Béarn

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2011}} {{other}} '''Béarn''' ({{IPA-fr|be.aʁn}}; [[Gascon language|Gascon]]: ''Bearn'' or ''Biarn''; {{lang-eu|Bearno}}) is one of the traditional [[provinces of France]], located in the [[Pyrenees]] mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three [[Northern Basque Country|Basque]] provinces of [[Soule]], [[Lower Navarre]], and [[Labourd]], the principality of [[Bidache]], as well as small parts of [[Gascony]], it forms in the southwest the current ''[[département]]'' of [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]] (64). The capitals of Bearn were [[Beneharnum]] (until 841), [[Morlaàs]] (starting ca. 1100), [[Orthez]] (starting second half of 13th century), then [[Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques|Pau]] (beginning in the mid 15th century). Béarn is bordered by Basque provinces [[Soule]] and [[Lower Navarre]] to the west, by Gascony ([[Landes of Gascony|Landes]] and [[Armagnac (region)|Armagnac]]) to the north, by [[Bigorre]] to the east, and by Spain ([[Aragon]]) to the south. The name Béarn comes from ''Beneharnum'', the capital city of the Venarni people, destroyed by [[Viking]]s by 840. Today, the mainstays of the Béarn area are the petroleum business, the aerospace industry through the helicopter manufacturer [[Turbomeca]], tourism and agriculture (much of which is corn grown for seed). Pau was the birthplace of [[Elf Aquitaine]], which has now become a part of Total petroleum company. In [[Alexandre Dumas]]'s [[The Three Musketeers]] series, the protagonist [[d'Artagnan]] was from Béarn (he mentions having attended his father's funeral there in the second book, ''[[Twenty Years After]]''). That d'Artagnan is usually referred to as a [[Gascony|Gascon]] is neither surprising nor incorrect, as Béarn is considered a part of Gascony. In the eastern part of the province are two small [[exclave]]s belonging to [[Bigorre]]. They are the result of how early Bearn grew to its traditional boundaries: some old lesser viscounties were added by marriage, and absorbed into Bearn: Oloron to the south/southwest ca. 1050, [[Montaner|Montanérès]] in the east in 1085, and [[Dax, Landes|Dax]] in the west in 1194. When Montanérès was added, five communities or parishes (Villenave-Près-Béarn, Escaunets, Séron, Gardères, and Luquet) were not part of the dowry; they remained, or became, part of [[Bigorre]].[http://www.vic-montaner.com/en/our-territory/history.html] However, they were absorbed into the département to which Bearn now belongs, [[Pyrénées-Atlantiques]], rather than following Bigorre into [[Hautes-Pyrénées]]. ==People from Béarn== * The family of [[Alexander Gordon Bearn]] * [[Alejo Peyret]] * [[André Labarrère]] - Former politician * Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Marshal of France (1763–1844), [[Charles XIV John of Sweden|Karl XIV Johan]], King of [[Sweden]] and [[Norway]] (where he was known as [[Karl III Johan]]) from 1818 to 1844 * [[Fabienne Carat]] - Singer and actress * [[François Bayrou]] – Candidate in the 2007 French presidential elections, leader of the MoDem party * [[Gaston Febus]] * [[Gaston Planté]] – French physicist who invented the [[lead acid]] [[Battery (electricity)|battery]] in 1859 * [[Henry IV of France]] – Ruled as King of France from 1589 to 1610 * [[Jean Bouilhou]] - Rugby player * [[Jean Lassalle]] - Politician, member of MoDem party executive office * [[Jean Saint-Josse]] - Politician * [[Jeanne III of Navarre]] – Queen regnant of [[Navarre]] from 1555 to 1572 and mother of King Henry IV of France * [[Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet]] - Rugby player * [[Jérémy Chardy]] - Tennis player * [[Julien Cardy]] – professional football player * [[Louis Barthou]] - Former politician * [[Nicolas Escudé]] - Former tennis player * [[Nicolas Brusque]] - Former rugby player * [[Patrice Estanguet]] - Slalom canoeist * [[Pierre Laclède]] – Co-founder of [[St. Louis, Missouri]] in [[1764]] * [[Pierre Bourdieu]]- French sociologist * [[Philippe Bernat-Salles]] - Former rugby player * [[Cataline]], aka Jean Caux or Jean-Jacques Caux, a legendary packer during several gold rushes in British Columbia, Canada, is said to have been from Béarn (among other possibilities). * [[Robert Paparemborde]] - Former rugby player * [[Titouan Lamazou]] - Born Antoine Lamazou, famous navigator and writer * [[Tony Estanguet]] - Famous slalom canoeist * [[Bertrand Cantat]] – Singer of the rock band Noir Désir * [[Damien Traille]] - Famous rugby player * [[Jean-Michel Larqué]] – former professional football player * [[Corinne Touzet]] – actress ==See also== * [[Béarnaise sauce]] * [[Béarnese dialect]] * [[Béret]] * [[Garbure]] * [[Bayonne Ham|Jambon de Bayonne]] * [[Fors de Béarn]] * [[Laruns]] – Laruns is a typical Bearnese village and commune * [[Pau Pyrénées Airport]] * [[Viscountcy of Béarn]] * [[Viscounts of Béarn]] ==External links== * [http://www.lebrelblanco.com/anexos/a0043.htm Bearn in the History of Navarre] [http://www.pau-online.com/english/index.php Pau-online.com ] {{Commons category|Béarn}} {{Historic Provinces of France}} {{coord missing|France}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bearn}}