An incredible book to discover the past of one of the most beautiful cities in Gironde

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A lovely piece to put under the tree. The new book from Friends of the City, History of Bazas, the founding texts from the Middle Ages to the Revolutionwas revealed.

A little treasurewithout a doubt. Loïc Beurdeley presented the work, which allows you to learn more about the medieval city of Gironde, known for its cathedral.

“There were no or few traces” of Bazas

“I was invited to an exhibition of Gironde towns in the Middle Ages organized by the Departmental Archives,” says Loïc Beurdeley. I thought Bazas would be more present, but there was no no or few traces of the city. I was told that this was due to the fire in 1561 caused by the Protestants and the destruction of the feudal documents of Bazas in 1793. So I set out on the trail ancient texts by Bazas with the help of Irène Dauphin who translates ancient texts. »

The importance of the bishopric of Bazas

“In the Middle Ages, the bishopric of Bazas was important in Aquitaine. Thanks to the old backups and in the absence of original documents, we can go back to Grégoire de Tours who speaks of Bazas several times in his writings, including the story of the legend of the matron of Bazas,” explains Loïc Beurdeley, a history buff.

He adds: “Then we move on to 1081 and the donation of Saint-Vivien and the paréage texts (agreement between a lord who requests protection from another more powerful lord) in 1283 between the bishopric of Bazas and the Duke of Aquitaine. Then, there is the installation of the jurade, ancestor of the municipal councilin 1340 and the reconstitution of the privileges of the town of Bazas in 1581. With all this, we were able to reconstitute administrative and social organization de Bazas in the Middle Ages. »

During the presentation of the book, Irène Dauphin, specialist in paleography, intervened to explain paréage, this convention or contract which made it possible to put in place the links necessary for administrative and judicial functioning of everyday life.

Then, she mentioned the organization of the jurade, a specific name in the south of France to designate what we today call a municipal council.

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