JARNAC  , a

town of western France in the department of Charente, on the right bank of the river Charente, and on the rail-way 23 M . W. of Angouleme, between that city and Cognac . Pop . (1906), 4493• The town is well built; and an avenue, planted with poplar trees, leads to a handsome suspension bridge . The church contains an interesting ogival crypt . There are communal colleges for both sexes . Brandy, wine and wine-casks are made in the town . Jarnac was in 1569 the scene of a battle in which the Catholics defeated the Protestants . A pyramid marks the spot where Louis, Prince de Conde, one of the Protestant generals, was slain . Jarnac gave its name to an old French family, of which the best known member is Gui Chabot, comte de Jarnac (d. c . 1575), whose lucky back-stroke in his famous duel with Chateigneraie gave rise to the proverbial phrase coup de jarnac, signifying an unexpected blow .