Notes
Poitou, former province in west central France. It was bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on
the west; by Brittany, Saumurois, and Anjou on the north; by Touraine, Marche, and Limousin
on the east; and by Angoumois and Aunis on the south. The capital of Poitou was Poitiers.
The region of the Vienne and Clain rivers is a lowland plateau between the Massif Central
and the Armorican Massif. The plains region to the south is poorly drained by the S�vre,
Niortaise, and Yon rivers. The land slopes westward toward the ocean, and the coastal region
is flat. When the Romans conquered Gaul (an ancient region in Europe that now includes France),
the Pictones, a Celtic tribe, occupied this area. Poitou was incorporated into the province of
Aquitaine by the Romans. The
Frankish king
Clovis I
defeated the Visigoths at Vouill� in AD 507,
winning all of Aquitaine from them.
Charles Martel
stopped the Saracens north of Poitiers
in 732, ending the farthest and last movement of the Muslims in western Europe.
Eleanor of Aquitaine
brought Poitou, with her other domains, as a dowry to the future Louis VII of France
on her marriage to him, and later to
Henry Plantagenet,
the future Henry II of England, on her
marriage to him in 1152. Philip Augustus of France conquered the territory in 1204. Louis IX's
brother, Alphonse, was made count of Poitiers in 1241. It was reunited to the French crown in
1271. In 1357 the countship was given to Jean de Berry, brother of Charles V. The French defeat
at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 led to the Peace of Br�tigny in 1360, under which Poitou was
ceded to the English. In 1372 Charles V reconquered it for France. Poitou was an appanage of
his grandson and was reunited to the throne on the advent of the dauphin as Charles VII.
Charles transferred the parliament of Paris to Poitiers, where it met from 1423 to 1436.
In 1790 the province was divided into the departments of Vienne, Deux-S�vres, and Vend�e.
Exerpt from
"Poitou," Microsoft� Encarta� Encyclopedia 99.
� 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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