Vez and the Roman Empire - 1st to 5th Century BC

From here you can enjoy the beautiful panorama of the Autumn Valley. “Autumn” is the name of a very colourful season, but actually, the Autumn Valley is named after the river that runs at the foot of the hill in front of you, called the Autumn river. This little stream even gave its name to the whole Country of Valois, which is to say how important Vez was at one point! 

The reason for this is the following :  in French, the word for a small stream is “gué”, which is “vadum” in latin. This region was called the “Pagum Vadensis”, “vadensis” deriving from “vadum”. And this “Pagum Vadensis” gave the word “Valois”, which is both the name of the county, the “Pays de Valois”, and also that of a French royal dynasty. All this from the little stream down the hill… 

But why is Vez such an important place? Firstly, it is very old: Vez already existed as a settlement in the 1st century BC. It was the headquarters of Gallic tribes. After that, from the 1st to the 5th century, the Roman Empire controlled a large part of Gallic territory, including the region of Vez.  The Romans were subject to many attacks by the Franks, often known as the “barbarian invasions”. It was to fight off these attacks that the Romans set up one of their most important camps in Vez.  

Later, in 486, the Romans suffered a great defeat at the Battle of Soissons, which was won by Clovis, king of the Franks. Vez then took on a special significance to the Franks, and became the capital of Valois. The Franks built a fortified castle of stone and wood, the remains of which are unfortunately lost.  From then on, it was no longer the Romans but the Franks who reigned over this territory. This is the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Click on « Next » to discover the history of Vez in Middle Ages.