BRIGNOLES  , a

town in the department of Var in the S.E. of France, 36 m. by rail N. of Toulon . Pop . (1906) 3639 . It is built at a height of 754 ft. above the sea-level, in a fertile valley, and on the right bank of the Carami river . It contains the old summer palace of the counts of Provence, and has an active trade, especially in prunes, known as prunes de Brignoles . Its old name was Villa Puerorum, as the children of the counts of Provence were often brought up here . It was sacked on several occasions during the religious wars in the 16th century . Twelve miles to the N.W. is St Maximin (with a fine medieval church), which is one of the best starting-points for the most famous pilgrimage resort in Provence, the Sainte Baume, wherein St Mary Magdalene is said to have taken refuge . This is 20 M. distant by road . (W . A . B .