Béarn

Historical region and former province, southwestern France. It was bounded by Gascony and the Pyrenees; its capital was Pau. It formed part of Aquitania under the Romans; it was later devastated by the Vandals and Visigoths. Held as the countship of Barn by the future Henry IV, it became a holding of the French crown when he became king in 1589. In the 16th century Pau was an important cultural centre under the patronage of Margaret of Angoulme.

Béarn (bāärn'), former province, SW France, in the Pyrenees. It is now the inland part of Pyrénées-Atlantiques dept. Its valleys are well cultivated, and cattle are bred. Pau replaced Orthez as the capital in the 15th cent. The Bearnese are related to the Basques but speak French. Béarn was part of Roman Aquitania. It came (6th cent.) under the control of Gascony and was made (9th cent.) a county. In 1290 it passed to the counts of Foix, who later became kings of Navarre, and in 1484 to the house of Albret. Protestantism was imposed by Jeanne d'Albret. When her son became Henry IV of France, Béarn passed to the crown. However, it remained autonomous until 1620, when Louis XIII annexed it as an anti-Protestant measure. With the Basque districts of French or Lower Navarre, it became a French province under the jurisdiction of the parlement of Navarre, which sat at Pau.