonys in “vulgar” language to manage to clearly distinguish the Gascons from the Basques since they bore the same Latin name.

Early middle ages

At the time medieval, the Gascons are clearly regarded by all as being particular people distinct from the French (in a strict sense of the time: populate located at the north of the Loire) but also of their neighbors Languedocien S or Basques.

The Vascons constituted with the Early middle ages a famous light cavalry used by the independent princes d' Aquitaine which fought against the Francs Carolingians (Eudes (av.718-735), Hunaud (735-745) and Gaïfier or Waïfre (745-768)).

After the conquest of this principality (768) the revolts of the Vascons against the Francs are numerous and cease in fact only with the considerable weakening of the frank kings whose capacity are limited to the north of the the Loire starting from second half of the 9th century.

A plain Gascon principality is formed as from the 9th century with Sants-Sants (836-v.864) which is perhaps mythical the Sants-Mitarra famous being the creator of the principality in the Gascon historiography of the 11th century.

The apogee of the Gascon principality is reached under the reign of Guilhem-Sants, which would have demolishes the Viking S with the battle Taller in the Moors towards 988 (and not 981 or 982 as it is regularly marked). It becomes count de Bordeaux in 977 and founds the Abbaye of Saint-Sever in 988.

But the last duke and count of Gascogne, Sants-Guilhem (1010 - 1032) dies without heir, which in the long term allows (1058 for Bordeaux, 1063 for the remainder) the union of the duchy-county of Gascogne with the duchy of Aquitaine of the counts de Poitou, ancestors of Aliénor of Aquitaine.

Little by little, the political unit of Gascogne flies in glares and the Eastern areas of Gascogne (Fezensac, Astarac…) fall under influence from the counts de Toulouse, while the southernmost areas (Bigorre and Béarn) become vassal king d' Aragon until the 13th century.

Gascogne known as " anglaise"

Consecutively with the marriage of Aliénor of Aquitaine with Henri II Plantagenêt (1152), which becomes later king d' Angleterre two years, Gascogne becomes part of the empire angevin or Empire Plantagenêt (or State anglo-angevin). After the defeat of their son Jean without ground vis-a-vis the King de France Philippe Auguste in 1203 - 1204, Gascogne Western remains the only continental possession of the kings d' Angleterre Plantagenêts and it will remain plain in England until the end of the Guerre One hundred Year old, in 1451 - 1453.

During the War One hundred Year old between the England and the France (1337-1453), Gascogne is divided roughly speaking into two zones: in the west Gascogne “English” and in the east Gascogne “Frenchwoman”, which explains why Gascons find themselves in the two camps.

At the same time, a One hundred Year old Gascon small war takes place between the counts d' Armagnac, supported by their parents the lords of Albret, and the Viscounts of Béarn - also counts de Foix - for the domination of Gascogne central and Eastern and to annex in particular the county of Bigorre. The most known episode of this confrontation is the battle of Launac (1362) where the count Jean Ier of Armagnac is beaten by Gaston Fébus, count of Foix and Viscount of Béarn.

After the final conquest of Gascogne “English” in 1453, then County of Armagnac in 1473, the majority of the Gascons have like sovereign the king of France. Only the Gascons of the Béarn, remain independent until in 1620, which will create during the 16th century a conscience distinct from the other Gascons, so that the Béarnais do not regard themselves since as being Gascons, even if their dialects are always Gascon.

Characteristics of people

The Gascons are famous in low Moyen-âge for their military qualities, in particular in the cavalry, like with the sword and the crossbow. In XVIe and the 17th century, they form a famous share of the armies of kings de France where they are useful in the infantry.

Even after the loss of their political autonomy, the Gascons were always regarded as people distinct from the French until the 17th century , even if more and more of testimonys call them French since they live the kingdom of France and that they are prone of king de France.

Thus at the time of the wars of Italy (1st half of the 16th century), the Italian chronicler Francesco Guicciardini evoked the French Army in these terms: “ French and Gascon ” and “ six thousand French and Gascon infantrymen ”.

In the same way in 1628, a play of Béziers in occitan named the Histoire of Pépésuc opposes a French soldier and a Gascon soldier which declares: “ We are both people of honor. It is French, I am Gascon. You know that this trade is natural in Gascogne, and that one plays there of the fingers as well as them of the goblets. ”.

16th at the 18th century, the term of “Gascons” tended to indicate in an incorrect way - in the absence of an other denomination - all the populations which spoke a Langue about oc to share Provençaux (which lived in the east of the the Rhone).

Like the other languages of Oc and the other minority languages of France, the Gascon is less and less transmitted to the new generations, which lets suppose its medium-term disappearance.

Famous Gascons

Among most famous, the names appear of:

Jean de Grailly, in Gascon Johan de Greilly, Captal de Buch, Gascon war leader with the service of the king d' Angleterre Edouard III and of his son the Prince Noir. It is responsible for success anglo-Gascon of the Bataille of Poitiers in 1356.
Gaston Febus whose currency celebrates it is “tocas I gausas! ” : keys there if you oses!
of Artagnan, celebrates musketeer of the king.

Besmaux, friend of Artagnan, Governor of the Bastille.

References

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