Starting Population     238                     % of Worldwide          0.8%                    

                                                Population                                      

Starting Income         3,999                   % of Worldwide          0.6%                    

                                                Income                                          

Starting GDP            32,576                  % of Worldwide GDP      0.5%                    

Starting Surplus        361                     % of Worldwide          1.1%                    

                                                Surplus                                         

8 fiefs in province                             Overlord:               de Valois (200)
         

Kingdom: France

Comments: The Languedoc is an important county in southern France, bordering the Mediterranean Sea on the south, between the Rhone River in the east and the massif central in the west. In ancient times a part of the Roman Gallia Transalpina, the region was thoroughly Romanized even before the Christian Era. Settled by the Visigoths during the 5th century, the area passed to the Franks during the Dark Ages, and in 924 it fell to the counts of Toulouse.

From the 10th through the 12th centuries the Languedoc became the center of an important cultural flowering, with a distinct language; the 'langue d'oc,' a distinct tongue with many difference from French, most notably the use of 'oc' for 'yes' rather than 'oil,' commonly known as 'Provencal.' Note that the linguistic boundaries of the Languedoc are much wider than the political ones.

This flowering came to an abrupt end with the rise of the Albigensians (from 'Albi,' in Toulouse), a most vile heresy which had to be destroyed in a Holy Crusade preached by His Holiness Pope Innocent III in 1209. This resulted in the extermination of the heresy and the return of many souls to the bosom of Holy Mother the Church.

Ecclesiastical authority is divided, with some areas of the county being subject to the Archbishop of Toulouse, but most to the Archbishop of Narbonne. There is a great deal of industry in many of the coastal cities, including shipping and weaving. In the interior there is a great deal of wine produced, as well as grains and some cattle and shepherding.