| CASCASTEL CHATEAU |
VERSION FRANCAISE |
Medievel History - Fraudulent Acquisition A charter from the time of Charlemagne dated prior to 800 (Archives of the Department of the Aude), is
regarded as justifying the formal existence of the Act founding the Abbey of St Marie d’Orbieu, which profited enormously from donations. This
Charter only confirmed the foundation of a Benedictine Abbey already in existence. < The tower of the Abbey of Lagrasse In the 13th Century the monks forged false Papal Bulls dated 1118 and 1119 placing
Cascastel among the possessions of the Abbey at Lagrasse in order to safeguard the property at the time of the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar
heresy. Archeological research has dated the church and the Keep of Cascastel to be the beginning of the 12th Century. |
| Seigneurial rights of possession were based on custom or force of arms and usually had no legal standing. Various papers were forged
to give an appearance of ownership to the occupying Seigneur. The fact that these forgeries were considered necessary indicate that long standing
custom seemed to have given claim to the land. Cascastel and Quintillan were situated at the outer limits of the Roman city of Narbonne. Place names have preserved the memory of numerous “villas”, rural settlements, and mines on which the owners built small chapels dedicated to various Saints. The grouping of people into small communities yielded some degree of protection and also facilitated the collection of taxes. At the beginning of the 12th century Cascastel had a Church and a Castrum and evidence of both these structures can still be seen today. Lagrasse La tour des abbés XVéme, |
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