Perche: Difference between revisions
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==Toponymy== |
==Toponymy== |
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''Perche'' is known by the following Latin toponymic designations: ''saltus Particus'', ''silva Perticus'' before the VI<sup>th</sup> century, ''pagus quem Pert[ic]ensem vocant'' and ''pagus pertensis'' in the VI<sup>th</sup> century, ''pagus Perticus'' (no date), ''pagus Perticus'' c. 815, ''Particus saltus'' in the XI<sup>th</sup> century, ''silva Perticus'' in 1045, ''[le] Perche'' in 1160 - 1174 and in 1308, ''Perche'' in 1238, ''foresta de Pertico'' in 1246,<ref name="Ernest Nègre">Nègre, Ernest (1990). ''[[Toponymie générale de la France]]'', Volume I, Librairie Droz. {{p.|398}}</ref><ref name="Dominique Fournier">Dominique Fournier, « Notes de toponymie normande : Promenons-nous dans les bois… (au sujet de quelques noms de bois et de forêts en Normandie) » in ''Histoire et Traditions Populaires'' {{n°|136}} (mars 2017), {{p.|17-32}}</ref> where, the names ''Perticus'', ''Pertica'', ''Pertensis'', ''Particus'' and ''Pertico'' denote ''Perche''{{efn|According [[Auguste Longnon]] 1878 : Le nom latin du Perche est ''Perticus''. Auguste Longnon (1878). ''Géographie de la Gaule au VI<sup>e</sup> siècle'', Paris (corrected to Pert[ic]ensis). {{p.|155}}}}; the terms ''silva'' and ''foresta'' mean forest{{efn|According to René Musset : « Le Perche est mentionné pour la première fois au VI<sup>e</sup> siècle, par [[Grégoire de Tours|Grégoise de Tours]], sous le non de ''pagus pertensis'' (''pert[ic]ensis'') ; à partir de ce moment, il est souvent question dans les textes du Perche, appelé tantôt ''pagus perticus'', tantôt ''silva pertica''. Il semble bien, sans qu’on puisse l’affirmer avec une entière certitude, que le mot de Perche soit étymologiquement un vieux nom de forêt. Il est hors de tout doute que l’expression de ''pagus perticus'' désigne une région naturelle, non une circonscription administrative : le Perche ne deviendra tel que dans la seconde moitié du XI<sup>e</sup> siècle. Le Perche est donc un pays, et ce pays est une ''silva'', une forêt. ». René Musset (1919) [https://www.persee.fr/doc/geo_0003-4010_1919_num_28_155_9257 "Le Perche - Nom de pays"]. ''Annales de géographie''. {{p.|351}}}}; ''[[saltus]]'' designates a |
''Perche'' is known by the following Latin toponymic designations: ''saltus Particus'', ''silva Perticus'' before the VI<sup>th</sup> century, ''pagus quem Pert[ic]ensem vocant'' and ''pagus pertensis'' in the VI<sup>th</sup> century, ''pagus Perticus'' (no date), ''pagus Perticus'' c. 815, ''Particus saltus'' in the XI<sup>th</sup> century, ''silva Perticus'' in 1045, ''[le] Perche'' in 1160 - 1174 and in 1308, ''Perche'' in 1238, ''foresta de Pertico'' in 1246,<ref name="Ernest Nègre">Nègre, Ernest (1990). ''[[Toponymie générale de la France]]'', Volume I, Librairie Droz. {{p.|398}}</ref><ref name="Dominique Fournier">Dominique Fournier, « Notes de toponymie normande : Promenons-nous dans les bois… (au sujet de quelques noms de bois et de forêts en Normandie) » in ''Histoire et Traditions Populaires'' {{n°|136}} (mars 2017), {{p.|17-32}}</ref> where, the names ''Perticus'', ''Pertica'', ''Pertensis'', ''Particus'' and ''Pertico'' denote ''Perche''{{efn|According [[Auguste Longnon]] 1878 : Le nom latin du Perche est ''Perticus''. Auguste Longnon (1878). ''Géographie de la Gaule au VI<sup>e</sup> siècle'', Paris (corrected to Pert[ic]ensis). {{p.|155}}}}; the terms ''silva'' and ''foresta'' mean forest{{efn|According to René Musset : « Le Perche est mentionné pour la première fois au VI<sup>e</sup> siècle, par [[Grégoire de Tours|Grégoise de Tours]], sous le non de ''pagus pertensis'' (''pert[ic]ensis'') ; à partir de ce moment, il est souvent question dans les textes du Perche, appelé tantôt ''pagus perticus'', tantôt ''silva pertica''. Il semble bien, sans qu’on puisse l’affirmer avec une entière certitude, que le mot de Perche soit étymologiquement un vieux nom de forêt. Il est hors de tout doute que l’expression de ''pagus perticus'' désigne une région naturelle, non une circonscription administrative : le Perche ne deviendra tel que dans la seconde moitié du XI<sup>e</sup> siècle. Le Perche est donc un pays, et ce pays est une ''silva'', une forêt. ». René Musset (1919) [https://www.persee.fr/doc/geo_0003-4010_1919_num_28_155_9257 "Le Perche - Nom de pays"]. ''Annales de géographie''. {{p.|351}}}}; ''[[saltus]]'' designates a wooded mountainous region, frontier, wildlife refuge.{{efn|According to Sarah Fourcade citing [[Pierre Toubert]] in « Frontière et frontières : un objet historique », p. 14 : « . . . la frontière constitue une zone de développement. Certes, avant d’être mise en valeur et de devenir rentable, la frontière n’est qu’un ‘’saltus’’, une zone où peut s’observer « le phénomène inverse de désertification frontière », avec cette image tenace jusqu'au XI<sup>e</sup> siècle. . . », Sarah Fourcade (2018). [https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/28491 "Frontière et marche, société et noblesse de frontière en péninsule Ibérique"]}}; and [[pagus]] means country. |
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==Geography== |
==Geography== |
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Revision as of 20:29, 10 April 2019
Perche (French pronunciation: [pɛʁʃ]) (French: le Perche) is a former province of France, best known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse breed. Until the Revolution, Perche was bounded by three ancient provinces of northwest France: Maine, Normandy and Chartrain territories (Orléanais and Beauce). Since the Revolution, it has been located largely within the present-day departments of Orne and Eure-et-Loir, with small parts now in the neighboring departments of Eure, Loir-et-Cher and Sarthe.[1][2]
Toponymy
Perche is known by the following Latin toponymic designations: saltus Particus, silva Perticus before the VIth century, pagus quem Pert[ic]ensem vocant and pagus pertensis in the VIth century, pagus Perticus (no date), pagus Perticus c. 815, Particus saltus in the XIth century, silva Perticus in 1045, [le] Perche in 1160 - 1174 and in 1308, Perche in 1238, foresta de Pertico in 1246,[3][4] where, the names Perticus, Pertica, Pertensis, Particus and Pertico denote Perche[a]; the terms silva and foresta mean forest[b]; saltus designates a wooded mountainous region, frontier, wildlife refuge.[c]; and pagus means country.
Geography
Before the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by the following ancient provinces: Normandy to the north and west, Maine to the west, Beauce and Orléanais to the east and south.
The greater part of the district is nowadays occupied by a semicircle of heights (from 650 to 1000 ft. in height), known as les collines du Perche (the Hills of Perche), stretching from Moulins-la-Marche on the northwest to Montmirail on the south; within the basin formed thereby the shape of which is defined by the Huisne, an effluent of the Sarthe, lie the chief towns of Mortagne-au-Perche, Nogent-le-Rotrou and Bellême.[1]
The Perche hills[d] are the source of numerous small rivers that feed the watersheds of the Seine River (via the Eure, Avre, Iton and Risle rivers); and the Loire River (via the Huisne, Loir and Sarthe rivers).
Perche's principal towns
The following table lists the principal towns in Perche province along with the distance of any given town to Condé-sur-Huisne, situated near Perche's geographic center:
| km | km | km | km | km | |||||
| Arrou | 48 | Ceton | 23 | La Ferté-Vidame | 29 | Luigny | 31 | Senonches | 29 |
| Authon-du-Perche | 29 | Chateauneuf-en-Thymerais | 40 | La Loupe | 18 | Montmirail | 41 | Tourouvre | 34 |
| Bellême | 27 | Condé-sur-Huisne | ~0 | Le Gault-du-Perche | 43 | Mortagne-au-Perche | 31 | Verneuil-sur-Avre | 44 |
| Brezolles | 45 | Digny | 32 | Longny-au-Perche | 22 | Nogent-le-Rotrou | 8 |
Peripheral towns
Nearby towns in the four ancient provinces along the periphery of Perche province include (starting from the north, clockwise): L'Aigle, Dreux, Chartres, Châteaudun, Le Mans, Mamers, Alençon and Sées.
Economy
Agriculture and tourism constitute the economic focus of Perche's natural region, the largest parts of which are located within the departments of Orne and Eure-et-Loir, in the regions of Normandy and Centre-Val de Loire, respectively.[1]
The Percheron breed of draft horses originated in Perche's Huisne river valley and is identified throughout the world as the Perche's most well known symbol. Apples (for hard cider) and pears are grown throughout the district.
History
Pre-history
Perche's prehistory is manifested by megaliths (dolmens, menhirs) and prehistoric tools of flint, bronze, and iron.[5]
Middle Ages
See also Lords, counts and dukes of Perche
Perche was essentially a region between other regions:
". . . the Perche was not based on an existing administratative unit, such as its neighbors, the counties of Maine and Chartres, nor was it coterminous with an ecclesiastical jurisdiction. It grew up at the margins of several larger units, and there was no major population focus nor great religious centre such as a cathedral or ancient abbey within it. It owed its existence to the ambition and energy of successive members of a lineage of warrior elite."[2]
Until the Viking or Norman invasions in the IXth century, Perche was a relatively remote area bounded on all sides by the following Gaul-Roman territories and Celtic peoples: to the east and south the Carnutes people in Chartrain territory based in Chartres; to the northeast the Aulerques Eburoviques people in Evreux territory based in Evreux; to the southwest the Aulerques Cénomans people in Maine territory based in Le Mans; and to the northwest the Hyesmois (Essuins) people in Exmes territory based in Sées.[6] These territories still have vestiges dating from Roman times to geographical limits of present day dioceses of Chartres, Evreux, Le Mans and Sées.[7][8][dubious – discuss]
In the Middle Ages, the County of Perche (Comté du Perche) was situated between Normandy, Maine and Orléanais. It was controlled by an independent line of counts. By the 12th century, two large families contended for control of the Perche region: the Talvas of Bellême and the Rotrou of Nogent-le-Rotrou. In 1114, Rotrou III annexed Bellême. In 1226, Count Geoffroy V would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before its departure to the Near East. This end of the Rotrou dynasty led to the region's annexation to the Crown of France (by inheritance). At this time, the crown divided part of the region to create the county of Alençon. After 1325, both counties were generally held by a member or members of a cadet branch of the House of Valois. During the Hundred Years War, partisans of England plundered Perche, destroyed its nobility, and burned many castles and abbeys. In 1449, free from English domination, Perche began reconstruction. Upon the death of Alençon's last duke (1525), rule returned to and remained under to the French crown, and was granted only sporadically thereafter.[1][2][5]
Modern times
In the three decades starting in 1632, a large proportion of immigrants to New France came from Perche, in what has been called the Percheron immigration movement.[9] Many Percherons were thus recruited to work in seigneuries being establishing along the Saint Lawrence valley. The Beauport seigneurie, New France's first agricultural-oriented seigneurie, was granted in 1634 to Robert Giffard de Moncel by the Company of Hundred Associates. While the total number of emigrants was small, Perche had a much higher rate of emigration to New France than most other regions of France. Nearly all French Canadians have some ancestors from the villages of Perche.[5]Prominent last names from Perche who came to Canada starting just before the end of Samuel de Champlain's tenure include: Côté, Boucher, Cloutier, Guyon (Dion), Tremblay and Paradis.[10]
After the French Revolution, Perche was divided into four departments: Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe, and Loir-et-Cher. At this time, national law replaced FR:coûtume du Perche or local, customary law.[5]
In 1998, the government of France created the Perche Regional Nature Park (Parc naturel régional du Perche – see FR:Perche (région naturelle)).[11] The Parc is forested by oak, beech, ash and evergreen trees populated by wildlife including especially boar, woodpecker, squirrel and deer animals.[12][5]
Notes
- ^ According Auguste Longnon 1878 : Le nom latin du Perche est Perticus. Auguste Longnon (1878). Géographie de la Gaule au VIe siècle, Paris (corrected to Pert[ic]ensis). p. 155
- ^ According to René Musset : « Le Perche est mentionné pour la première fois au VIe siècle, par Grégoise de Tours, sous le non de pagus pertensis (pert[ic]ensis) ; à partir de ce moment, il est souvent question dans les textes du Perche, appelé tantôt pagus perticus, tantôt silva pertica. Il semble bien, sans qu’on puisse l’affirmer avec une entière certitude, que le mot de Perche soit étymologiquement un vieux nom de forêt. Il est hors de tout doute que l’expression de pagus perticus désigne une région naturelle, non une circonscription administrative : le Perche ne deviendra tel que dans la seconde moitié du XIe siècle. Le Perche est donc un pays, et ce pays est une silva, une forêt. ». René Musset (1919) "Le Perche - Nom de pays". Annales de géographie. p. 351
- ^ According to Sarah Fourcade citing Pierre Toubert in « Frontière et frontières : un objet historique », p. 14 : « . . . la frontière constitue une zone de développement. Certes, avant d’être mise en valeur et de devenir rentable, la frontière n’est qu’un ‘’saltus’’, une zone où peut s’observer « le phénomène inverse de désertification frontière », avec cette image tenace jusqu'au XIe siècle. . . », Sarah Fourcade (2018). "Frontière et marche, société et noblesse de frontière en péninsule Ibérique"
- ^ Collines du Perche
References
- ^ a b c d "Perche". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ a b c Thompson, Kathleen (2002). Power and Border Lordship in Medieval France: The County of the Perche, 1000-1226. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 5, 9 ("the Perche" and modern equivalent), 11 (margins, formation), 13. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ Nègre, Ernest (1990). Toponymie générale de la France, Volume I, Librairie Droz. p. 398
- ^ Dominique Fournier, « Notes de toponymie normande : Promenons-nous dans les bois… (au sujet de quelques noms de bois et de forêts en Normandie) » in Histoire et Traditions Populaires No. 136 (mars 2017), p. 17-32
- ^ a b c d e "Un peu d'Histoire… (A Short History...)". Le Tour des Collines du Perche (Tour of the Hills of Perche). Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ Fret, Joseph (1838). Antiquités et chroniques percheronnes ou recherches sur l'histoire civile ... v. 1’', pp. 1-2
- ^ Bourdin, Foubert & Foucher (2012), ‘'L'Orne, des térritoires, une histoire’', pp. 34-35
- ^ Wikipedia Map of Dioceses of metropolitan France
- ^ perche-canada.net. "Association Perche-Canada History".
- ^ Larson, Denise R. (2008). Companions of Champlain: Founding Families of Quebec, 1608-1635. Genealogical Publishing. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "A natural park for the Perche". Parc naturel régional du Perche. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "The true nature of Perche". Parc naturel régional du Perche. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
See also
External links
- Parc naturel régional du Perche
- Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society: Le Perche
- perche-quebec.com
- Rossant, Colette (25 March 2007). "France's Le Perche Is the Last Terroir". New York Times. Retrieved 21 March 2018.</ref>
48°22′N 0°49′E / 48.36°N 0.81°E
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