This article is about the historical province and cultural area of Limousin. For the modern région of Limousin, see Limousin (région).
Coat of arms of the lordship of Limousin
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.
Perhaps due to its rural character, Limousin has maintained a strong tradition of traditional music, with ancient instruments such as the bagpipe (called chabrette) and hurdy-gurdy remaining popular.[1][2]
Language
Until the 1970s, Occitan was the predominant home language spoken in rural parts of the region.
There are several different dialects of Occitan in Limousin:
The Limousin dialect is spoken in Dordogne (in the région of Aquitaine) as well as in Limousin. It has been associated with a culture: that of the troubadours, chevaliers of refined love. Many medieval writers came from what are now the departments of Corrèze and Dordogne. This culture declined after the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) which made French the sole official language in the territory of the king of France, whether its people spoke a dialect of French (langues d'oïl) or Occitan (Lenga d'oc).
