AVEYRONMAGAZINE

Issue 3templars in Aveyron | chapter 1

Birds of Aveyron | chapter 1

AVEYRONMAGAZINE

ARt, HIstORY, HERItAGE, FOOd, WINE, Etc.published by Experience (my) France

www.ExperienceMyFrance.com

ÝCover original watercolours: Grey Heron and Golden Eagle

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 fi lled 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

the soldiers of Mohammed took it over in 638 guaranteeing chris-

tians civil and religious freedom in return for an annual monetary tribute.

On the solomon’s temple esplanade, regarded as being the place of the

Prophet’s ascension into heaven, the caliphs built the dome of the Rock

and the Al Aqsa Mosque, thus Jerusalem became Islam’s third holiest city.

In 975 however, the relationship between christians and Muslims became

strained as Byzantine emperor John tzimisces launched his military cam-

paign thus re-capturing caesarea.

In 1009, the Holy sepulchre rotunda got burned under the Fatimid caliph

al Hâkim’s orders.

In 1055, the turks, chased out of Upper Asia by the Mongols, shook the

Muslim Middle East by taking over Baghdad. In 1071, the turks invaded

Anatolia and the same year captured Jerusalem from Egypt’s Fatimids,

moving on to Antioch taken away from the Byzantines in 1085.

At this point in time was the christian West weighing the idea of a crusade as the Byzantines, their allies

of the moment, were found powerlessness. A crusade was in their view a war of the just, simply aimed to

re-conquer the holy sites now taken away but hold by the infi dels.

the church, faithful to its peace mission, simply declared the Peace of God followed by the truce of God

announcement. thus, the church re-directed its mission; protect the weak, and limit the length of

wars where knights were allowed to kill each other hence this revived mission was giving a perfect opportunity

to justify the let-go of violence it had trouble containing.

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 infi del. Let them henceforth be the knights of

Christ, they who were nothing but bandits!”

this call for a crusade, a holy war, was to end with the capture of Jerusalem, offer salvation to the

faithful who died in combat, thus opening the gates of heavenly Jerusalem to them.

Although monasticism was considered the ultimate state of spiritual perfection, Urban II allowed these

men—once haunted by the idea of eternal damnation as penitence for the blood they spilled and

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 Jeru-

salem called off by Pope Urban II.

After being joined in by another group of gentlemen,

barons for the majority, and spending months outside

Jerusalem, the city got conquered but its population

massacred on July 15, 1099. After another captured

city, Ascalon, on August 12, 1099, most of the barons

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

main purpose of the first crusaders still left.

In 1113, the Pope Paschal II approved the founding of

the Order of Hospitallers of saint John of Jerusalem.

In 1119, two knights Hugues de Payns and Geoffroy

de saint-Omer founded the brotherhood of the Poor

Knights of christ and the temple of solomon. this orga-

nization’s vision was to protect and serve pilgrims when

in the Holy Land as well as along the pilgrimage routes.

Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem, offered them a wing in his

palace, inside the Al Aqsa Mosque, on the former site of

solomon’s temple.

simultaneously knights and monks, along with the

now-called templars officially adopted the rituals of the

Holy sepulchre, and vowed before Garimond, the

Patriarch of Jerusalem.

In 1127, Hugues de Payns and five brothers returned

to the West to obtain the official Order confirmation by

Pope Honorius II.

In January 1128, the Order of the Knights templars was

approved by the council of troyes.

When the Pope Urban II preached for the first cru-

sade in 1095, he also mentioned his desire to see the

creation of an organization of Knights of christ. Although

born out of a dual requirement, military and monastic

life as described by Bernard de clairvaux, the Order of

the Knights templars was confirmed in 1139 by Pope

Innocent II, as well as placed the Order under his direct

protection, with the provision of exempting its members

of any ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

donations of all sorts flowed in from the entire

christian World.

In the Holy Land, the templars rapidly formed a

permanent militia. In the West, they fought for the

christian reconquest of the Iberian pen-

insula, taking it back from the Muslims.

Elsewhere, their commanderies—huge agricultural

estates producing wheat, barley, oil, wine, wool, and

cattle—were extremely busy at supplying the necessary

resources for the templars’ military expenditures such

as overseas expeditions, equipping and maintaining

knights, building fortresses, and so on.

the commanderies found in Aveyron are of notable

importance. they can be found along the santiago

Way or quite nearby, extremely well-preserved but back

then were either geo-politically critically located as

well, as some remains indicate they were of quite

extensive size, potentially as favourable climate and

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

origin of the second crusade called

on by Bernard de clairvaux in 1146 at

Vézelay.

Louis VII, the King of France, gave him

support, as well as his wife Aliénor and

the Holy Roman Emperor conrad III.

the templar Evrard des Barres, the third

Grand master of the templars Order since

April 1147, played an important role in

this crusade.

By the end of April 1147, at the general

chapter called in Paris with pope Eugene

III attending, the one hundred and thirty

templars present joined the crusade.

they wore for the first time on their

mantles the red cross the Pontiff had

given them as their blazon.

When the royal troops got attacked by

the turks in the Pisidian Gorges in Asia,

Louis VII was lucky to find protection from

the templars.

However the second crusade

failed before damascus in 1148

and in 1149 when the county of

Edessa fell to sultan Nûr al din.

the templars nonetheless

strenghtened their presence in

the east by taking over Gaza

in 1150.

the newly elected Master,

Bernard de tremelay, and

about forty templars took part of

the siege of Ascalon in 1153,

at the side of Baldwin III, the

King of Jerusalem.

Being the first to enter the

coastal city, the templars were

suspected of trying to take it for

themselves. But they got massa-

cred by the returning turks.

shortly afterwards was the city

captured by Baldwin III.

Ü Ü The story of the Templars in Aveyron will be continued in next AVEYRONMAGAZINE

Ý Causse Méjean, photo by Cédric Tétart

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.

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

long-term survival of the species.

this exceptional project received support as a partnership between different not-for-profi t local and regional

organizations as well as the National Park of the Cévennes and the Regional Natural Park of the Grands Causses.

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.

BIRDS OF AVEYRON [CHAPTER I]

the Grands Causses, located south of the

Massif Central, has all the necessary as-

sets 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 Beard-

ed Vulture, the Grands Causses is

to be considered one of the most

comprehensive sites for birds of prey.

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.

Ý Causse Méjean, photo by Manfred Lentz

defi ning the release sites,and the fi nal selection process

In 2011, two sites were identifi ed, 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 re-

leases, 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 fi nal recommendation.

the chosen locations are easiy to access, to develop and

maintain. In addition, they provide suffi cient slopes and their

surfaces are not covered by vegetation. thus they allow an

easy monitoring of the birds during their fi rst fl ights. Lastly,

other species of vultures are located in these areas as well

as isolated from any critical disturbance.

Meyrueis has been the fi rst 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

Ý Around Nant, photo by Christophe Delaere

Ý At the Conques Abbey-church, Aveyron, dating from the 12th century

Historical fi ndings ofthe 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

fi ndings 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 Pyrénées

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 Mas-

sif 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 condu-

cive to the regional return of this species.

Ý 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).

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.

Egyptian Vulture(Neophron Percnopterus)

cinereous Vulture(Aegypius Monachus)

Griffon Vulture(Gyps Fulvus)

Bearded Vulture(Gypaetus Barbatus)

Man

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.

Middle spotted Woodpecker Ý

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. Osprey Ü

Grey Heron Ý

Osprey Ü

Grey Heron Ý

Purple Heron Ü

spotted crake Ý

Black-winged stilt Ý

common sandpiper ÝGreen sandpiper Ý

Wood sandpiper Ý

Black tern Ý Whiskered tern Ý

Great White Egret Ý dabbling ducks Ý

snipe Ý

Great White Egret, photo by Marc Vie Ý

Ü Ü The story of the birds of Aveyron will be continued in next AVEYRONMAGAZINE

Issue 3AVEYRONMAGAZINE

ARt, HIstORY, HERItAGE, FOOd, WINE, Etc.published by Experience (my) France

www.ExperienceMyFrance.com