Editing Charente-Maritime (section)

=== Early modern period ===
==== Early Middle Ages ====
[[File:Royaume d'Aquitaine en 584-585.svg|left|thumb|Map of the first kingdom of Aquitaine (584-585).]]
In 418, a ''fœdus'' between [[Visigoth]] king [[Wallia]] and Roman emperor [[Honorius|Flavius Honorius]] allowed Visigoths to settle in Aquitaine II, including Saintonge, forming the [[Visigothic Kingdom|Visigothic kingdom]] with [[Toulouse]] as its capital.<ref name=":48">{{Harvtxt|Cassagne|Korsak|2002|p=147}}</ref> They occupied the region until 507, leaving toponymic traces like Goutrolles and Aumagne.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Flohic|2002|p=846}}</ref> Frankish king [[Clovis I|Clovis]] ousted them after defeating [[Alaric II|Alaric]] at Vouillé.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Delayant|1872|p=42-44}}</ref> In 584, [[Gundoald|Gondovald]] briefly ruled a Merovingian kingdom of Aquitaine, supported by Bishop [[Palladius of Saintes]].<ref name=":49">{{Cite journal|last=Rouche|first=Michel|year=1979|title=L'Aquitaine : des Wisigoths aux Arabes, 418 – 781|journal=Revue du Nord|language=fr|trans-title=Aquitaine: from the Visigoths to the Arabs, 418 – 781|volume=252|page=73-75|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rnord_0035-2624_1982_num_64_252_3866_t1_0210_0000_1|access-date=March 16, 2025}}</ref> A second kingdom under [[Charibert II|Caribert II]] became a duchy after his death, with [[Odo the Great|Eudes]] resisting [[Saracen]] incursions in 732, halted by [[Charles Martel]] near Poitiers.<ref name=":49" /> [[Charlemagne]] established a new kingdom of Aquitaine in 781 for his son Louis.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Lebègue|1992|p=77}}</ref> Viking raids began in 843, devastating [[Royan]], [[Saujon]], Saintes (845, 863), and [[Saint-Jean-d'Angély|Saint-Jean-d’Angély]] (865), weakening Carolingian control and fostering feudalism.<ref name=":50">{{Harvtxt|Jacques|Robert|Christian|René|1996|p=11}}</ref><ref name=":51">{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=125}}</ref> By the 10th century, Aunis split from Saintonge, with castles like Broue built for defense.<ref name=":51" />

==== Late Middle Ages ====
[[File:Entree vieux port La Rochelle.JPG|thumb|The {{Ill|Old Port of La Rochelle|fr|Vieux-Port de La Rochelle}}]]
[[La Rochelle]] grew in the 12th century under the [[Duke of Aquitaine|Dukes of Aquitaine]], gaining a communal charter from [[Henry II of England|Henry II]] in 1175 and boosting trade with the [[Hanseatic League]].<ref name=":4">{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=168}}</ref> Saintonge and Aunis prospered from salt, wine, and stone exports.<ref name=":5">{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=166}}</ref> The Via Turonensis pilgrimage route spurred religious growth, with a hospice in Pons and a basilica for [[Eutropius of Saintes|Eutropius]] in Saintes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le Chemin de Saint-Jacques en Saintonge |trans-title=The Way of Saint James in Saintonge |url=http://www.saintonge.online.fr/stjacques.htm |access-date=May 25, 2010 |website=saintonge.online.fr |language=fr}}</ref> In 1137, [[Eleanor of Aquitaine]] inherited the region, marrying [[Louis VII of France|Louis VII]], then [[Henry II of England|Henry Plantagenet]] in 1152, tying Aquitaine to England.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Malet|2022|p=62-63}}</ref> Her [[Rolls of Oléron|Roles of Oléron]] maritime code emerged in 1169.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Calvo|first=Carlos|year=2009|title=Dictionnaire Manuel de Diplomatie et de Droit International Public et Privé|language=fr|trans-title=Dictionary Manual of Diplomacy and Public and Private International Law|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange|isbn=9781584779490|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T7DXvH0k3lcC|page=371}}</ref> Rebellions in 1174 and sieges like Saintes strained Plantagenet rule.<ref name=":53">{{Harvtxt|Massiou|1846a|p=63-67}}</ref> After [[John, King of England|John]]’s contested reign, [[Philip II of France|Philippe Auguste]] seized most of Saintonge and Aunis by 1204, though La Rochelle resisted until 1224 under [[Louis VIII of France|Louis VIII]].<ref name=":6">{{Harvtxt|Massiou|1846a|p=178-184}}</ref> The [[Battle of Taillebourg]] (1242) saw [[Louis IX of France|Louis IX]] defeat [[Henry III of England|Henry III]], solidified by the [[Treaty of Paris (1259)]].<ref name=":54">{{Harvtxt|Rymer|1739|p=325-326}}</ref>

==== Hundred Years' War ====
[[File:Traité de Bretigny.svg|thumb|upright|France in [[1365]]. {{Legend|#EA8B9D|Territories controlled by Edward III}} {{Legend|#FDDCFB|Territories ceded by France to England under the [[Treaty of Brétigny]]}} {{Legend|#FFFFFF|Territory of the Duchy of Brittany, allied with the English}}]]
The [[Hundred Years' War]] began when [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] claimed the French throne in 1337, sparking the “Saintonge Wars.”<ref name=":55">{{Harvtxt|Combes|2001|p=195-196}}</ref> In 1345, [[Henry of Grosmont, Duke of Lancaster|Henry of Lancaster]] raided Saintonge, capturing key towns.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Massiou|1846b|p=52-59}}</ref> The [[Black Death]] (1347) paused fighting, but in 1351, [[John II of France|John II]] retook Saint-Jean-d’Angély.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Massiou|1846b|p=64}}</ref> The [[Treaty of Brétigny]] (1360) ceded Saintonge and Aunis to [[Edward the Black Prince|Edward of Woodstock]], but [[Charles V of France|Charles V]]’s forces, led by [[Bertrand du Guesclin|Du Guesclin]], reversed this. The [[Battle of La Rochelle]] (1372) and subsequent sieges secured French control by 1374.<ref>{{Harvtxt|Favier|1980|p=335-338}}</ref> After truces, [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]]’s reconquest ended with the siege of [[Montguyon]] (1451) and the [[Battle of Castillon]] (1453), leaving the region devastated.<ref name=":10">{{Harvtxt|Boutinet|2001|p=30}}</ref>