Count of Poitiers

Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (or Poitou, in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are:

Poitou

Poitou (French pronunciation: ​[pwatu]) was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.

History

The region of Poitou was called Thifalia (or Theiphalia) in the sixth century.

There is a marshland called the Poitevin Marsh (French Marais Poitevin) on the Gulf of Poitou, on the west coast of France, just north of La Rochelle and west of Niort.

By the Treaty of Paris of 1259, King Henry III of England recognized his loss of continental Plantaganet territory to France (including Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Poitou).

During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries Poitou was a hotbed of Huguenot (French Calvinist) activity among the nobility and bourgeoisie and was severely impacted by the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598).

Many of the Acadians who settled in what is now Nova Scotia beginning in 1604 and later to New Brunswick, came from the region of Poitou. After the Acadians were deported by the British beginning in 1755, some of them eventually took refuge in Québec. A large portion of these refugees also migrated to Louisiana in 1785 and eventually became known as Cajuns.

Poitou donkey

The Poitou donkey or Poitou ass (French: Baudet du Poitou), also called the Poitevin donkey or simply the Poitou, is a breed of donkey originating in the Poitou region of France. It is one of the largest donkey breeds, and was selected for size so that it could be used for the production of large working mules, in conjunction with the Poitevin horse breed. It is known for its distinctive coat, called a cadanette, which hangs in long, ungroomed cords. Breeders originally prized the coats highly, but today, many Poitou donkeys are shorn for hygienic reasons.

Poitous developed in the French Poitou region, possibly from donkeys introduced to the area by the Romans. They may have been a status symbol during the Middle Ages, and by the early 18th century, their physical characteristics had been established. A studbook for the breed was established in France in 1884, and the 19th and early 20th centuries saw them being used for the production of mules throughout Europe. During this same time, Poitou bloodlines were also used to develop other donkey breeds, including the American Mammoth Jack in the United States. Increasing mechanization in the mid-20th century saw a decline in the need for, and hence population of, the breed, and by 1977, a survey found only 44 members worldwide. Conservation efforts were begun by a number of public and private breeders and organizations, and by 2005 there were 450 purebred Poitou donkeys.