The village of Rocamadour nestled to a rock above the gorge of the Alzou river, Lot, Occitania, France
Some background information:
Rocamadour is a commune and pilgrimage site in the department of Lot in southwestern France. The village, which has more than 600 residents, is nestled to a steep rock above the gorge of the Alzou river, a tributary of the Dordogene river. It is located in the far north of the Occitania region and at the heart of the natural preserve Causses du Quercy, about 60 km (37 miles) to the south of the city of Brive-la-Gaillarde and about 166 km (103 miles) to the north of the city of Toulouse.
Rocamadour and its many caves already housed people in the Paleolithic as shown in the cave drawings of the Grotte des Merveilles. The Grotte de Linars cave and its porch served as an underground necropolis and a habitat in the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, the Cadurques people arrived from middle Germany. In the 8th century BC, they colonised the current department of Lot while using their iron weapons.
In the Middle Ages, Rocamadour as it still exists today, was erected on three levels. These levels reflect the three orders of medieval society: the knights on top, linked to religious clerics in the middle and the lay workers at the foot of the rock near the river. Documents mention that in 1105 a small chapel was built in a shelter of the cliff at a place called Rupis Amatoris, at the limit of the territories of the Benedictine abbeys of Saint-Martin at Tulle and Saint-Pierre at Marcilhac-sur-Célé.
In 1112, Eble de Turenne, Abbot of Tulle, settled in Rocamadour. In 1119, a first donation was made by Eudes, Comte de la Marche. In 1148, the first miracle of Rocamadour was announced and the location began to attract pilgrims to the Virgin Mary of Rocamadour. The 12th-century book Livre des Miracles written by a monk from the sanctuary illustrates that at that time Rocamadour had already become famous as a place of pilgrimage.
In 1159, King Henry II of England, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine, came to Rocamadour to thank the Virgin Mary for the healing of his wife. The statue of the Black Madonna dates from the 12th century. Géraud d'Escorailles, who was Rocamadour’s abbot from 1152 to 1188, built the religious buildings, which still can be seen today on Rocamadour’s second level, financed by many donations from visitors. These works were finished at the end of the 12th century.
In 1166, an excavation for a grave in front of the entrance to the chapel of the Virgin uncovered an intact body, presented as that of Saint Amadour. Rocamadour had finally found its patron saint. At least four stories, more or less tinged with legend, presented Saint Amadour as being close to Jesus. The body was burned during the French Wars of Religion and today only fragments of bones remain, on view in the crypt of Saint-Amadour. Saint Amadour is also the saint, from whom the place derives ist name, as "Roca de Amadour" simply means "Rock of Amadour" in English.
In 1211, the pontifical legate during the Albigensian Crusade, Arnaud Amalric, came to spend the winter in Rocamadour. In addition, in 1291, Pope Nicholas IV granted three bulls and forty day indulgences for site visitors. The end of the 13th century saw the height of Rocamadour's influence and the completion of the buildings. At that time, the castle was protected by three towers, a wide moat and numerous lookouts. And at that time, Rocamadour had also become one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Western Europe.
But the 14th century saw Rocamadour’s decline. In 1317, the monks left Rocamadour. The site was then administered by a chapter of canons appointed by the bishop. In the fourteenth century, a cooling climate, famines, epidemics like the Black Death ravaged Europe and hence, also the area of Rocamadour. In 1427, reconstruction was started, but without financial or human resources. A huge rock crushed the chapel of Notre-Dame, which was rebuilt in 1479 by Denys de Bar, Bishop of Tulle.
Subsequently, during the French Wars of Religion, the iconoclastic passage of Protestant mercenaries in 1562 caused the destruction of religious buildings and their relics. Rocamadour was burned and looted, while many statues, paintings, bells, ornaments and jewels were destroyed. Even the relics were desecrated and destroyed, including the body of Saint Amadour. According to witnesses, the Protestant captain Jean Bessonia broke it with a blacksmith's hammer, saying: "I am going to break you, since you did not want to burn". During the French Revolution, the site was looted once again.
The Via Averna, a byway of the Via Podiensis and hence, one of the Ways of St James to Santiago de Compostela, leads through Rocamadour. For that reason, Rocamadour was also listed by UNESCO in 1998 as part of the World Heritage Site "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France".
Since the early 20th century, Rocamadour has become more of a tourist destination than a pilgrimage center, although pilgrimage continues and remains important. The site's gravity-defying churches and the Black Madonna statue remain a spiritual draw for both Catholic pilgrims and for visitors who practice earth-based or New Age religions, being drawn to stories of Rocamadour's "strange energies" and pre-Christian origins.
By the way, if you look up in Rocamadour’s monastic second level, you will most likely see a sword stuck in the rocks. It is said, that this sword is Durendal, the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. The sword is famous for its hardness and sharpness. Legend has it that in an attempt to break Durendal, Roland cut a huge gash in the mountainside with just one blow.
Another local legend holds that instead of dying in Iberia with Durendal hidden under his body, Roland called on the Archangel Michael for assistance and with the help of the Archangel, was able to throw the sword several hundred kilometres across the border into France, where it came to rest in Rocamadour. Unfortunately the sword was stolen in 2024, not for the first time in history.
The commune of Rocamadour has also become a member of the association "The most beautiful villages of France" (in French: "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France"), which promotes small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. Currently 176 villages throughout France are pooled under the umbrella of the organisation. Furthermore, Rocamadour is also known for its goat cheese of the same name.
