The Puisaye () is a natural and historical region of France, now divided between the departments of Loiret, Nièvre and Yonne. Its historical and administrative center is the town of Saint-Fargeau. Its inhabitants are known as Poyaudins (or Puisayens).
Name
According to local 19th-century historian , the name
Puisaye first appeared in 12th-century
. It was variously spelled
Poiseia,
Puseium,
Pusaya,
Puiseia,
Puteacia, or
Poidaceia.
Geography
Since the Puisaye is not an administrative region, its exact definition and limits can vary depending on time and context. Its core is a land of forests and ponds, traversed by several rivers including the
Loing. It is bordered by
Sancerrois to the west across the
Loire river, Gâtinais to the northwest, Auxerrois to the northeast,
Forterre to the southeast, and
Donzy to the south.
The , created in 2017, covers most of the historical Puisaye, though not its Western fringe in the Loiret. It also includes the geologically distinct land of Forterre as well as parts of the Auxerrois, both to the east.
The Lac du Bourdon is the largest body of water in Puisaye, albeit far from the only one. It is a reservoir formed in 1901 to help regulate water levels of the Briare Canal. The Bourdon is a small tributary of the Loing that feeds into and from the lake.
History
The territory of Puisaye was
Christianization in
late antiquity. Some villages are traditionally associated with late-Antiquity saints, e.g. in Saints-en-Puisaye. A Carolingian manuscript lists several Puisaye parishes on the itinerary of
Aunarius, Bishop of Auxerre in the late 6th century, namely
Neuvy-sur-Loire (
Novus Vicus),
Briare (
Brioderus), Bléneau (
Blanoilus), Bitry (
Vitriacus), and
Arquian (
Arcuncius), and also refers to
Toucy (
Tociacus).
The lordship of Toucy was prominent in the High Middle Ages, as several of its leaders and family affiliates played significant roles, not least as associates of the House of Courtenay in their overseas endeavors. Meanwhile, the south of the Puisaye was in the orbit of the County of Nevers and specifically of the Barony of Donzy.
The crisis of the late Middle Ages and specifically the Hundred Years' War marked a rupture in the history of the region. Toucy was devastated in the runup to the Battle of Cravant, and was subsequently displaced by Saint-Fargeau as the main urban center of the Puisaye. Antoine de Chabannes significantly developed Saint-Fargeau, reconstructing its castle but also founding a hospital there. Generally, the century between 1450 and 1550 was a time of prosperity and renewal in the region, still represented in the landscape by numerous village churches built during that era. This period of prosperity ended with the Wars of Religion and troubles of the early 17th century.
By the end of France's Ancien Régime, the core of Puisaye including Bléneau, Saint-Fargeau, Toucy and Saint-Sauveur was part of the province of Orléanais. It was a provincial borderland, with parts of the present communauté de communes de Puisaye-Forterre in Champagne (e.g. Charny), Burgundy (e.g. Pourrain, Courson-les-Carrières), and Nivernais (e.g. Saint-Vérain). Moreover, Île-de-France (e.g. Courtenay) was close by to the north, and Berry just across the Loire river.
Lordship of Puisaye
The Lordship of Puisaye is attested under that name from the late 13th century to the late 16th century, corresponding to an area that varied across time but generally included the towns of Bléneau, Mézilles,
Saint-Fargeau, and until the early 16th century,
Toucy.
The lordship of Puisaye was inherited by the Counts, then Dukes of Bar following the 1255 marriage between Theobald II, Count of Bar and Joanna of Toucy, heiress of a lineage that started with Ythier de Narbonne in the 11th century (). On Joanna of Toucy's death in 1317 the lordship went to Edward I, Count of Bar and then to his son Henry IV, Count of Bar, and grandson, Robert, Duke of Bar. One of Robert's sons, John of Bar, inherited the lordship (but not the Duchy of Bar) when Robert died in 1411, but he was himself soon killed at the Battle of Agincourt in October 1415. The Lordship of Puisaye was then seized, together with the Duchy (whose ruler Edward III was also killed in Agincourt) by Cardinal Louis of Bar, brother of John and Edward and a significant political figure of the era.
On Louis's death the lordship of Puisaye went to John Jacob, Marquis of Montferrat, son of Marquis Theodore II who had married Louis's sister Joanna. John Jacob sold parts of the lordship to Georges de La Trémoille, but he was not able or willing to pay and John Jacob's sons recovered them in the late 1440s. They in turn sold the entire lordship to Jacques Coeur in February 1450. After Jacques Coeur's downfall in 1451, the lordship was taken by Antoine de Chabannes. Charles VII's decision of 29 May 1453 specifically granted him: "(1) the lands, castles and lordships of Saint-Fargeau, of Lavau, of La Couldre, of Perreuse, of Champignelles, of Mézilles, or Villeneuve-les-Genêts and their dependencies; (2) the lands of Saint-Maurice-sur-Aveyron, Melleroy, La Frenaie, Lorris, and their dependencies; (3) the Barony of Toucy with its belongings and dependencies."
After the death of Antoine's son John of Chabannes in 1503, the lordship was divided between his two young daughters. Antoinette (1498-ca. 1527) received most of Puisaye including Saint-Fargeau. In 1515 she married René d'Anjou-Mézières (1483-1521) who thus became lord of Puisaye as later was his son Nicolas (1518-1569). These domains later went to François, Duke of Montpensier following his 1566 marriage with , daughter of Nicolas d'Anjou. John of Chabannes's elder daughter Avoye (1492-ca. 1545) kept other Chabannes domains including Toucy, and in 1504 she married Aymon du Prie (or Prye).
In 1575, King Henry III elevated the County of Saint-Fargeau to a Duché-Pairie. After that, the reference to Puisaye as a lordship or political entity, which had already been infrequent under Nicolas d'Anjou, appears to fade away.
Personalities connected to Puisaye
Antiquity and Middle Ages
-
or Priscus (d. 274), soldier and Christian martyr decapitated together with companions near Saints-en-Puisaye
-
(771-?), associate of Charlemagne and first Count of Auxerre, founded a monastery in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye
-
Rodulfus Glaber (985-1047), chronicler and monk at the priory of Moutiers-en-Puisaye
-
Ithier de Narbonne (11th century), founder of the
-
Gilo of Toucy (ca. 1080–1140), cardinal and papal legate, born in Toucy
-
Narjot III de Toucy (died 1241), Regent of the Latin Empire in 1228-1231
-
(died 1274), Archbishop of Sens born in Charny
-
Philippe de Toucy (died 1277), Regent of the Latin Empire in 1243–1248, Admiral of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1273
-
Narjot IV de Toucy (died 1293), Captain-General of the Kingdom of Albania, Admiral of the Kingdom of Sicily in 1277, and bailli of the Principality of Achaea in 1282
-
Mathieu of Ratilly (13th century), builder of the near Treigny
-
Robert Knolles (ca. 1325–1407), English warlord during the Hundred Years' War, based in Malicorne between 1358 and 1360
-
Antoine de Chabannes (1408-1488), Lord of Puisaye and builder of the Château de Saint-Fargeau
Early modern period
-
(ca. 1460–1540), Catholic priest and poet from Toucy
-
Antoine de Rochechouart (ca. 1488–1544), military leader and builder of the Château de Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye
-
Hugues Cosnier (1573-1629), engineer and builder of the pioneering Briare Canal between the Loire and Seine rivers (via the Loing) which runs on the northwestern fringe of Puisaye
-
(1626-1702), Knight Hospitaller and provincial prior of the Order for Aquitaine from 1691 to 1702, born in Malicorne
-
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (1627-1693) known as la Grande Mademoiselle, owner of the Château de Saint-Fargeau who lived there in exile from Paris from 1652 to 1657
-
(1680-1754), naval commander who participated in the Siege of Louisbourg (1745), born in Bitry
Late modern and contemporary period
Political, administrative and military leaders
-
(1741-1818), army general during the French Revolution, born in Mézilles
-
Louis-Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau (1760-1793), iconic victim of the French Revolution
-
(1763-1827), army commander and author born in Bitry
-
(1764-1830), army general during the Napoleonic Wars born in Saint-Fargeau
-
(1774-1840), army general during the Napoleonic Wars born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye
-
Louis Frémy (1805-1891), politician and banker, born in Saint-Fargeau and owner of a mansion in L'Orme du Pont near Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye
-
(1843-1922), industrialist, politician and philanthropist, died in Briare
-
Albert Grodet (1853-1933), colonial administrator in Mali, Equatorial Africa and French Guiana, born in Saint-Fargeau
-
Georges Demetz (1865-1942), commander of French colonial troops during World War I, born in Saint-Fargeau
-
(1867-1916), army general killed during World War I, born in Bléneau
-
Léon Noël (1888-1987), senior civil servant and politician, resistant during World War II and historian (including on Gilo of Toucy) who settled and died in Toucy
Scholars, scientists and industrialists
-
(1791-1855), geographer born in Saint-Fargeau
-
Jean-Baptiste Robineau-Desvoidy (1799-1857), polymath and entomologist from Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye
-
Onésime Delafond (1805-1861), veterinarian and pioneer of bacteriology born in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye
-
(1806-1861), mineralogist at France's Corps des mines from Toucy, of which he was also mayor from 1848 to 1860
-
(1813-1885), industrialist and developer of the Faïencerie de Gien, died in Briare
-
Pierre Larousse (1817-1875), one of the foremost French lexicographers, born in Toucy
-
Eugène Lefébure (1838-1908), Egyptologist who worked in the Valley of the Kings, born in Prunoy
-
(1843-1931), Catholic priest and polymath scholar from Toucy
-
Edgar Bérillon (1859-1948), psychiatrist and researcher of hypnosis, born in Saint-Fargeau
-
(1869-1951), inventor of an early type of fractional distillation column, born in Parly
-
(1885-1965), inventor and developer of an automatic transmission system that paved the way for modern gearboxes in a manufacturing facility in Bléneau
-
Hubert Reeves (born 1932), astrophysicist and popularizer of science, has lived part of his time in Malicorne for decades
Literature and arts
-
Henri Harpignies (1819-1916), French landscape painter of the Barbizon school, buried in Saint-Privé
-
Colette (1873-1954), author who was born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye and wrote acclaimed works about her native land
-
Julienne Mathieu (1874-1943), early silent film actress from Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye
-
Henri Nibelle (1883-1967), organist and composer born in Briare
-
Marie Noël (1883-1967), poet who spent her vacations in Diges from 1928 and 1956
-
Robert Gall (1918-1990), author of the lyrics of songs for Edith Piaf and for his daughter France Gall, born in Saint-Fargeau
-
(1919-1979), stoneware artist who promoted Puisaye pottery and renovated the
-
Hubert Deschamps (1923-1998), cinema actor who was buried in Chêne-Arnoult
-
Antoine de Vinck (1924-1992), Belgian ceramist and sculptor, lived in Treigny from 1984 and died there
-
Jean d'Ormesson (1925-2017), author whose family owned the Château de Saint-Fargeau about which he wrote in his novel Au Plaisir de Dieu
-
(1927-2012), journalist and writer, owned an estate in Saint-Vérain and was buried there
Other
-
(1855-1927), explorer of West Africa born in Saint-Fargeau
-
(1869-1956), physician and organizer of France's Armenian community, lived and died in Bléneau
-
Jules Guiraud (1876-1952), First Deputy Governor of the Bank of France from 1934 to 1937, owner of the Château de Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye from 1935 to 1947
-
(1881-1974), record-breaking cyclist born in Champcevrais
-
(born 1947), owner of the Château de Saint-Fargeau and promoter of the Guédelon Castle project
==Selected sights==
]]
, first built in the 12th century]]
, known as the Cathédrale de la Puisaye]]
, early 17th century]]
, June 1940 Anglo-French Supreme War Council venue]]
, built in the late 1880s]]
( grès de Puisaye) in Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye]]
Notes
