GASCONY (WAScoNIA), an old province in the south-west of France. It takes its name from the Vascones, a Spanish tribe, which in 58o and 587 crossed the Pyrenees and invaded the dis trict known to the Romans as Novempopulana or Aquitania ter tia. Basque, the national language of the Vascones, took root only in a few of the high valleys of the Pyrenees, such as Soule and Labourd ; in the plains Latin dialects prevailed, Gascon being a Romance language. In the 7th century the name of Vasconia was substituted for that of Novempopulana. The Vascones readily recognized the sovereignty of the Merovingian kings, but in reality they remained independent. They even appointed national dukes, against whom Charlemagne had to fight at the beginning of his reign. Finally Duke Lupus II. made his sub mission in 819, and the Carolingians were able to establish Frank ish dukes in the country. After the death of Duke Arnaud in 864 the history of Gascony falls into the profoundest obscurity. In the feudal period Gascony comprised a great number of count ships (including Armagnac, Bigorre, Fezensac, Gaure and Par diac), viscountships (including Beam, Lomagne, Dax, Juliac, Soule, Marsan, Tartas, Labourd and Maremne) and seigneuries (e.g., Albret, etc.).
During the Hundred Years War Gascony was a battle-field for the forces of England and of France. The French seized the duchy, but, aided by the rivalry between the powerful houses of Foix and Armagnac, Edward III. was able to recover it and by the treaty of Bretigny in 136o John II. recognized the abso lute sovereignty of England therein. Handed over as a principality by Edward to his son, the Black Prince, it was used by its new ruler as a base during his expedition into Spain, in which he re ceived substantial help from the Gascon nobles. The renewal of the war between England and France, which took place in 1369, was due in part to a dispute over the sovereignty of Gas cony, and during its course the whole of the duchy save a few towns and fortresses was lost ; but the victories of Henry V. in northern France postponed for a time the total expulsion of the foreigner. This was reserved for the final stage of the war and was one result of the efforts of Joan of Arc, the year 1451 wit nessing the capture of Bayonne and the final retreat of the Eng lish troops from the duchy.
The French kings, especially Louis XI., managed to restore the royal authority in the duchy, although this was not really accomplished until the close of the 55th century when the house of Armagnac was overthrown. It was by means of administra tive measures that these kings attained their object. Gascony was governed on the same lines as other parts of France and from the time of Henry IV., who was prince of Beam, and who united his hereditary lands with the crown, its history differs very slightly from that of the rest of the country. The Renais sance inspired the foundation of educational institutions and the Reformation was largely accepted in Bearn, but not in other parts of Gascony. The wars of religion swept over the land, which was the scene of some of the military exploits of Henry IV., and Louis XIV. made some slight changes in its government. As may be surmised the boundaries of Gascony varied from time to time, but just before the outbreak of the Revolution they were the Atlantic Ocean, Guienne, Languedoc and the Pyrenees, and from east to west the duchy at its greatest extent measured 170 miles.
At the end of the ancien regime Gascony was united with Guienne to form a great military government. After the division of France into departments, Gascony, together with Beam, French Navarre and the Basque country, formed the depart ments of Basses-Pyrenees, Landes, Hautes-Pyrenees and Gers. Parts of Gascony also now form arrondissements and cantons of the departments of Lot-et-Garonne, Haute-Garonne, Ariege and Tarn-et-Garonne.
See Barrau-Dihigc, "La Gascogne," a bibliography of manuscript sources and of printed works published in the Revue de synthese his torique (1903) ; A. Larroquette, Les landes de Gascogne & la f oret landaise Mort-de-Marsan (1924) ; Eleanor C. Lodge, Gascony under English Rule (1926).