Amadour’s Crypt, below the basilica, and the funerary chapel of St. Michael, perched
like a watchtower set into the cliff. In the apse are vestiges of a Majestas Domini (13th
c.); on the exterior façade are frescoes of St. Christopher (14th c.) and a fine 12th-century
Annunciation and Visitation (supposedly unrestored), akin to Limousin reliquaries.
Above the sacred precinct, 14th-century ramparts enclose the 19th-century castle; below,
the reconstruction of the bishops’ palace is a Neo-Gothic fantasy.
Jean M.French
[See also: PILGRIMAGE]
Albe, Edmond. Les miracles de Notre-Dame de Roc-Amadour au XIIe siècle: texte et traduction
d’après les manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale. Paris: Champion, 1907.
Koster, Kurt. Pilgerzeichen und Pilgermuscheln von mittelalterlichen Santiagostrassen: Saint-
Léonard, Rocamadour, Saint-Gilles, Santiago de Compostela. Neümunster: Wachholtz, 1983.
Rocacher, Jean. Rocamadour et son pèlerinage: étude historique et archéologique. 2 vols.
Toulouse: Privat, 1979.
Rupin, Ernest. Roc-Amadour: étude historique et archéologique. Paris: Baranger, 1904.
RODEZ
. Perched on a butte some 400 feet above the Aveyron, Rodez was once the capital of the
Rouergue. Originally a Gallo-Roman center named Segodunum, it was overrun by the
Romans and renamed Ruthena. It was made a bishopric in 401. Much of the medieval
history of the town involves the struggle between the bishops, who controlled the cité,
and the counts of Rouergue, who dominated the bourg. The enmity was so intense that it
led to the creation of adjacent walled communities. The town fell briefly into English
hands at the start of the Hundred Years’ War (1360–68), and later its bishop was
suspected of collaboration.
The red-sandstone cathedral of Notre-Dame dominates the old town. The earliest part
is the eastern end, begun in 1277, with an ambulatory in Parisian style. The fortified
western façade (15th c.), with its massive twin towers, has no porches or portals, since it
projected beyond the city walls and served itself as part of the ramparts. The Flamboyant
Gothic bell tower on the northeast corner rises nearly 290 feet. The interior, spare but
impressive for its size and proportions (560 feet by 119 feet), is notable for its quatrefoil-
shaped pillars with ring capitals. Within can be found two marble sarcophagi of early
bishops (5th-6th c.) and a 10th-century altar table.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
Bousquet, Louis. “Rodez, cathédrale.” Congrès archéologique (Figeac, Cahors et Rodez) 100
(1937):360–86.
de Gauléjac, Bernard. “Rodez, monuments civils et militaires.” Congrèsarchéologique(Figeac,
Cahors et Rodez) 100 (1937): 387–93.
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1524