Languedoc,

Languedoc, a former province of the south of France, bounded on the E. by the river Rhone, on the S. by the Mediterranean and the counties of Foix and Roussillon, and on the W. by Gascony and Guienne. It is now embraced in the departments of Lozère, Gard, Ardèche, Aude, Hérault, Upper Loire, Tarn, and Upper Garonne. The name is derived from langue d'oc, the southern French dialect, or Provençal (q.v.), so called because the people used oc instead of oui for 'yes,' as in the northern provinces. During the period of the Roman empire this part of Gaul was prosperous and wealthy, a home of enlightenment. In 412 the Visigoths founded the kingdom of Toulouse (one of the chief cities of Languedoc, Montpellier being the other), and were only overthrown in 759 by Pepin the Frank. Two centuries later this part of France was immediately subject to the count of Toulouse, one of the great feudatories of the kingdom. The story of the religious wars of the 12th and 13th centuries has been already recounted under Albigenses (q.v.). For the Languedoc Canal, see CANAL.