A history of Montvalent
The history of Montvalent begins in the valley of the river Dordogne at the site of the abandoned village of Brassac. Nearby are the ruins of an ancient priory established to provide shelter and care for those crossing the river on the pilgrimage to Rocamadour, which originated in 1166 and was at its height in the 14th century.
The earliest recorded mention of Brassac is in 1054. At the end of the 12th century, Brassac was sold to the viscount of Turenne who constructed the new fortress of Montvalent on top of the rocky bluff overlooking the river Dordogne.
But records show that Brassac was not totally abandoned until recent times. In 1307 Bernard, count of Comminges, became the viscount of Turenne by mariage, and swore loyalty to the Abbot of Tulle for the viscountcy of Brassac. It is also mentioned in the 16th century and there is a final record of the church of Brassac in 1600. It appears that the site was progressively abandoned after the ravages of the Hundred Years War and the wars of religion, the fortress being more easily defended.
According to local tradition the old cemetery was used periodically up to the end of the 19th century. The church was abandoned 50 years before that. An archeological study has discovered a burial dating from 1847 in the church.
During the Hundred Years War the countryside was ravaged by the Grand Companies and the fortress was occupied for several years by an anglo-gascon garrison as a base to raid neighbouring villages. To add to the misery, as well as leprosy there were many epidemics of plague. The prior of the hospital at Rocamadour wrote in 1363, "The war has lasted 15 years. With that and the high death rate, there are practically no inhabitants left, the land is left uncultivated and income has been reduced to nothing."
In 1372, despite the treaty of Bretigny which brought an end to the war, the Grand Companies continued to ravage Quercy. During this period the ramparts of Montvalent were reduced to ruins. The viscount of Turenne, Guillaume-Roger of Beaufort, was in financial difficulties and called upon his brother Pierre-Roger (pope Gregory XI), who granted a large sum of money to the inhabitants of Montvalent “for the repair and reconstruction of the ramparts”. The bishop of Sarlat, Jean Réveillon, acted as the intermediary.
Despite this, the Grand Companies, who were aware of the poor condition of Montvalent, took it at the end of 1372 and it remained occupied until 1379, when the village was bought by the Count of Armagnac. But the inhabitants did not return and in 1405 the village is recorded as being deserted.
However, after the Hundred Years War, Montvalent became an important place thanks to its port on the river Dordogne. There were around 300 river crossings per day in the 15th century, an important period of pilgrimage to Rocamadour. The hospital of Saint Esprit was founded to cater for the needs of sick and injured pilgrims and in the early 16th century the hospital is recorded as belonging to the hospital of Montpellier. It is known that in 1696 the village of Montvalent had a market hall and a place du Mercadial (market place).
However, the wars of religion soon affected Montvalent. The then viscount of Turenne, Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, joined the protestants and implanted calvinisme in his fiefs. Up to the reign of Henri IV, Haut-Quercy was the victim of raids by the warlords, catholic as well as protestant. In 1588, the seigneur of la Sarladie returned the château of Montvalent, which he had taken several years earlier, to the viscount of Turenne.
From 1738, following the sale of the viscountcy of Turenne to the king of France, the history of Montvalent is linked to that of the kingdom. In 1834, the commune of Montvalent was moved from the canton of Gramat to the canton of Martel and in 1880, the commune had 806 inhabitants compared with 320 today.
