Editing Languedoc (section)

==Geographical extent==
[[Image:Languedoc1 province.png|thumb|The ''gouvernement'' of Languedoc (including Gévaudan, Velay, and Vivarais) among the former ''gouvernements'' of France.]]
[[Image:1650 - Toulouse, ville capitale du Languedoc, archevesché, parlement et université.jpg|thumb|[[Toulouse]] (1650), capital of Languedoc.]]

The traditional provinces of the kingdom of France were not formally defined. A province was simply a territory of common traditions and customs, but it had no political organization. Today, when people refer to the old provinces of France, they are referring to the ''gouvernements'' as they existed in 1789, before the [[French Revolution]]. ''Gouvernements'' were military regions established by the Crown in the middle of the 16th century; their territories closely matched those of the traditional provinces. However, in some cases, small provinces were merged with a large one into a single ''gouvernement'', so ''gouvernements'' are not exactly the same as the traditional provinces.

Historically, the region was called the [[County of Toulouse]], a county independent from the kings of France. The County of Toulouse was made up of what would later be called Languedoc, but it also included the province of [[Quercy]] (now the ''[[département in France|département]]'' of [[Lot (département)|Lot]] and the northern half of the ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Tarn-et-Garonne]]) and the province of [[Rouergue]] (now the ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Aveyron]]), both to the northwest of Languedoc. At some times it included the province of [[Agenais]] (now the eastern half of the ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Lot-et-Garonne]]) to the west of Languedoc, the province of [[Gévaudan]] (now ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Lozère]]), the province of [[Velay]] (now the central and eastern part of the ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Haute-Loire]]), the southern part of the province of [[Vivarais]] (now the southern part of the ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Ardèche]]), and even all the northern half of [[Provence]]. After the French conquest the entire county was dismantled, the central part of it being now called Languedoc.

The ''gouvernement'' of Languedoc was created in the mid-16th century. In addition to Languedoc proper, it included the three small provinces of [[Gévaudan]], [[Velay]], and [[Vivarais]] (in its entirety), these three provinces being to the northeast of Languedoc. Some people also consider that the region around [[Albi]] was a traditional province, called [[Albigeois]] (now the ''{{lang|fr|département}}'' of [[Tarn (department)|Tarn]]), although it is most often considered as being part of Languedoc proper. The provinces of [[Quercy]] and [[Rouergue]], despite their old ties with [[Toulouse]], were not incorporated into the ''gouvernement'' of Languedoc. They were attached to the ''gouvernement'' of [[Guienne]] and its far-away capital [[Bordeaux]]. This decision was probably intentional, to avoid reviving the independently spirited County of Toulouse. In the rest of this article, '''Languedoc''' refers to the territory of this ''gouvernement'' of Languedoc.

===Area and location of Languedoc===
The province of Languedoc covered an area of approximately {{convert|42,700|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} in the central part of southern France, roughly the region between the river [[Rhône]] (border with [[Provence]]) and the [[Garonne]] (border with [[Gascony]]), extending northwards to the [[Cévennes]] and the [[Massif Central]] (border with [[History of Auvergne|Auvergne]]).

{{anchor|Intendant|Intendant of Languedoc}}<!--linked-->

===Capital===
As the center of the [[History of Toulouse|County of Toulouse]] and the [[Parlement of Toulouse|regional ''parlement'']], [[Toulouse]] is often considered the "capital" of Languedoc. On maps (both ancient and modern) showing the provinces (i.e., ''gouvernements'') of France in 1789, it is always marked as such. However, the intricate entanglement of administrations and jurisdictions permitted [[Montpellier]] to also claim that distinction. In the 18th century, the monarchy clearly favored Montpellier, a city much smaller than Toulouse, with less history, and with fewer autonomous local authorities such as Toulouse's ''parlement'' and [[capitoulate]].