Last modified: 2006-01-14 by ivan sache
Keywords: bouches-du-rhone | lancon-de-provence | star: 16 points (yellow) | baux-de-provence (les) |
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![[Flag of Lancon]](../images/f/fr-13-lp.gif)
Municipal flag of Lançon-de-Provence - Image by Arnaud Leroy
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The municipality of Lançon-de-Provence (6,786 inhabitants in 1999;
6,892 hectares, one of the largest French municipalities by its area,
including 153 ha of woods and 3,000 hectares of garrigue very prone to
fire in summer) is located close to Salon-de-Provence, some 40 km north
of Marseilles and 25 km west of Aix-en-Provence. The Air Force Base of
Salon, the home of the Patrouille de France is partially located on
the municipal territory of Lançon.
Lançon is located near an important highway bifurcation. Highway A7,
coming from the north of France via Lyon and the valley of Rhône, divides a few kilometers south of the huge and crowdy toll gate of
Lançon into the A7, going southwards to Marseilles, and A8, going
eastwards to Aix-en-Provence, Nice and Italy.
The name of the municipality was definitively fixed by the Municipal
Council on 30 March 1999. From 1919 to 1999, the municipality was
called Lançon-Provence, which is grammatically not correct and was not
pleased by the local people. In the earlier ages, the village was known
as Alonzo, Alanzo, Alantho, Alanthio, Alansio, Alanzone, Lancione,
Lancoenum, Alanso, Alansonum, Allanssion, Lansson, and eventually
Lançon.
The Celto-Ligurian toponym lan recalls a flat-topped mountain or
promontory used as an oppidum (fortified camp). The root lan is
found in several Alpine toponyms, for instance Lans-en-Vercors and
Villars-de-Lans. However, the Provencal toponymist Francois Masselot
believes than lan comes from aulan, itself coming from the
Provencal word aule, a place with small plots of grass scattered
among rocks. The suffixe con probably comes from Latin coenum,
marshes, and Lançon would therefore mean the oppidum dominating the
marshes, here the marshes of river Touloubre.
Settlement in Lançon is very ancient. Excavations made in Le Coudouneu
yielded garlic cloves dated from the second quarter of the Vth century
BP. According to their botanical characteristics, these cloves seem to
belong to cultivated garlic. The Lançon garlic would then be the oldest
cultivated garlic ever found. Before having been found in Lançon,
garlic was known in Western Europe not before the Roman times (Ist
century AD in Neuss, Germany; late Empire in Lyon and
Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, France).
There are two Ligurian oppida on the territory of Lançon, Constantine
and Les Escalettes. The oppidum of Constantine dominates the pond of
Berre; it was probably the biggest Ligurian oppidum in Provence. It
was famous for its treasure, as reported by three documents kept in the
library of Carpentras. A letter written in Aix-en-Provence on 2 April
1621 gives the oldest known description of the oppidum and relates
the gold rush that took place there. The ancient round temple of the
oppidum, built over a natural cave, attracted several hunters.
Monsieur de Guyse expected to find there three golden statues and
several coffers filled up with golden coins but spent 7,000 crowns for
nothing; among the three poor peasants he sent down into the cave, two
died and the third one came back to the surface with a "crazy brain".
Antoine de Conna, from Milano, was allowed by the King to make
excavations; he would pay all expenses but keep one third of the booty
for himself. Conna lost all his goods, including his silverware, and
several of his employees died of suffocation in the cave. In a third
text, a messer Fricasse gives a very detailed description of the
cave; he recognized he found there only human bones and an "imperial
medal" made of brass, which was unfortunately lost during the
excavations.
The earlier village of Lançon was built around the XIth century in the
plain, around the St. Cyr's chapel. This Romanic chapel, restored in
1869, is one of the most beautiful rural chapels in Provence; its very
simple architecture, with a cul-de-four-shaped apse, a slate roof and a
minimalist decoration inside and outside the chapel, recalls the famous
Cistercian abbey of Silvacane.
In 1116, Lançon was incorporated into the domain of Les Baux, ruled by
a very powerful feudal family. They built a feudal castle, probably on
the ruins of an earlier fort, in the XIIth century; the castle (now
ruined) was elliptic in shape, with square towers protecting the walls
and linked by an arched machicolation. A similar defensive architecture
can be seen in the Popes' Palace in Avignon and in the Sainte-Chapelle
in Paris. Lançon had a big castle: when Countess Jeanne de Provence
seized it in 1377, it was deemed un château imposant, robuste, commode
et fort (an imposing, robust, convenient and strong castle).
In the XIVth century, Provence was devasted by the civil war between
the Anjou and Durazzo parties; the inhabitants of Lançon moved uphill
from the plain to the neighborhood of the feudal castle. In 1545, King
of France François I allowed the rebuilding of the city walls. The
community of Lançon signed in 1559 a contract with engineer Adam de
Craponne (1527-1576), the builder of the canal de Craponne, which
allowed them to receive water from the river Durance. Craponne built
his canal in 1554; he used the former bed of the Durance and a narrow
pass called pertuis de Lamanon. In 1563, the community of Lançon
purchased the last feudal rights and was incorporated into the Kingdom
of France as a direct vassal of the King.
In the XVIIIth century, Lançon was a wealthy village living mostly from
irrigated agriculture. Peace and the rise of trade boosted the local
bourgeoisie, which explains why such a small village has so many
beautiful houses. The main products of Lançon were grains, wine, olive
oil, almonds, sheep and silkworms. They were 1,325 inhabitants and an
hospital with four beds in Lançon in 1898; in 1926, population dropped
to 947. In 1962, population was 1,664. From 1982 to 1990, it rose from
4,000 to more than 6,000.
High quality olive oil and wine (Château Calissane - AOC Côteaux d'Aix)
are produced today in Lançon-de-Provence.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 6 February 2005
The municipal flag of Lançon-de-Provence, as seen on the facade of the
city hall and photographied there by Dominique Cureau, is blue with a
yellow 16-pointed star.
This flag is a simple but elegant banner of the municipal arms of
Lançon, which are recorded in the Armorial General as:
D'azur à une étoile à 16 raies d'or. (Arm. I, 1080; bl. II, 1932; registration fee, 20 louis).
That is:
Azure an estoile of sixteen rays or.
According to Bresc [bjs94], Achard (Géographie de Provence) mentions slightly different municipal arms for Lançon:
D'azur, à une étoile d'or à six pointes (Azure an estoile of six rays or) with COMMUNAUTE DE LANCON written around the shield. Achard claims that the old arms of Lancon were:
Une ombre de soleil d'or, ayant seize rayons unis.
Ombre is a shadow, but I cannot figure out what a golden sun's shadow or a sun's golden shadow could be.
The 16-pointed star is directly derived from the arms of Les Baux, the feudal suzereign of Les Baux.
Ivan Sache, 6 February 2005