Stephen Branley's photos with the keyword: Nouvelle-Aquitaine

The Legend: In 1170 Queen Sancie, widow of the recently deceased Gaston V of the Béarn, was accused of the murder of her newly born and malformed son. King Sancho VI of Navarre, brother of Sancie, decides that only the trial of water can certify the guilt or the innocence of the accused. The ordeal takes place in the presence of 3,000 people gathered near the bridge. The queen is thrown from the bridge into the Gave, bound hand and foot. But instead of being engulfed by the living waters, her unconscious body resurfaces further down the river and deposited on the beach. The queen is declared innocent and is acclaimed by the crowd.

The old bridge of Orthez over the Gave de Pau was built in the 13th century on the orders of Gaston VII de Moncade when he made Orthez the capital of Béarn; it connected the city centre to the suburbs. In 1274 the bridge had a single span and two towers, by 1589 there was only one. Today it is well known for its single tower and unequal arches...

At each side of the towers were wooden decks that could be withdrawn if the bridge came under attack. Which it did twice; in August 1569 by the Protestant Huguenot troops of Montgommery after the battle of Orthez where the attacking force threw the Catholic priests from one of the windows in the towers into the raging waters of the Gave de Pau...

In February 1814 the forces of the Duke of Wellington attacked the retreating troops of Napoleon Bonaparte where 45 rearguard troops of the rearguard army of Marshal Soult resisted continued attacks for a day and eventually tried to blow up the bridge but failed, the assault resulted in a partial rebuilding and widening of the structure...