1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Saintonge

SAINTONGE, one of the old provinces of France, of which Saintes (q.v.) was the capital, was bounded on the N.W. by Aunis, on the N.E. by Poitou, on the E. by Angoumois, on the S. by Guienne, and on the W. by Guienne and the Atlantic. It now forms a small portion of the department of Charente and the greater part of that of Charente Inférieure. In the time of Caesar, Saintonge was occupied by the Santones, whose capital was Mediolanum; afterwards it was part of Aquitania Secunda. The civitas Santonum, which formed the bishopric of Saintes, was divided into two pagi: Santonicus (whence Sanctonia, Saintonge) and Alienensis, later Alniensis (Aunis). Halved by the treaty of 1259, it was wholly ceded to the king of England in 1360, but reconquered by Du Guesclin in 1371. Up to 1789 it was in the same gouvernement with Angoumois, but from a judiciary point of view Saintonge was under the parlement of Bordeaux and Angoumois under that of Paris.

See D. Massiou, Histoire politique, civile et religieuse de la Saintonge et de l’Aunis (6 vols., 1836–1839; 2nd ed., 1846); P. D. Rainguet, Biographie saintongeaise (1852). See also the publications of the Société des archives historiques de la Saintonge et de l’Aunis (1874 fol.).