The most beautiful villages in France are concentrated in the southwest of the country, in the Midi-Pyrenees, Aquitaine and Languedoc-Roussillon regions. There are also many in Provence.
When we think of France, we have a strong impression of Paris, Provence, and the Côte d’Azur, but I think it is in the southwest France that we can enjoy the history of the Middle Ages to the fullest and easily encounter cuisine that can be said to be the roots of typical French cuisine.
Bastides” is a term you’ll often see when you travel through the beautiful villages of South West France.
For example, is it one of the characteristics of Bastide that there is such a Halle (Al) in the central square?
So I knew that bastide is a kind of urban form, but it was interesting to study it again.
If you look into the history of the villages, especially in the southwest of France, you will find that they have their roots in the Middle Ages and are frequently associated with “England”.
How I found out about this book
When I was writing the Monpazier blog, I thought I’d do a little research on the “bastide” I frequently encounter, so I googled it, and found this lab.
バスティード | 東京大学大学院 伊藤研究室〔都市・建築・歴史〕 http://itolab.org/research/bastides
The photo of the city of Bastide used in the page of this site looked like a photo of Monpazier. I found this book while I was searching on the internet.
Tsuyoshi Ito
中央公論美術出版 2009-08
Sales Ranking : 214110
It’s such a great book!
What is Bastide?
Now, the following is written in part from this book.
A bastide is a new European medieval city that was built from the middle of the 13th century to about 100 years ago, and about 300 to 500 cities have been identified. There are about 300 to 500 bastide cities that have been confirmed. Among them, many bastides were built in southwestern France, including Aquitaine, and the number is said to be about 300.
Bastide was built against the background of the Anglo-French confrontation and the reorganization of power in France, by the kings of France, the kings of England who became the dukes of Aquitaine, and secular lords and princes such as Lemon VII of Toulouse and Alphonse de Poitiers.
(Source: Bastide – French Medieval New City and Architecture)
There were a couple of bastides discussed in this book, but
- ソーヴテール・ド・ルーエルグ
- モンパズィエ
- モンフラカン
The three bastides of the “Bastide” are all selected as the most beautiful villages in France, and I also visited them in this May.
旅行記が書けているのはモンパズィエだけかな。
About the book
In this book, you will find a wide range of explanations related to bastide, including the definition of the form, the history of bastide formation, and detailed architectural design.
One of the most interesting aspects was the existence of a type of contract called a parlage. In a parlage, it is a kind of contract between the lord or church that provides the land where the bastide is to be built and the king, officials, and other forces that guarantee the settlement and protection of the new settlement.
I thought this kind of contract society was very medieval European.
If you want to know more details, please take a look at it.
という僕もまだすべて読めてはいないのですが、これからじっくり読んでいろいろ知識をつけたいです。
