Poitiers (pwätyā`), city (1990 pop. 82,507), capital of Vienne dept., W central France, on the Clain River. The ancient capital of Poitou Poitou (pwät
..... Click the link for more information. , it is now an industrial, agricultural, and communications center. Poitiers's industries include metallurgy, machine building, printing, and the manufacture of chemicals and electrical equipment. The city was the capital of the Pictons, a Gallic people, and under the Romans was called Limonum. Christianized early in Roman times, it was a stronghold of orthodoxy under its first bishop, St. Hilary of Poitiers (4th cent.), and, because of its important monasteries, was a great religious center of Gaul. A residence of Visigoth Visigoths (West Goths), division of the Goths, one of the most important groups of Germans . Having settled in the region W of the Black Sea in the 3d cent. A.D., the Goths soon split into two divisions, the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths.
..... Click the link for more information. kings, the city was captured (507) by the Franks under Clovis I. In 732, Charles Martel turned the Muslim tide by defeating the Saracens between Poitiers and Tours. Poitiers was often sacked by the Normans in the 9th cent. It was twice under English rule (1152–1204, 1360–72) and was the location of the brilliant court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. At Poitiers in 1356, Edward the Black Prince defeated and captured John II of France and his son, Philip the Bold of Burgundy. Charles VII had his court in Poitiers from 1423 to 1436 and founded a university there in 1432. In the Wars of Religion (1562–98) the city was unsuccessfully besieged (1568) by the Huguenots Huguenots (hy
`gənŏts), French Protestants, followers of John Calvin .
..... Click the link for more information. ; in 1577 the Peace of Bergerac (also known as the Edict of Poitiers) was signed there granting religious freedom (see Religion, Wars of Religion, Wars of, 1562–98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars.
The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots ).
..... Click the link for more information. ). Architecturally, Poitiers is one of the most interesting cities in Europe. There are Roman amphitheaters and baths, the baptistery of St. John (4th-12th cent.), the Cathedral of St. Pierre (12th-14th cent.), the courthouse (12th–15th cent., formerly a royal residence), as well as numerous other churches and late medieval and Renaissance residences.
Poitiers
..... Click the link for more information. , it is now an industrial, agricultural, and communications center. Poitiers's industries include metallurgy, machine building, printing, and the manufacture of chemicals and electrical equipment. The city was the capital of the Pictons, a Gallic people, and under the Romans was called Limonum. Christianized early in Roman times, it was a stronghold of orthodoxy under its first bishop, St. Hilary of Poitiers (4th cent.), and, because of its important monasteries, was a great religious center of Gaul. A residence of Visigoth Visigoths (West Goths), division of the Goths, one of the most important groups of Germans . Having settled in the region W of the Black Sea in the 3d cent. A.D., the Goths soon split into two divisions, the Ostrogoths and the Visigoths.
..... Click the link for more information. kings, the city was captured (507) by the Franks under Clovis I. In 732, Charles Martel turned the Muslim tide by defeating the Saracens between Poitiers and Tours. Poitiers was often sacked by the Normans in the 9th cent. It was twice under English rule (1152–1204, 1360–72) and was the location of the brilliant court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. At Poitiers in 1356, Edward the Black Prince defeated and captured John II of France and his son, Philip the Bold of Burgundy. Charles VII had his court in Poitiers from 1423 to 1436 and founded a university there in 1432. In the Wars of Religion (1562–98) the city was unsuccessfully besieged (1568) by the Huguenots Huguenots (hy
`gənŏts), French Protestants, followers of John Calvin ...... Click the link for more information. ; in 1577 the Peace of Bergerac (also known as the Edict of Poitiers) was signed there granting religious freedom (see Religion, Wars of Religion, Wars of, 1562–98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars.
The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots ).
..... Click the link for more information. ). Architecturally, Poitiers is one of the most interesting cities in Europe. There are Roman amphitheaters and baths, the baptistery of St. John (4th-12th cent.), the Cathedral of St. Pierre (12th-14th cent.), the courthouse (12th–15th cent., formerly a royal residence), as well as numerous other churches and late medieval and Renaissance residences.
Poitiers
a city in S central France: capital of the former province of Poitou until 1790; scene of the battle (1356) in which the English under the Black Prince defeated the French; university (1432). Pop.: 83 448 (1999)
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