History
By 1000 BC the Celts had occupied the region. In the period of Roman Gaul, Gaulish tribes called Gabalians (Lozère) and Rutènians (Aveyron) occupied the area. Julius Caesar stated that the Gabalians were survivors of the Battle of Alesia. Their capital Anderitum became Javols. The Rutenians, who may have come from the Danube delta and who gave their name to the Rouergue, became allied with Vercingetorix.
In the early Middle Ages, Grégory of Tours recorded an incident of a Pagan rite at the lake near Mount Hélanus. Later, a pilgrim of St. James, Adallard (a Flemish viscount), survived after a fight in the area; out of gratitude to God he built the Dômerie (hospital) at Aubrac. The town of Aubrac grew around the hospital.
The Dômerie was home to monks and the knights of the Order of Aubrac until the French Revolution. The monks fed and sheltered passing pilgrims, and rang a "Bell of the Lost" during times of snow. The rules of life at the Dômerie in Latin dating from the Middle Ages are available in an online version.
In the 11th century a certain Gilbert, who married Tiburge, countess of Provence, appointed himself count of Gévaudan. This Gilbert had a daughter, Douce I, Countess of Provence, who was married to Ramon Berenguer, Count of Barcelona, and brought him all the rights to Gévaudan, Aubrac and Carladès.
The rule of the counts of Barcelona in Gévaudan gave rise to a serious argument with the bishop of Mende, who considered himself lord and count of the country. After many local conflicts and the war between the lords of Armagnac's French kings Charles VII and Louis XI this country lost its true identity. However, the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela has always brought many visitors.
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