the monastic borough

The great era for Conques, from the mid 11^th century until the first third of the 12^th, relates to the period of construction of the abbey-church. Saint-Foy monastery reached its peak under the impulse of Abbot Begon III (1087-1107). While pursuing the work in the new church, started by his predecessors Odolric (before 1031-1065) and Etienne II (1065-1087), Begon also started the reconstruction of the monastic buildings and the cloister, due to the increasing number of monks. Conques was changing to become a huge construction site. He commanded "the insertion of gold into many relics" and the making of some of the most beautiful pieces of the Treasure, in the goldsmith and enamel workshops during his office as abbot. At the same time, a monastic school with its library and scriptorium was proved to have existed.

While the ecclesiastic community expanded, a lay community composed of merchants and tradesmen gathered around it, freeing themselves progressively from the religious authority. For example, a 1288-1289 charter by Abbot Raymond Dufour confirmed the granting of economic privileges to the lay community, recognising by that means the existence in Conques of an universitas, with trustees at its head. In this 13^th century, each new clerical dignitary taking office, as was the case for Abbot Hugues de Panat in 1250, had to consent to give away part of his power, with the obligation to recognise that he couldn't not collect anymore the "tallage, tithe or injury to feelings" from the population. Reaching further back in time, the early presence of four conciliation board members in Conques, already named "consuls" (cosols in Occitan), is attested in a document dating from the first ten years of the same century. A consulate was born and its influence in the economy in particular would rise in the future. Already, at the dawn of the year Thousand, the Book of Miracles of Saint Foy, revealed the life of an "important city resting on the hill above the monastery".

In fact, a true city developed on the sunny slopes dominating the abbey, protected by surrounding walls of ramparts, pierced by fortified gates and reinforced with towers on their flanks. A network of narrow streets, a few of them cobbled, led to the sanctuary and different dwelling areas. Despite the steep gradient, many fountains provided water to the residents and a medieval market hall made up the heart of the economic trade.

In the suburban district, a single borough developed with a concentration of workshops (mills and tanneries on the Ouche and Dourdou embankments) and craftsmen shops such as cloth makers, tailors and shoemakers, in particular.

During its heyday, in the 12^th century, the exact number of inhabitants is uncertain. However, in 1341, Conques still counted 730 hearths (which meant an extended household, according to historian demographers), amounting to about 3 000 inhabitants, ranking Conques in the 7^th position among the cities of the Rouergue. It was not a simple village, but a truly urban area, directed by four consuls yearly elected by the residents. At the end of medieval times, the regional fairs seemed to function as a substitute for the declining pilgrimage contributions. During the 15^th century, King Charles VII authorised, for example, the annual fairs and weekly markets.

The monastery secularisation in 1537 didn't put a radical halt to the city prosperity. On the contrary, the new community of canons under the Rules of Saint Augustine had substantial means and was part of an elitist clientele for the local merchants and tradesmen. Many of these canons fled the austerity of the monastery to live in luxurious private residences. But times of disaster and misery would soon strike. The blaze started by the Huguenots in 1568, which damaged part of the church and the cloister, was followed by successive episodes of epidemics and famines. The plague of 1628 was particularly deadly. The residents, in panic, took refuge in the secados (little buildings where chestnuts were dried, deep in the woods). These episodes were followed by disastrous harvests, leading to a new wave of mortality, such as during the years 1693-1694, as was noted in the parish registry. The canons had to rescue the hungry population with a free distribution of beans.

Conques had a hard time rising back from these scourges. In the mid-18^th century, the population added up to less than a thousand. On the eve of the 1789 Revolution, only six hundred and thirty souls were accounted for. However, the dark picture shouldn't be exaggerated. During the last two centuries of the Ancien Regime, many buildings were erected. Besides the canons and the fraternal community of priests who had settled in the parish of Saint-Thomas of Canterbury church, next to the abbey, there also coexisted many men of law, rich merchants and prosperous tradesmen. One example is the carpenter named Guillaume Chirac, related to Pierre Chirac born in Conques in 1657 and who became, later on, after a notorious career, King Louis XV's first physician. Yet, the peasants and the grape growers constituted, with the beggars, the majority of Conques population. In 1771, the local priest answered a survey ordered by His Lordship Champion de Cicé which related to the diocese living conditions, with the following words: "There is no trade because of lack of suitable roads... The two third of the families spend most of their days without any bread... There are about eighty-four disabled persons, counting many children and one hundred beggars in the parish". The priest finished this sad picture by saying: "Today, suffering from hunger, living from chestnuts, selling ones lands and working for someone else, this is how we live, here stands the situation!"

This situation worsened more during the Revolution years. The decree from the National Constituent Assembly suppressing the religious orders in France, hit the city hard, as it caused the closing of the monastery and the dispersion of the canons. The last abbot at the head of the Chapter, François-René d'Adhémar de Panat, former Almoner of the Princesses Henriette and Adelaide, daughters of Louis XV, retired to Rodez. The loss was irreparable. The canons were in charge of the abbey maintenance, but were also managing the hospital of Saint-Foy, which welcomed the destitute. The municipality, newly elected, now responsible for all these expenses, was overwhelmed and could not face the burden, for it had insufficient financial means.

The downfall sped up with the 19^th century and Conques fell to the simple rank of a village, yet still with the responsibilities of the principal town of the area, insuring a minimum of economic vitality.

Under the July Monarchy, an exceptional event occurred: the visit in 1836 of the writer Prosper Mérimée, Inspector in charge for the Historical Monuments. He brought to the attention of the governmental authorities the state of dilapidation, in which stood the Romanesque abbey-church. This journey of inspection, carried out during a tour of the Auvergne, is the origin of the rediscovery, the study and the conservation of the medieval heritage. From now on, this major monument of western architecture, classified among the Historical Monuments, would benefit from a particular attention and public grants, for its restoration. To the global awakening of the successive political governments, were added the ones from local religious authorities, amongst whom, standing in the first row, was the emblematic figure of Cardinal Bourret, the diocese bishop, who favoured the coming in 1873 of a new clerical community. It belonged to the order of the Norbertians (Premontres), who were charged with reviving the spirituality of the place while resuming the traditional pilgrimage to Saint Foy.

Such a rich history and a prestigious heritage, safe guarded, continuously maintained and improved, for the last one hundred and fifty years, puts Conques near the top of the list of cultural sites most visited in France.