AVEYRON MAGAZINE
Issue 3 templars in Aveyron | chapter 1 Birds of Aveyron | chapter 1
AVEYRON MAGAZINE
Art, History, Heritage, Food, Wine, etc. published by Experience (my) France Ă?Cover original watercolours: Grey Heron and Golden Eagle www.ExperienceMyFrance.com
THE TEMPLARS IN AVEYRON [CHAPTER I] « Dieu le veut... » (“God wants it”)
the tomb of Jesus christ was discovered near Golgotha in Jerusalem in 324 and over it the Roman Emperor constantine had the Rotunda of Anastasis built. Whereas it got filled with various shrines hence Jerusalem became the preeminent pilgrimage centre of the christianity as a whole. In 614, the Persians conquered and occupied the city until 629, then
At this point in time was the christian West weighing the idea of a crusade as the Byzantines, their allies
the soldiers of Mohammed took it over in 638 guaranteeing chris-
of the moment, were found powerlessness. A crusade was in their view a war of the just, simply aimed to
tians civil and religious freedom in return for an annual monetary tribute.
re-conquer the holy sites now taken away but hold by the infidels.
On the solomon’s temple esplanade, regarded as being the place of the
the church, faithful to its peace mission, simply declared the Peace of God followed by the truce of God
Prophet’s ascension into heaven, the caliphs built the dome of the Rock
announcement. thus, the church re-directed its mission; protect the weak, and limit the length of
and the Al Aqsa Mosque, thus Jerusalem became Islam’s third holiest city.
wars where knights were allowed to kill each other hence this revived mission was giving a perfect opportunity
In 975 however, the relationship between christians and Muslims became
to justify the let-go of violence it had trouble containing.
strained as Byzantine emperor John tzimisces launched his military campaign thus re-capturing caesarea.
A
perfect
illustration
can
be
found
in
1095
when
Pope
Urban
II
declared:
“Let those who until now fought private wars go to combat the infidel. Let them henceforth be the knights of In 1009, the Holy sepulchre rotunda got burned under the Fatimid caliph
Christ, they who were nothing but bandits!”
al Hâkim’s orders. this call for a crusade, a holy war, was to end with the capture of Jerusalem, offer salvation to the In 1055, the turks, chased out of Upper Asia by the Mongols, shook the
faithful who died in combat, thus opening the gates of heavenly Jerusalem to them.
Muslim Middle East by taking over Baghdad. In 1071, the turks invaded
Although monasticism was considered the ultimate state of spiritual perfection, Urban II allowed these
Anatolia and the same year captured Jerusalem from Egypt’s Fatimids,
men—once haunted by the idea of eternal damnation as penitence for the blood they spilled and
moving on to Antioch taken away from the Byzantines in 1085.
the death they caused—to serve christ keeping their swords but not put on the monk’s clothes.
The Templar Order foundation
Peter the Hermit led the first group of crusaders to Jerusalem called off by Pope Urban II. After being joined in by another group of gentlemen, barons for the majority, and spending months outside
Simultaneously knights and monks, along with the
Donations of all sorts flowed in from the entire
Jerusalem, the city got conquered but its population
now-called Templars officially adopted the rituals of the
Christian World.
massacred on July 15, 1099. After another captured
Holy Sepulchre, and vowed before Garimond, the
city, Ascalon, on August 12, 1099, most of the barons
Patriarch of Jerusalem.
permanent militia. In the West, they fought for the
left Palestine, leaving behind only a small troop in the new Latin kingdoms of the East. The reception and safety of pilgrims rapidly became the
In 1127, Hugues de Payns and five brothers returned
Christian
to the West to obtain the official Order confirmation by
insula,
Pope Honorius II.
Elsewhere, their commanderies—huge agricultural
reconquest taking
it
of
the
back
from
Iberian the
pen-
Muslims.
estates producing wheat, barley, oil, wine, wool, and
main purpose of the first crusaders still left. In 1113, the Pope Paschal II approved the founding of
In the Holy Land, the Templars rapidly formed a
In January 1128, the Order of the Knights Templars was
cattle—were extremely busy at supplying the necessary
approved by the Council of Troyes.
resources for the Templars’ military expenditures such as overseas expeditions, equipping and maintaining
the Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem. When the Pope Urban II preached for the first cru-
knights, building fortresses, and so on.
In 1119, two knights Hugues de Payns and Geoffroy
sade in 1095, he also mentioned his desire to see the
de Saint-Omer founded the brotherhood of the Poor
creation of an organization of Knights of Christ. Although
The commanderies found in Aveyron are of notable
Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon. This orga-
born out of a dual requirement, military and monastic
importance. They can be found along the Santiago
nization’s vision was to protect and serve pilgrims when
life as described by Bernard de Clairvaux, the Order of
Way or quite nearby, extremely well-preserved but back
in the Holy Land as well as along the pilgrimage routes.
the Knights Templars was confirmed in 1139 by Pope
then were either geo-politically critically located as
Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem, offered them a wing in his
Innocent II, as well as placed the Order under his direct
well, as some remains indicate they were of quite
palace, inside the Al Aqsa Mosque, on the former site of
protection, with the provision of exempting its members
extensive size, potentially as favourable climate and
Solomon’s Temple.
of any ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
environment might have been at play here.
A strong organization
The Grand Master was the one standing at the top of the Knights Templar hierarchy and ensured
discipline
would
be
respected
at
all
times
and
the
brothers
owed
him
full obedience. Important decisions were taken after consultation with the Order’s dignitaries assembled as the General Chapter within which the Master had one vote only. In case of the Master’s absence, he would be replaced by the Seneschal. The armies were under the command of the Marshal and the Order’s Treasurer was the Commander of of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as well in charge of organizing the defence of the pilgrimage routes. The knights, all of noble birth, were supporte by sergeants, including the under marshal, the standard bearer, the cook, as well as the shoeing-smith. The knights made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They attended holy services and recited paternosters at canonical hours. They were compelled to fast and ate in pairs out of a single bowl. They wore a white mantle emblazonned with a red cross. Their field equipment was composed of a mount, a hauberk, a helmet, iron shoes, a shield, a lance, a mace, knives and a sword. The turcopoles, mounted archers, formed the light cavalry. The chaplains, the Order’s priests, depended on the Holy See— the universal government of the Catholic Church, nowadays operating from Vatican City State, an independent territory. The Pope is the ruler of both Vatican City State and the Holy See. The farmer brothers carried out temporal tasks.
A crusade for Edessa
The fall of Edessa in 1144 was at the
However the Second Crusade
origin of the Second Crusade called
failed before Damascus in 1148
on by Bernard de Clairvaux in 1146 at
and in 1149 when the county of
Vézelay.
Edessa fell to Sultan Nûr al Din.
Louis VII, the King of France, gave him
The
support, as well as his wife Aliénor and
strenghtened their presence in
the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III.
the east by taking over Gaza
The Templar Evrard des Barres, the third
in 1150.
Grand master of the Templars Order since
The
April 1147, played an important role in
Bernard
this crusade.
about forty Templars took part of
Templars
newly de
nonetheless
elected
Master,
Tremelay,
and
the siege of Ascalon in 1153, By the end of April 1147, at the general
at the side of Baldwin III, the
chapter called in Paris with pope Eugene
King of Jerusalem.
III attending, the one hundred and thirty Templars present joined the crusade.
Being the first to enter the
They wore for the first time on their
coastal city, the Templars were
mantles the red cross the Pontiff had
suspected of trying to take it for
given them as their blazon.
themselves. But they got massacred by the returning Turks.
When the royal troops got attacked by the Turks in the Pisidian Gorges in Asia,
Shortly afterwards was the city
Louis VII was lucky to find protection from
captured by Baldwin III.
the Templars. Ü
Ü
The story of the Templars in Aveyron will be continued in next AVEYRON MAGAZINE
Ý Causse Méjean, photo by Cédric Tétart
BIRDS OF AVEYRON [CHAPTER I]
Why bearded vultures in Aveyron?
In June of 2012, a bearded vulture reintroduction was launched in the Grands Causses—an area at the south of the Massif Central. the project goal was to strengthen the overall French population of bearded vulture. the objective was to promote exchanges between current bird populations already set in the Alpine and the Pyrénées thus establishing young birds as a core population to be hubbed in the Massif Central.
long-term survival of the species. this exceptional project received support as a partnership between different not-for-profit local and regional organizations as well as the National Park of the Cévennes and the Regional Natural Park of the Grands Causses.
Hence, the bird populations of the Pyrénées, the Alps and the Massif Central altogether would mean the existence of an actual meta-population in western Europe, thus enhance the chances of the
As well, this international initiative received support from the Vulture conservation Foundation and is part of the larger 2010-2020 national plan of actions directed towards the bearded vulture species.
the Grands Causses, located south of the Massif Central, has all the necessary assets to successfully carry out this operation. Its location, between the Alps and the Pyrénées, makes it ideal to build a corridor linking these two mountain massifs. the habitat and food resources are adequate to accommodate a population of vultures. As well, the area allows soaring birds— granted the presence of rising air currents. notwithstanding, the region has many sites for nesting. Lastly, know-how and expertise have already allowed the successful reintroduction of other vultures such as the spontaneous return of the Egyptian Vulture. With the presence of the Bearded Vulture, the Grands Causses is to be considered one of the most comprehensive sites for birds of prey.
Ý Causse Méjean, photo by Manfred Lentz
In June 2011, the Causses et Cévennes became a UNEscO World Heritage site—a cultural landscape of the Mediterranean agro-pastoralism. similar operations took place in the Vercors and Aude, thus preparing the ground of a similar operation whereas Massif Central would become the major pillar.
On a larger scale, the reintroduction of the Bearded Vulture in the Grands Causses is the completion of multiple reintroduction projects—all over Europe in the past 25 years and more—all of these projects aiming at supporting the sustainability of the species at a national as well as at a European level.
defining the release sites, and the final selection process In 2011, two sites were identified, then selected as they brought the essential nonetheless necessary features for a successful reintroduction of the Bearded Vulture. Although other potential sites in the Causses could have been used to perform these young Bearded Vultures releases, only a short list of of the best four sites was made. then it got passed on to an expert commission—the Vulture conservation Foundation as well as the Network International Bearded Vulture Monitoring—for final recommendation. the chosen locations are easiy to access, to develop and maintain. In addition, they provide sufficient slopes and their surfaces are not covered by vegetation. thus they allow an easy monitoring of the birds during their first flights. Lastly, other species of vultures are located in these areas as well as isolated from any critical disturbance. Meyrueis has been the first site to be used in 2012, located in Lozère, a département on the east side of Aveyron and in the core centre of the Cévennes National Park, on the edges of the Causse Méjean, neighbouring Aveyron by a few kilometres. the second site is located at Nant in Aveyron and has been used in 2013, the second year of planned releases of young bearded vultures. Ý Around Nant, photo by Luc Chamontin
Ă? Around Nant, photo by Christophe Delaere
Ă? At the Conques Abbey-church, Aveyron, dating from the 12th century
Historical findings of the Bearded Vulture in Aveyron
Archaeologists found evidence of a continuous but historical presence of the Bearded Vulture in southern France. In the southern Alps as well as the south or west of the Massif Central, bone deposits made by vultures were found in large quantities. Many bibliographic data mention the Bearded Vulture in Provence and Massif Central, at various times. such findings point to birds shot at and naturalized in private collections, such as some data collected in the Alps. Given cave environments in the Alps and the PyrĂŠnĂŠes are quite similar, it is likely that vulture frequented them when their populations were abundant. Unlike the Alps and other areas where extinction has been highly documented since the 19th century, the scarcity of historical data regarding vultures in the southern Massif Central can surprise. thus, historians concluded the disappearance of vultures from these areas would have dated from an older period. However, the Grands Causses are now form part of the Bearded Vulture bio-geographic habitat hence conducive to the regional return of this species. Ă? Adult Bearded Vulture, photo by Pierre Dalous
A 1858 map of great interest It shows at the top right Déodat d’Estaing also known as Tristan d’Estaing (1190-1245), a noble figure of Aveyron. It has been said Déodat would have saved the life of the King of France, Philippe Auguste at the Battle of Bouvines, furthermore he gave him his own horse. The Battle of Bouvines took place on 27 July 1214 and was a medieval battle which ended the 1202–1214 Anglo-French War. Following this event, Déodat has been awarded the right to bear the arms of France, hence keeping the gold that covered his former chief arms. As well he received the right to place three lilies on his shield. However recent historians believe that this account is a legend. Nevertheless, his father was part of the third crusade with Richard the Lionheart. He, himself, got involved in different crusades. The ex-President of France, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing is connected to this d’Estaing family via a convoluted lineage route named Joachim d’Estaing, an illegitimate son (1630?-1685). Joachim lived at the Château de Réquistat, in the Cantal département, not to confuse with the Château de Réquista in the close Aveyron département. He wrongly depicted himself as Lord of Réquistat and Boissières. On May 5, 1667, although not present, he got condemned by default for nobility usurpation. A drawing of a bearded vulture is clearly shown bottom right of the map, hence indicating it seemed common knowledge this species was known as abundant in Aveyron. Of other notable importance, Millau was written Milhau (top left) and Rodez was written Rhodez (bottom left). Saint-Affrique is shown with one “f”, whereas its name comes from Affricanus, Bishop of Comminges (6th Century).
Man
Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus Barbatus)
Griffon Vulture (Gyps Fulvus)
Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius Monachus)
Egyptian Vulture (Neophron Percnopterus)
What’s in a bird?
The bearded vulture is one of four species of vultures present in France and one of the largest birds of prey in Europe. It presents a wingspan of 2.60 to 2.90 m. with narrow, pointed wings and a long wedge-shaped tail giving it a thin and slender silhouette. This raptor is an expert at gliding. Its rather light weight when compared to its size—5 to 7 kg—along with its wingspan allow it to make long gliding flights at low altitude, low speed and effortless.
It has a straw-colored iris, with a red orbital circle. Its mustache descends under the spout—also called whiskers—help identify it in the distance. Young birds have a dark plumage, in the brown-black shades of colours, a white belly and a sturdy look as opposed to when adults. When in flight, adults can be distinguished by their contrasting plumage such as slate gray wings, white to orange colours covering their heads and stomachs and a necklace of black feathers adorn the base of their necks.
Vultures do wear their adult plumage at the age of 5 after several molts. The Bearded Vulture acquires its orangy shades by pretty often bathing in water or iron sludge, giving nice rusty colours to its plumage. The more colourful the plumage of the bird is, the more dominant the bird is. The Bearded Vulture lives around wide open areas and cliffs to accommodate its nests as they are built in the sheltered cavity of a rock wall. It lays one or two eggs a year, during the winter. Although it might lay two eggs to hatch, only one chick is raised.
Bannac Pond birds Bannac Pond, located west of Villefranche de Rouergue, is somehow a self-designated nature reserve where different birds can be watched according to the varying seasons or all year-long. All year: Grey Heron, Middle spotted Woodpecker; Spring: Purple Heron, Osprey, spotted crake, Black-winged stilt, common sandpiper, Green sandpiper, Wood sandpiper, Black tern, Whiskered tern; Winter: Great White Egret, dabbling ducks, snipe.
Middle spotted Woodpecker Ă?
Grey Heron Ý
Osprey Ü
Purple Heron Ü
spotted crake Ý
Black-winged stilt Ý
Wood sandpiper Ý
Green sandpiper Ý
common sandpiper Ý
Black tern Ý
Whiskered tern Ý
Great White Egret Ý
dabbling ducks Ý
snipe Ă?
Great White Egret, photo by Marc Vie Ý Ü
Ü
The story of the birds of Aveyron will be continued in next AVEYRON MAGAZINE
AVEYRON MAGAZINE
Issue 3 Art, History, Heritage, Food, Wine, etc. published by Experience (my) France www.ExperienceMyFrance.com