Poitou

Poitou, an old province of France, derives its name from the Pictones or Pictavi, the tribe found in occupation of the district by the Romans. Bounded N. by Touraine, Anjou, and Brittany, E. by Touraine, Berri, and Marche, S. by Angoumois, and Aunis, and W. by the sea, it was divided into Upper and Lower Poitou. The former is now comprised in the departments of Deux-Sevres and Vienne, the latter in La Vendee.