Avignon PapacyThe Avignon Papacy (French: Papauté d'Avignon) was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon (at the time within the Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France) rather than in Rome. The situation arose from the conflict between the papacy and the French crown, culminating in the death of Pope Boniface VIII after his arrest and maltreatment by Philip IV of France. Following the subsequent death of Pope Benedict XI, Philip forced a deadlocked conclave to elect the French Clement V as pope in 1305.
LanguedocThe Province of Languedoc (ˌlɒ̃ɡ(ə)ˈdɒk; lɑ̃ɡ(ə)dɔk, lãŋɡəˈdɔkə; Lengadòc ˌleŋɡɔˈðɔ(k)) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately 42,700 square kilometers (16,490 square miles). The Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis fell to the Visigothic Kingdom from the 5th to the 8th centuries.
RoussillonRoussillon (UKˈruːsɪjɒn , USˌruːsiːˈjoʊn , ʁusijɔ̃; Rosselló rusəˈʎo; Rosselhon ruseˈʎu) is a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of Northern Catalonia or French Catalonia (the former used by Catalan-speakers and the latter used by French-speakers), corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales (with Roussillon, Conflent, and Fenouillèdes) in the former region of Languedoc-Roussillon (today Occitanie).
CarcassonneCarcassonne (ˌkɑːrkəˈsɒn, also US-ˈsɔːn,_-ˈsoʊn, kaʁkasɔn, kaχkaˈsɔnə; Carcassona kaɾkaˈsunɔ; Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, region of Occitania. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aude between historic trade routes, linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognized by the Ancient Romans, who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire.
