County of Armagnac: Map & History

History

Under Roman rule, Armagnac was included in the Civitas Ausciorum, or district of Auch, of Aquitania. Under the Merovingians it was part of the duchy of Aquitania. Near the end of the ninth century the part now known as Fezensac became an hereditary county. In 960, Armagnac was separated from Fezensac as a separate county, under Bernard le Louche, Géraud Trancaléon and Bernard II, who reunited under his control all of Gascony (1040–1052); in 1052 Gascony became part of "Aquitania", by personal union of duke William VIII. About 1140 Bernard's grandson, Géraud III, briefly reunited the comté of Fezensac, which was then detached as an appanage for a younger son, styled comté de Fézensaguet.

Government

In 1473, following the control of the county by Louis XI, the Seneschalcy of Armagnac was created. This allowed a seneschal to be stationed in the county, acting as a court of appeal and agent of the crown. The county was placed under the legal supervision of the Parliament of Toulouse. Administration and taxation were performed by the Generalité of Montauban and the Cour des Aides of Cahors. By the mid-17th century, the seneschalcy was transferred to Auch, and Lectoure lost its status as capital city.

The Wars of Religion saw considerable damage inflicted on the county by Catholics and Protestants alike. Large sections of the nobility and the bourgeoisie had become Calvinists, including in the capital Lectoure. Some towns had become entirely Protestant.