| CASCASTEL CHATEAU |
VERSION FRANCAISEThe habitants of Cascastel
The black and terrible years of Middle Ages.
Most of the population returned to the bosom of the Church after the Albigensian Crusade and
the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258 (ditto), the territory of the Aude, like many other areas, would have to deal with new calamities.
The Plague, coming from Geneva, arrived in the Aude in the Spring of 1348. For two or three months the plague devastated the population and
until the 14th century would return at regular intervals.
“The devastating effects of the plague
coincided with bad or poor harvests which were the result of severe weather conditions. Frost, torrential rain, and hail put at risk the wheat harvests
and between 1300 and 1350 there were at least twenty years when the area was affected by famine and drought. This was followed by a few calm
years and then the severe famine in 1374” (In “Aude, Histoire”, by Dominique Baudereu).
The Hundred Years
War which began in 1337 only affected the Aude to a small degree except for the exploits of the Black Prince in 1355. Edward, Prince of Wales,
son of Edward 111, King of England, launched an assault which began in Bordeaux. He avoided Toulouse, attacked and burnt Castelnaudary,
Villepinte, Alzonne, and then the town at the base of Carcassonne continuing on to Rustique, Marseillette, Lézignan, Canet, Villedaigne.
The buildings and district lying outside the walls of Narbonne were destroyed. On his return he destroyed Cuxac, Capestang, Homps, La
Livinière, Conques, Limoux and Fanjeaux.
The territory was also vulnerable to groups of bandits and merceneries
from Aragon who lived off the country.
These difficulties resulted in a fall of population, the abandonment of some rural areas
and a concentration in areas where the land was better. They are also the origin of important decisions for which some documentary evidence has survived.
The Charter giving some liberties to the habitants of Cascastel
This Charter dated 3rd June, 1349 is written on parchment and is today kept at the
Departmental Archives of the Aude. Authorised by the Chapter of the Abbey at Lagrasse and its representative, Guiraud de Greffeilh, Seigneur
of Cascastel, then confirmed by the Abbot, Hélie de Champeriis, on 3rd February 1350.
The tithe on
the olives is reduced from a quarter to an eleventh. A condamine (see the glossary) could be divided into as many parts as they wanted. All tithes
or taxes had to be paid before the 15th August (the day of the Assumption). The habitants of Cascastel both present and future could bequeath,
and sell the various lands held from the Monastry.
This Charter was made following the plague and the war which had left the
local populations ruined. It is evidence of the continued emancipation of the rural communities in the 14th century.
The Charter of the Fort at Cascastel 1390
This charter details four acts concerning the construction of the Fort of Cascastel. An act of
26th February 1390 gives preliminary agreement. On the 23rd March 1390 the formal witnessing of the act in
public before a Notaire. The formal part of these acts is in Latin (the identity of some of the individuals affected), the object of the act, its
justification and a brief note of the specifications is given in Occitan.
It was agreed by representatives of the village,
the King’s Commissioner, and three representatives of the Seigneurie to the rebuilding of the Fort for the protection of the habitants
and their livestock. This protection was necessary because of raids by lightly armed Aragonaise whose intentions were not the conquest of
the village but robbery and destruction and against whom the walls would prove effective.
Copy of part of the Charter of 1390 showing the signatures of Raymond de Castello and Sicardus of Cassio Castello. (Reproduced from “The signatures of the Charter” in “Le Château de Cascastel” by J. C. Legay)
The Charter is “for the security of the King of France, the Seigneurs of the place and of the
subjects” and for the fortification of the village by making use of the earlier Châteaux and the ancient fortifications of the village.
On the 23rd March 1390 the Notaire, the Seigneurs and their representatives formally gathered near to the old gate to make public the
Act giving their agreement to the construction of a fortress for the habitants of Cascastel. The signatures and sworn oaths were taken before a legal
tribunal in the public square.
The old gate was situated on the south side of the original Castrum and there would have been a
draw bridge and tower protecting it. The site for this gateway was presumably where there is now an archway in which is situated the Juan house,
the old Post Office and the adjacent square.
“On reading this charter it seems that the local Municipal Council gave
considerable significance to this day which drew the village together and encouraged a personal interest in public affairs.”
In J. C. Legay “Le Château de Cascastel”
These far off events are remarkable and are an
indication of the functioning of institutions reputed to be non democratic, but none the less united all those interested around a huge public project.
“The fortification was built in only three years.”
Un capitaine est désigné, il prêtera
serment au Camérier et aux autres seigneurs.
Les droits seigneuriaux ne seront plus perçus sur les
biens occupés par la fortification.
La construction devra être réalisée dans un
délai de trois ans. Ce qui fut fait à l’exception du couronnement des tours.
Le logis des 17 et
18iémes n’était pas là.
Il reste des assises du 13iéme
au nord de la Tour
Et aussi des vestiges du 13iéme, (assises angle de mur, salle voûtée)
rue du Pont Vieux
La chaux est fabriquée sur place.
Le bois est pris dans la
« devèse », dont l’exploitation est réglementée.
Enfin,
le réemploi des matériaux anciens est ici aussi systématique.
Traduction
Yvette Carbonell-Lamothe, in Fortifier une frontière.
