ParlementUnder the French Ancien Régime, a parlement (paʁləmɑ̃) was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern French term parlement (for the legislature) and the English word parliament derive from this French term, the Ancien Régime parlements were not legislative bodies and the modern and ancient terminology are not interchangeable.
AlbiAlbi (albi; Albi ˈalβi) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called Albigensians (Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), albigés -esa(s)). It is the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. The episcopal city, around the Cathedral Sainte-Cécile, was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2010 for its unique architecture. The site includes the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, dedicated to the artist who was born in Albi.
QuercyQuercy (kɛʁsi; Carcin kaɾˈsi, locally kɔɾˈʃi) is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auvergne. Quercy comprised the present-day department of Lot, the northern half of the department of Tarn-et-Garonne, and a few communities in the departments of Dordogne, Corrèze, and Aveyron. The traditional capital of Quercy is Cahors, now prefecture (capital) of Lot.
CapitoulThe capitouls, sometimes anglicized as capitols, were the chief magistrates of the commune of Toulouse, France, during the late Middle Ages and early Modern period. Their council and rule was known as the Capitoulate (capitoulat). They were suppressed in 1789 amid the French Revolution. The officials were originally known as consuls (consules) but were christened "capitouls" in 1295 as part of an effort to connect Toulouse with the greatness of such cities as Rome, Constantinople, and Jerusalem.
IntendantAn intendant (ɛ̃tɑ̃dɑ̃; intendente ĩtẽˈdẽtɨ; intendente intenˈdente) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Succession of 1701 to 1714 the French royal House of Bourbon secured its hold on the throne of Spain; it extended a French-style intendancy system to Spain and Portugal - and subsequently worldwide through the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire.
History of ToulouseThe history of Toulouse, in Occitania, southern France, traces back to ancient times. After Roman rule, the city was ruled by the Visigoths and Merovingian and Carolingian Franks. Capital of the County of Toulouse during the Middle Ages, today it is the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region. Archaeological evidence dates human settlement in Toulouse to the 8th century BC. Its location was advantageous; the Garonne River bends westward toward the Atlantic Ocean, and can be crossed easily.
Tarn-et-GaronneTarn-et-Garonne (taʁn e ɡaʁɔn; Tarn e Garona ˈtaɾ e ɣaˈɾɔnɔ) is a department in the Occitania region in Southern France. It is traversed by the rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name. The area was originally part of the former provinces of Quercy and Languedoc. The department was created in 1808 under Napoleon, with territory taken from the neighbouring Lot, Haute-Garonne, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers and Aveyron departments. The department is mostly rural with fertile agricultural land in the broad river valley, but there are hilly areas to the south, east and north.
GaronneThe Garonne (ɡəˈrɒn,_ɡæˈ-, also USɡɑːˈrɔːn, ɡaʁɔn; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and Garona, ɡaˈrunɔ; Garumna or Garunna) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a length of , of which is in Spain (Val d'Aran); the total length extends to if one includes the Gironde estuary between the river and the sea. Its basin area is , which increases to if the Dordogne River, which flows from the east and joins the Garonne at Bec d'Ambès to form the Gironde estuary, is included.
AgdeAgde (aɡd(ə); ˈadde, ˈate) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi connects to the Hérault river at the Agde Round Lock ("L'Écluse Ronde d'Agde") just north of Agde, and the Hérault flows into the Mediterranean at Le Grau d'Agde. Agde station has high speed rail connections to Paris and Perpignan, and regional services to Narbonne, Montpellier and Avignon.
Battle of MuretThe Battle of Muret (Occitan: Batalha de Murèth), fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Although estimates of the sizes of the respective armies vary considerably even among distinguished modern historians, it is most well known for a small force of French knights and crusaders commanded by Simon de Montfort the Elder defeating a much larger allied army led by King Peter II of Aragon and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse.
