Poitiers (Fr. pron. Pwahteeay'), the capital of the French dep. of Vienne, occupies the summit and slopes of a little eminence, round whose base flow the Clain and the Boivre, 61 miles SSW. of Tours. Before the revolution it had an immense number of religious edifices, which even yet are sufficiently numerous. The most interesting are the little Temple de St Jean, originally a baptistery of the 6th or 7th century; the abbey church of St Radegonde, with the saint's cenotaph, much visited by pilgrims; and the noble cathedral of St Pierre (1161-15th century), in which, or in the older edifice that occupied its site, twenty-three councils were held - the first in the 4th, and the last in the 15th century. Other edifices are the Palais-de-Justice (the palace formerly of the Counts of Poitou) and the H6tel-de-Ville (1876). A university, founded by Charles VII. in 1431, is now represented by a school of law, with faculties also of science and literature. There are besides a public library of 30,000 volumes and 400 MSS., a museum, etc. Pop. (1872) 28,247; (1901) 39,886. Poitiers, the Limonum of the Romans, derives its present name (earlier Poictiers) from the Pictavi or Pic-tones. In and around it are numerous Celtic and Roman remains, a dolmen, baths, fragments of a huge amphitheatre, etc.; and here in 1882 the remains of a whole Gallo-Roman town were discovered, with temple, baths, and streets, spread over 14 acres. In the vicinity Alaric II., the Visigoth, was defeated and slain by Clovis in 507; and between Poitiers and Tours Charles Martel won his great victory in 732 over the Saracens. Later still (19th September 1356), at a spot 5 miles north of Poitiers, Edward the Black Prince defeated King John of France, killing 11,000 and taking more than 2000 prisoners, among these the monarch himself and one of his sons. St Hilary was the first bishop of Poitiers, which long was capital of the province of Poitou.