News
February 8, 2025
While the Côte du Rhône Village Plan de Dieu appellation stands out for its quality, the name of this plain, which straddles the territories of the villages of Camaret sur Aigues, Jonquières, Violès and Travaillan, retains a mysterious origin.
We have compiled below a non-exhaustive list of possible origins of this very special name, which first appeared in official registers on September 18, 1326.
The migration of the Prébayon nuns
Legend has it that a small convent of nuns from Prébayon in the Dentelles de Montmirail settled on these lands. These nuns, u seeking a place to meditate, chose this isolated plain to found a sanctuary dedicated to prayer and helping travelers. They lived humbly, offering shelter to pilgrims and caring for the wounded. Their vine-growing activity and the particular quality of the finished products would have led them to call this place the “Plan de Dieu”.
The Brigands of the Plain
During the reign of the popes in Avignon (1309-1377), another, darker facet of the “Plan de Dieu” came to light. As the plain was a busy passageway for merchants and pilgrims leaving Avignon, brigands set up their lairs here. These bandits held travelers to ransom, turning the area into a feared danger zone. Voaygeurs venturing onto the plain therefore surrendered their souls to God, the name remaining thereafter.
A more pragmatic etymology
Some historians and linguists put forward a more rational explanation. In Old French and Occitan, the word “plan” refers to a plain. So “Plan de Dieu” could simply mean a vast plain, generous and conducive to agriculture, hence its link with the vineyards that still thrive in the region today. This more down-to-earth explanation is in line with the version of the Prébayon nuns, and would confirm the quality of the land on this plain.
We stress that this article merely mentions a few legends and hypotheses about the origin of the name and cannot be considered as a document reflecting the work of a historian.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
