Meyrueis (; ) is a commune in the Lozère department in southern France.
Geography
The town of Meyrueis is located between the foothills of Mont Aigoual to the south and the Causse Méjean to the north. The town thus marks the border between the geographic areas of the Grands Causses, Causse Noir and Causse Méjean, and the Cévennes Mountains. Three rivers meet there: the Jonte, the Béthuzon and the Brèze. The communal territory extends across 10,468 hectares, delimited by an approximate rectangle 25 km long and 10 km wide. It has an average altitude of 706 metres; the highest point is 1562 metres.
The neighbouring towns are Saint-Pierre-des-Tripiers and Hures-la-Parade to the north, Gatuzières to the east, and Saint-Sauveur-Camprieu and Lanuéjols to the south. To the south-west, lies the commune of Veyreau in the Aveyron département.
History
From Prehistory to the Gallo-Roman Period
The earliest evidence of a permanent settlement in the valley of Meyrueis dates from the end of prehistory. The region is divided between different Celtic tribes: Gabales on the Causse Méjean, Rutenes next to Rozier and the Causse Noir, and Volques Arécomiques between Meyrueis, Mount Aigoual and Nemausus (Nîmes). The agglomeration of Meyrueis itself appears at the beginning of the Christian area on a terrace dominating the confluence of the Jonte with the Brèze and the Béthuzon. An excavation, conducted in the 1980s in the district of Claouset, has identified a group of houses located around a public monument (temple or civil basilica?). This Gallo-Roman settlement dates from the 1st century. Other vestiges of the same period also mark the region. The valleys of Meyrueis then form the northwest boundary of the civitas (administrative territory and diocese) of Nîmes.Gilbert Fages, « Meyrueis » in Jean-Luc Fiches (dir), Les Agglomérations gallo-romaines en Languedoc-Roussillon. Projet collectif de recherche (1993-1999), Lattes, 2002 (tome II, p. 905-909).
The birth of a barony
At the fall of the Roman Empire, the Meyrueis region is included in the Visigothic kingdom. In the 8th century, during the Arab invasion of Spain, the kingdom disappears. The Gallic part, the Septimania, in a period dominated by the Saracens, is integrated into the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century, the powerful family of Anduze, descendants of the last Visigoth counts of Nîmes, reigns over the entire region. Meyrueis then marks the boundaries between the States of Languedoc, to which it belongs, and the neighbouring counties of Gévaudan and Rouergue. Overlooking the city from a height of fifty metres on le Rocher (the Rock) sits a fortress of Carolingian origin belonging to the barons of Meyrueis, the youngest branch of the Anduze family. Meyrueis is also the seat of local viguerie (administrative court) representing the Viscount of Nîmes over a territory extending from the Causse Méjean to the upper valley of the Hérault river. Following various marriages and inheritances, the barony and castle then successively belong to the House of Roquefeuil-Anduze (1129), the Counts of the County of Rodez (1230), the House of Armagnac (1298), and the Counts of Alençon before falling in 1321 to the Albret family.
A medieval market town
Located between Causses and Cévennes, the city becomes an important centre for trade and transhumance between Auvergne and Bas-Languedoc in the 10th century. Three-yearly fairs, including that of St Michael (Saint-Michel), lasting ten days until the end of September, and its weekly market attested from 1033, attract vendors and buyers from the three provinces. These crowds justify the existence of many hostels, inns and pubs (including Maison Portalier) and the presence of a tiny Jewish quarter (the Judarié). Trading covers cereals, wool, cattle, horses, and mules. The important fair of St Michael also marks the period for local credit payments, hiring shepherds and other workers, and concluding farm contracts.This St Michael's fair still takes place on the last Sunday of September
Religious presence in the Middle Ages
The Camin Ferrat is the path connecting the Gévaudan and Causse Méjean with the famous Gellone Abbey at Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert in Languedoc. It enters the city by the southern gate (the Pied de Ville) after the bridge over the Jonte river (le Pont Vieux), and crosses the city. The tomb of Saint Guilhem and the supposed relics of the Holy Cross still attract crowds. On this path in the early 11th century, the barons of Meyrueis erect a small Roman-style priory dedicated to St Peter (c1034?).Laurent Schneider,"Cités, Castrum et pays : espaces en Gaule méditéranéenne durant le haut Moyen Age In 1042, the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of Gellone receive the priory as the gift from Bermont de Sauve and his brother Almérade d'Anduze.L. Cassan & E. Meynial Capitulaires des Abbayes d'Aniane et Gellone In 1058, the powerful monastery of St Victor of Marseilles is established in the valley with the acquisition of Saint-Martin-des-Ayres (1 km east of the city). In the 12th century, the hospital of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (Knights of Malta today) found a hospital and a church dedicated to St John. Owners of large estates on the Causse Noir, they also create a mill in the city and a house for the commander.
An independent municipality (13th to 15th century)
In 1229, the citizens of Meyrueis receive a charter granting broad autonomy to the city: a mayor (the sendic-majer), assisted by a council of 13 members, governs the city. The town house (Maison Commune, later Maison des Consuls) is located near a tiny square, next to the town oven, where citizens can cook their bread by virtue of a municipal tax. Ramparts are erected around the city. They are pierced by three gates (Pied-de-Ville, Méjeane, and Cap de Ville). One of the towers is installed with the town clock in the 14th century. In addition to trading, Meyrueis becomes a centre for the manufacture of woollen products. Many carders, weavers and spinners treat sheep fleeces from the Causses to produce a popular strong fabric.
From the mid-15th century two consuls head the municipality.Philippe Chambon cites the date of 1432, from a letter in the Thalamus Despite the turmoil of the late Middle Ages (crusade against the Cathars, the Hundred Years' War, plagues and famines,...) Meyrueis continues to grow.
The hat factories and the Protestant Reformation (16th century)
In the 16th century, a new profession emerges among Meyrueis artisans: hatters. They produce headwear from a pelt made of a blend of fine wool with floss silk (noble waste from cocoon spinning). By mid-century, the town is won over to the Protestant Reformation. In 1559, the consuls decree the adoption of the Calvinist religion. Conflicts and religious convulsions last two centuries. At the outbreak of unrest, Catholic religious communities are dissolved and churches are demolished (like the priory of Saint-Pierre). The celebration of Catholic worship is interrupted from 1560 to 1620. The population, which then exceeds 2,000 inhabitants, is all Protestant. A temple is built in the main street (before 1580): a large square building surrounded by two-storey stands, which can accommodate nearly a thousand faithful. The medieval city walls are also strengthened (the clock tower is rebuilt in 1568). The office of "viguier" (governor of the castle and court judge) is now owned by the family Pagès de Pourcares (who also hold the barony of Roquedols). François Hérail Pagès de Pourcarès, nicknamed Captain Pourcarès, distinguishes himself as leader of the Protestant troops during local battles. The same occurs with the Galtiers operating from the Priory of Ayres, which became a real castle.
Catholic reconquest (17th century)
In 1607, Henri IV of France, who inherited the castle Meyrueis from his mother, Jeanne d'Albret, unites his possessions into the Royal Domain.The last rights to use the title of Baron de Meyrueis will be abandoned to the crown on 29 November 1774 Some years later, Jean Gely of Costelongue, Lieutenant of the Royal Viguier, collects all the official titles and acts of the barony of Meyrueis and transcribes them in a register, the Thalamus (1620). With the revolt of the Protestant cities of western and southern France against the young King Louis XIII, the castle loses his last seat in May 1628. Henri, Duke of Rohan, military leader of the rebels, lays siege with several thousand men before le Rocher. The latter, held by a garrison loyal to the king, threaten insurgency in the city. After three weeks of siege, the 130 soldiers of the Royal Captain Regis surrender, leaving the castle in the hands of the Duke. But this success is short-lived: the Duke is defeated in 1629. The Peace of Alès provides an amnesty for the rebels but orders the destruction of their fortifications. The castle and the two main gates of the city are demolished in 1632. It will not be until the mid-17th century that the Catholic religion is restored permanently. Around 1655, Anthyme Denis Cohon, Bishop of Nîmes in charge of the parish of Meyrueis, entrusts a Jesuit community with the restoration of Catholic worship.Until 1720, all acts in town must be signed by the Jesuits Three priests are responsible for the return to the Catholic faith of Protestant citizens who constitute 90% of the population. The large church of St Peter, with its adjacent convent, is consecrated in 1663. The Jesuits also create a college in the former priory. They receive the best sons of Protestant families, placed there by the authorities to obtain their abjuration. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, recognized locally by the erection of a cross "de la Contre-Réforme", sees the destruction of the first Protestant church that had been built around 1580. In 1694, to better manage the newly converted Huguenots of the Cévennes, Louis XIV creates the diocese of Alès.In 1877, the diocese of Alès is included in the diocese of Nîmes Meyrueis becomes the seat of one of the Archpriests of the new diocese.
Meyrueis in the 18th century
Throughout the 18th century, the Protestant community of Meyrueis continues to pursue some resistance to the royal persecution. From 1685 to 1791, companies of dragoons are stationed in Meyrueis. They carry out their manoeuvres and exercises on the Champ de Mars (Le Pré Nouveau) and are lodged with local families. The Joly de Morey house recalls the history of this distinguished Protestant family after a dragoons' captain married the housemaid, Judith Vallat Lisside. He is supposed to convert his new family to Catholicism. Captivated by the obstinate resistance of his wife and his wife's family, he himself adopts the Protestant religion: he is then sentenced to the galleys and exiled to Geneva. The Camisards War also affects the region between 1702 and 1705. A brotherhood of White Penitents brings together some of the converted distinguished citizens. The economic prosperity of the city continues however with the hatters, whose numbers are growing, and trading, including that of draught animals, very active in 1780. Other houses of notables, merchants or landowners mark the outskirts of Meyrueis: Maison Maurin (or Grande Maison) in the late 17th century, the Cavalier House, Maison de Thomassy, de Bragouse de Saint-Sauveur. In 1760, the parish counts only 400 Catholic faithful in a population of almost 4,000 souls (including all the surrounding villages). The religious situation calms down a little at the end of the century: a Protestant parsonage is built in 1783.
Revolution and religious pacification (1789-1880)
The French Revolution assigns the city of Meyrueis, as well as the ephemeral municipality Meyrueis, Campagne, (1793-1819), to the newly created department of Lozère (corresponding to the former Gévaudan province), breaking the multi-secular ties with the Languedoc province.