Par Writing Cahors
Published on August 6, 23 at 7:00 See my news Follow Actu Lot In the shade of age-old chestnut trees, every August 11, the Caminel fair (near Gourdon) still attracts thousands of people. ©André Decup
Around the 1300s, in the Lot en Quercy as in most of the West, an original human group made its appearance: trade craftsmen and merchants. They are wanderers or adventurers who set up their warehouses in cities. Squeezed into tightly interwoven alleys, they live there, in a confused gathering of shops and workshops. And meet on fixed dates in cities renowned for their fairs.
Between the end of the Albigensian war and the misfortunes of the 14th century (plagues and conflict with England), the king was now able to ensure peace in his kingdom. A happy period begins. Economic activity is manifested by strong times. Among them, the fairs.
Cahors, Figeac, Gourdon and Martel have important fairs
The fair is a privilege granted by the king. The exemption from tolls, the collation of multiple advantages made it possible to attract large numbers of merchants, which benefited the entire community.
The main “auctioned fairs” in the southwest of France are those of Moissac, Montauban, Castelsarrasin, Rodez, Brive, Périgueux, Agen, Tulle, Sarlat and Limoges.
It was then that Cahors, Figeac, Gourdon and Martel won in Quercy. Cahors, despite the large trade that was done there, had a fair only from 1338.
The Church, at this time, worked to develop economic sites around important monasteries, such as fairs. Around 1150, for example, the Augustinian priory of Notre Dame de Caminel was created near Gourdon, a dependency of the abbey of Artige, in Limousin. The monks create an annual fair there which still persists.
But, patiently or at a price of gold, the powers of the bishop of Cahors, lord of the city, of the abbot of Figeac, of the Gourdons, of the viscount of Turenne, are nibbled away by the consuls who want to decide.
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Cities (now simple towns) benefit from this flourishing economy, such as Cajarc, Gramat, Labastide, Castelnau, Lacapelle, Lalbenque, Luzech, Montcuq, Saint-Céré. All these places benefit from the consuls, charters establishing their “freedoms”. Hence the abundance and luxury that will result from it, alongside the extreme destitution of the rural populations.
Poverty, considered an affliction in medieval society, is recognized as a normal element. Because in the Christian perspective, the poor allow the rich to obtain their salvation: they can, if they make donations, go to paradise.
The fairs are high points, because people come there in large numbers and from afar.
Alongside the towns mentioned, other towns set up on certain occasions “displays” such as Rocamadour, Mirabel, Flaugnac, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Lalbenque, Luzech, Salviac, Castelfranc, Puy-l’Évêque, Souillac, Bretenoux.
For regional trade, fairs are high points. Because people come here in large numbers and from afar. It was the only way to get products from foreign countries (spices).
Around 1330, Gourdon had four fair periods: two days around Saint Barnabas (June 11), two days for Sainte Madeleine (July 22), three days at Saint-Barthélemy (August 24), two days for Saint Michael (September 29). And the choice of locations gives rise to bitter discussions that sometimes lead to fights.
Market gardeners, breeders and tripe
Goods flow in from outside to ensure redistribution. Whether cereals sold to farmers and ploughmen, wines to ship to surrounding regions.
Farmers and shopkeepers present their products in the streets.
Cattle breeders occupy the squares with oxen and mules for field work, donkeys and mares for breeding, horses for nobles and consuls, cows, goats and sheep for milk production.
A report of the leudes (or tolls) of 1334 gives an idea of this large food trade. Participating in international trade, they will buy, transport and resell in Europe English wool, Flemish cloth, spices from the Levant.
The amassed fortunes create a bourgeoisie of businessmen who are both traders and financiers. Cattle, clothing and tools presented at Gourdon: “On the Friday after Saint Barhélémy, one meets market gardeners and tripe traders, haberdashers, drapers and weavers, boilermakers, earthen and tin potters, cobblers, sellers of pots and jugs, merchants of tallow and fat, of kid or deer hides”. Without forgetting the cheesemongers and merchants of vegetables, poultry, salted fish.
Cahors participates in international trade
In the Middle Ages, the waterways made it possible to transport heavier loads than the land routes while offering less insecurity. Hence the important position of Cahors located on the Lot river. With the English dominating Aquitaine and its outlet on the Atlantic, the Montpellier-La Rochelle land route became a strategic point linking the two main centers of the European economy, that of the Mediterranean and that of the North Sea: it goes through Cahors.
Thus, Quercy merchants will expatriate themselves in the 13th century as far as Flanders, England, Genoa, Spain, Portugal and Norway.
They are also bankers who change currencies, operate fund transfers and lend money.
The fair, a place of conviviality and joy
Fairs played an important role from the 13th century. They are public places where people meet.
Vital for human exchanges, these fairs are a warm time for sharing and therefore an important place for community life. The men find themselves in the taverns conversing, over a drink, about the affairs of the city.
Moment of life, conviviality and joy, the fair is awaited by the inhabitants. Entertainment takes place there: jugglers and musicians, hucksters and fire-eaters. Its name comes from “feria”, a day of celebration and which gave the expression “to do the fair”. Along with trade, the Middle Ages brought knowledge to the populations.
The cities acquire the monopoly of science. A new profession appears: that of teaching, which sells its science like merchandise. The University of Cahors, founded in 1332 by the generosity of Jean XXII, the child of the country who became pope, attracts masters and students from afar. True values then become spiritual.
André DECUP
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