Record Atlas
6 eras · 800–2026 · 1 places

Béarn

Pau, Orthez, Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Navarrenx, Lescar. Which empire held this ground in which years — and, the part that matters, which archive that means.

Whose archive this ground was

YearsWho held itWhose archive that means
800–1290 Viscounty of Béarn no registers survive

Before registers. A viscounty of Béarn emerged in the 9th century, and its lords shifted between the influence of Gascony, Aragon, England and France.
1290–1347 Béarn under the counts of Foix no registers survive

In 1290 Roger Bernard III of Foix inherited Béarn and Nébouzan from his father-in-law Gaston VII, beginning a long feud with the House of Armagnac.
1347–1620 Sovereign principality of Béarn Archives départementales des Pyrénées-Atlantiques · FamilySearch · Geneanet

In 1347 Gaston III (Fébus) claimed that Béarn was held from God and from no man, and it became a de facto sovereign principality. It passed through the Grailly and Navarre lines to the House of Bourbon, and Henry IV of France was born at Pau.
1620–1790 Kingdom of France - Béarn united with Navarre Archives départementales des Pyrénées-Atlantiques · FamilySearch · Geneanet

Béarn and Navarre were united with the French crown in 1620.
1790–1969 France - Basses-Pyrénées department Archives départementales des Pyrénées-Atlantiques · FamilySearch · Geneanet

The department of Basses-Pyrénées was created on 4 March 1790 from Béarn, Labourd, Soule and Lower Navarre, with its first seat at Navarrenx; the prefecture moved to Pau on 14 October 1790. Orthez and Mauléon arrondissements were abolished in 1926.
1969–2026 France - Pyrénées-Atlantiques Archives départementales des Pyrénées-Atlantiques · FamilySearch · Geneanet

The department was renamed Pyrénées-Atlantiques on 10 October 1969, which matters when searching catalogues under the old name.

The rings are approximate — deliberately. They exist to shade which filing system a place fell under, not to adjudicate a border. A place near a ring's edge should be checked against both neighbours.

See the whole span, 800–2026, on the map →

The map takes a range, and a range that crosses one of the rows above is where records get lost: the family never moved, and the archive on the far side of the handover will tell you it holds nothing.

1 places on this ground

118 FamilySearch collections reach this ground

Ranked with the regional ones first — a collection for a province is usually a better lead than a national index, though the national index is often where a name is actually written down. A free account opens the images.

…and 58 more.

All record regions · The map