Logi Marguerite Holiday

The Department of Deux-Sevres


	The department of the Deux-Sevres is the only one, which begins with a number, which leave the dictionaries editors, perplexed; they classified word as Sevres (Deux), as if Deux was a title or a name. The Deux-Sevres, as well as the Vendee and the Vienne departments used to be part of the ancient Poitou. Its name derives from the rivers Sevre Nantaise and Sevre Niortaise. At the period of the great 1789-90 administrative reform, its main towns were the same as today though they thought they could possibly join Thouars to a would-be department stretching from Saumur and Bressuire to Cholet and the north of today’s Vendee. Parthenay would still have been under the rule of Poitiers; Melle would have strengthened the Saintonge and Niort, the Aunis and the so-called Bas-Poitou. An intermediate solution was eventually chosen. Today, the north of the Deux-Sevres (Thouars, Bressuire) is still linked to the Anjou, and Niort to La Rochelle and the Atlantic coast. Is it enough to say that this department lacks unity? Actually the countries forming the Deux-Sevres and closely gathered around a small capital assert a strong personality. Until they could properly communicate together and afford an excellent road system, they had to wait for the XX th century and even the third quarter of this century. Looking like a 6.000 km2 trapezium stretching from north to south, with a population of 350,000 inhabitants, the archipelago of the Deux Sevres has an average size and population, The old formations used to be part of an important mountainous chain taking up Brittany and the Massif Central. From this chain which was levelled and eroded by thousands and thousands of years, hard granite relief's remain. The highest hills vaguely have the shape of an L. From east to west the basis of this L bears the highest points: The “Terrier” of Saint-Martin-du- Fouilloux (272 m) and I’Absie (279 m). This range of low ridges separates the department into two distinct parts. In the south; the primitive rocks give way to the schist, the marl, and limestone. The waters flow towards the ocean carried by the Sevre Niortaise or the Boutonne, a tributary of the river Charente. Very few tributaries flow towards the river Vienne. Flowing out of the departments through the Marais Poitevin, an ancient gulf filled by the alluvial deposits, the river Sevre is only three metres high. On the other side, the hills forming the vertical line of the L, sloping in the Northwest separate the valleys the Sevre Nantaise and the Thouet, which are both tributaries of the river Loire. The plain of Thouars, with its hilly vineyards and its white-stone buildings, is far different from the Bocage and the Gatine landscapes. Niort the main town, is a lively centre with 80.000 inhabitants. This county town 'has a strong asset in the insurance companies domain and thanks to the high-speed train and the motorway, it is a very busy place. This department is seen as a modern though rural region, The agriculture still represents 11% of the employment and the services more than 50%. The Deux-sevres may conjure original images for those who really care for the French traditions. These images essentially belong to four different trends which are conveyed by the literature, the cinema, The first category, tourism, is to blame because it is neglecting sites and monuments worthy of interest but fortunately it gives the Poitevin marshland the large tribute it deserves. For centuries (The kings intervened in the past and more recently the Presidents of the Republic) man has been arbitrating the close physical relation between water and trees: the world of the ”Green Venice” as Jacques Nanteuil, the poet, said. The two following themes are coming from history Two dramatic periods have deeply marked the population of these regions and the old wounds still remain in their children's memory. Two civil wars: the Reformation and the wars of religion have marked The Sevre valley and the plains of Niort and Melle. Thousands of families were forced to exile. As for the war of Vendee, it broke out in the Bocage around Bressuire, a region that still bears the scars. The last good reason to know the countries of the Deux-sevres is to study local art and literature and especially the mythology a word, which can be applied to the characters of our popular heritage. Gargantua and Melusine, two heroes of the French mythology are haunting the countries of the Deux-Sevres. Rabelais did not create Gargantua and the giants but he dressed them up to their measurement, The monk of Maillezais used to live in the Marais, in Niort, Saint-Maixent, but also Thouars and the surroundings. Melusine is the genuine heroin of the Poitou. One of the two principal texts narrating her exploits was written in Parthenay. Who could tell the surprise of her husband discovering his wife sometimes transformed into a snake. How wonderful for the people to discover she could also fly as a bird so as to go and build churches and castles at night. The Deux-Sevres owes a lot to many other women. To Eleonor, Countess of Poitou, Queen of England after being Queen of France and benefactress of Niort, To Gabrielle and Marie, we owe the beautiful site of Thouars. Who were these two who taught the Poiclevir to the wandering Villon? He was probably coming back from Saint-Maixent when he saw these beautiful noble ladies living in Saint-Generoux. Everywhere in the Deux-Sevres we can meet these rich or modest ladies from the past. And hear about their love stories.

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