Limousin (province)
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- This article is about the historical province and cultural area of Limousin. For the modern région of Limousin, see Limousin (région).
Limousin (Occitan: Lemosin) is a former province of France around the city of Limoges in central France. The province of Limousin lies in the foothills of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter. Its name is derived from the name of a Celtic tribe, the Lemovices.
The limousine car is named after the region because the inhabitants wore a hood with a profile perceived to be similar to that of the car.
[edit] Culture
The Limousin language, still used in some rural areas but dying, is a dialect of Occitan.
Perhaps due to its rural character, Limousin has (like the Appalachian region of the United States) maintained a strong tradition of traditional music, with ancient instruments such as the bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy remaining popular.
Occitan, especially in Limousin/Lemosi dialect, was, until the 70's, the maternal language of rural areas.
There are several different dialects of Occitan in Limousin: -Lemosi/Limousin -Languedocien (Quercynois) -Auvergnat -Marchois, an often overlooked dialect of Occitan.
Limousin is not the only Occitan dialect of the region, and Limousin is spoken in other regions in France.
The Limousin dialect is spoken in Dordogne (over the Dordogne river), Limousin (with the dialect of marche and languedocien and auvergnat dialect for Corrèze), Vienne, Charente and Indre. It was the most important language for middle age literature in Europe, associated to a civilisation: the troubadours were chevaliers of raffinated love, most writers were from Corrèze and Dordogne and from different countries in Europe (like Richard Lionheart or Dante Aligheri). This civilization decline after the villiers cotterêt edit (1539)which made French the official and single language in territory of the king, area of French dialect (langues d'oil) or oc dialect (occitazn or lenga d'oc). This civilisation survived in Germany and especially in Catalunya and Portugal (and after in Brazil).
