History Time…Again... Cagots

[scruffy1]

The Cagots (pronounced [ka.ɡo]) were a persecuted minority found in the west of France and northern Spain: the Navarrese Pyrenees, Basque provinces, Béarn, Aragón, Gascony and Brittany. Their name differed by province and the local language: Agotes, Agotak, and Gafos in Basque country; Cagots, Gézitains, Gahets, and Gafets in Gascony; Capots in Anjou and Languedoc; and Cacons, Cahets, Caqueux, and Caquins in Brittany. Evidence of the group exists back as far as AD 1000. Cagots were shunned and hated; while restrictions varied by time and place, they were typically required to live in separate quarters in towns, called cagoteries, which were often on the far outskirts of the villages. Ah…Scruffy…Camino remember? The anti-Cagot prejudice existed in northern Spain, Western France, and Southern France, roughly coinciding with the main routes of the Caminos leading through France into Northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. There was a brief construction boom on the Way of St. James pilgrimage route in the 9th and 10th centuries; this could have brought the guild both power and suspicion. The collapse of their business would have left a scattered yet cohesive group in the areas where Cagots are known. For more info start here: The Discovery of France, Graham Robb Picador 2007 or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagot

 

[Doogman]

I cannot remember exactly where, but I believe it was nearing SJPdP on the Le Puy Route, my guidebook pointed out a church that had a separate doorway for the Cagots. They were not allowed to mingle with the rest of the congregation.

 

[Tincatinker]

An interesting folk. Massa Google will offer loads of "information". but if you just file under "oppressed working class", or "subjective minority", you'll have them fairly well wrapped up. Interesting to note that the areas and eras when the Cagot took their worst kickings were when the landed peasantry of France were under most pressure from Church and State. Its amazing how much better a well beaten dog feels once it has bitten the cat...

 

[Glenshiro]

It's the chapelle de Routges, just east of Montreal de Gers

 

[t2andreo]

I cannot remember exactly where, but I believe it was nearing SJPdP on the Le Puy Route, my guidebook pointed out a church that had a separate doorway for the Cagots. They were not allowed to mingle with the rest of the congregation.

I remember that too, and it was not confined to one church IIRC.

 

[VNwalking]

There was a thread here a while ago about these people, who they were and where from:

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/the-last-untouchable-in-europe-history-of-the-cagot-people-in-the-pyrenees.58543/

It sums up the idiocy of prejudice, because the root of the hatred is unknown, and yet it has persisted.

 

[Purky]

It sums up the idiocy of prejudice, because the root of the hatred is unknown, and yet it has persisted.

And the idiocy is self-perpetuating, because as Graham Robb mentions: "They were feared because they were persecuted and might therefore seek revenge." So it is not unlikely that, with the root of the hatred already forgotten, they were also persecuted because they were feared. A vicious circle.