The Mayenne-and-Loire

The the Mayenne-and-Loire is the name chosen by the constituent Assembly for the department which was to succeed the Anjou. Although amputee of territories in north (Craon and Castle-Gontier allotted to the Mayenne, the Arrow and Lude with the the Sarthe) as in the east (Castle-the-Vallière, Gizeux and Bourgueil allotted to the Indre-et-Loire), plus some communes attached to the departments of the Two-Sevres in the south, and of a commune in the West (Boissière-of-Gilded the) in the department of the Loire-Atlantique. The department succeeded the major part of the old province of Anjou while inheriting its capital, (Angers), and of the majority of its other important cities (Baugé, Cholet, Saumur and Segré). The initial name of the department associated the the Loire with the one of its affluents, the Mayenne, which crosses the towns of Mayenne, Laval and Castle-Gonthier, then receives water of the Sarthe and the Dormouse, and crosses finally the town of Angers.

But, with Angers, these three rivers form a broad waterway which takes the name of Maine, which means " grande" and " principale". Maine is a French term of the Middle Ages which gave " many (E) ". (Maine passed to the English in the form of " main" as in " hand street" = " street principale"). Angevins claimed at once with the Constituante that the department changed name to be called Maine-et-Loire.

One could say that the river was called upstream Mayenne confluence with the the Sarthe (close to Angers) then Maine downstream. But this interpretation, although current, does not resist the observation of the facts: the borough of Montreuil-on-Maine is well upstream confluence, on Mayenne.

Maine and Mayenne are also the two alternatives of the same name of the same river, called in Latin Meduana torrens, who gave his name to two departments, that of Mayenne and that of Maine-et-Loire.

One can possibly write " Maine-and-Loire" for " (department of) Maine-and-Loire" like one writes " France" for " (steamer) France". But one must write " the department of Maine-et-Loire since grammar and logic would impose a plural female article.

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