A visit by friends is great impetus to enjoy territory that’s not too far from home. We took some dear friends from Japan on a little tour in the Dordogne region of southwestern France.
The heart of the Dordogne is its river, aptly called the Dordogne River. This is a particularly picturesque little river that winds through gently rolling countryside. Farm fields, walnut orchards, tiny villages, and imposing castles spread across the flood plain. Abrupt limestone cliffs cup some of the bends of the river. Here is a view from 150 meters (500 ft) above the river, from the village of Domme. French King Philip III had Domme built in 1281 as a bastide or fortified medieval town.
From another vantage, the Jardins Suspendus de Marqueyssac (the Hanging Gardens of Marqueyssac because they are perched atop a sheer cliff) overlooks the famous, intensely picturesque village of La Roque-Gageac.
The celebrity of this village comes mostly from its lineup of quaint stone buildings that push up against the base of an imposing limestone cliff.
But that cliff is also impressive because since prehistoric times people made their homes in caves high above the river. These are troglodytic settlements. Why go to the effort to build houses when the cliff provides covered and secure shelter. In the Middle Ages, inhabitants enclosed the open cave mouths with stone walls for more protection from the elements.
Although sitting on a site believed to have been occupied since prehistoric times, [La Roque-Gageac’s] documented existence traces back to the mid-ninth century, when Vikings were sailing their longboats up the river with raiding on their mind. For the first few centuries of its existence, La Roque-Gageac was a troglodyte fortress, set in caves some 40 meters (130 feet) above the river, the remains of which can still be seen above the village today. It was not until the end of the Hundred Years’ War that the “Laroquois,” as its residents are called, felt safe enough to move down to the lovely Renaissance homes that we see today, lining the riverbank and the narrow footpaths climbing to the base of the cliff. (source)
While there were always all sorts of dangers in pre-modern Dordogne — bandits and warring nobles, for example — during the Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453), things were particularly difficult. The Dordogne River was for generations a front line between the power struggle between the French and the English.
Actually a series of wars, the Hundred Years’ War began in 1337 and lasted until 1453. The chief cause of the war was the desire of the English kings to hold on to and expand their territorial holdings in France, while the French kings sought to “liberate” territory under English control. King Edward III of England (r. 1327- 1377) claimed to have better right to the French throne than did its occupant, King Philip VI (r. 1330-1350). Another factor was the struggle for control both of the seas and international trading markets. Finally, the English sought retribution for the assistance provided by the French to the Scots in their wars with the English. (source)
The number of castles in this valley attests to cycles of attacks, sieges and resistance. On one given day, the English might hold a castle; one battle later, the castle became French.
The attractive town of Sarlat-la-Canéda (or, just Sarlat) lies a few kilometers north of the river. Its traceable past began in the ninth century with the creation of a Benedictine abbey. As the abbey grew, so did the town around it, to become a wealthy local center of commerce. Many of the grand medieval houses we see today were built by rich merchants of that time. ※
About 15 years ago, on a holiday in Bordeaux in early March, we rented a car for a day to explore a bit of this region. We stopped in Sarlat and were smitten. In our rudimentary French, we called the rental-car agency to get permission to keep the car an extra day. We found a charming stone inn with a good restaurant. Since our stay was spontaneous, we went in search of toothbrushes and toothpaste. Then we strolled the town and soaked up the atmosphere. We ate a dinner organized around the two most celebrated ingredients of the region: walnuts and foie gras. (More about foie gras in a moment.)
We wondered if Sarlat would still entrance after all these years and after our time living in France. It is indeed still a lovely picturesque town with some interesting history. At the same time, quite a few people from around the world have discovered Sarlat. Of course, this latest visit was not in chilly late winter; it was in September, which is peak retiree travel time. So, as they say in France, il y a du monde — literally, the world, meaning lots and lots of people. It seemed there were enough restaurant and café tables along every street to feed a cruise ship. We wondered where all the hotels were to supply so many people.
Fortunately, the crowds weren’t that much of a problem, and the weather was beautiful.
This structure is known as the Lanterne des Morts, or the Lantern of the Dead. It may have been a place of prayer for the deceased. Candles may have been lit in the roof apertures, to announce the deaths and as symbols of the souls on their journey to heaven. The niches in the wall below were burial places for noble families. The conic shape may have been inspired by what Crusaders saw in the Levant in this period. But, actually, no one knows exactly what was the function of this tower. ※
OK, about foie gras. Perhaps you don’t know about this particularly French favored — and controversial — food. It is the liver of a duck or goose that has been force-fed more than it would typically eat on its own. You may disagree, but we find that the conclusion by some that this force-feeding is a suffering for the birds is not well-founded. The process of foie gras production is enshrined in French law to ensure the birds are not harmed and in a region where farmers are evangelical about their foie gras, the well-being of their livestock is of upmost importance. ※
Most often, you find foie-gras mi-cuit on the menu. Mi-cuit means “half cooked.” The result is what looks and feels like a smooth pâté. It is usually offered as a starter, along with bread and something a little sweet like a jam or preserve. With a bit of salt and pepper, the taste is very nice. The other way that foie gras can be offered is simply pan-seared. The chef will probably sear the raw foie gras for about 30 seconds on each side in a very hot skillet. Add some salt and pepper, and the result is delicious.
Something you may not know about today’s Dordogne: Since the 1960s, very many British people have moved here. So much so that a new name has been coined: Dordogneshire.
To the French, the word “Dordogne” means one of two things. Most commonly, perhaps, the word refers to a long river that rises in the Auvergne, near Clermont Ferrand, and flows down to join the Gironde, near Bordeaux. Secondly, and in particular for people living there, it means a French administrative department, whose capital is Perigueux, and number is 24.
To many in Britain however, it means a part of France – partly in the Dordogne department, partly outside of it – that, for some reason, has come to represent an idealised rural world, where the pace of life is slow, and the climate is mild….
It was in the late 1960s that the first enterprising estate agents discovered that they could sell old rundown farmhouses in the Dordogne at ten times the price that locals were willing to pay, by selling them off to wealthy British Francophiles. Since then, thousands more have moved in….
The Dordogne’s economy has benefited considerably for half a century from the influx of British residents who have helped reverse a century of rural exodus in this part of deepest France, and local authorities are keen to make new arrivals welcome in spite of Brexit.
(source)
During our brief visit, we weren’t particularly aware of this British dimension except that in all the restaurants and hotels we enjoyed, everyone was immediately comfortable in English. There was another hint: Aston Martin cars kept showing up in the parking lots. Then, at the restaurant on our last night in the area, we found a large group of particularly happy folks (if you know what we mean…). Our dinner host explained that an Aston Martin enthusiast club was in town.
We wondered what local French people think about this Britishification of the Dordogne. We were surprised not to be able to find any complaints in articles online. In fact, articles focus on the British-owned businesses that enliven the local economy. Franco-British harmony — in the land of the Hundred Years War!
Our last stop makes these old medieval villages seem brand-spanking new. This is the site of a remarkable cave near the town of Lascaux. Here’s a bit of the story:
One morning in September 1940, a boy called Marcel Ravidat was exploring the hills above Montignac when his dog, Robot, uncovered a hole beneath a tree root leading to a cave. Climbing inside, Marcel and his three friends lit their oil lamp, raised it to the roof and found themselves surrounded by one of the artistic wonders of the ancient world…
Lascaux was opened to the public in 1948, but closed just 15 years later, when it became apparent that carbon dioxide from visitors’ breath was damaging the artwork. A replica of the most important sections of the cave was subsequently created nearby, and opened in 1983 as Lascaux II… It’s been followed by a touring exhibition (Lascaux III) and an ambitious €50 million facsimile of the entire complex, Lascaux IV.
(source)
We visited Lascaux IV — the third precise copy of the original. You may think that seeing a copy would be a bit cheesy, a bit Disneyesque. But for us, even with the awareness that this is a modern construction, the experience was powerful. The archeologists and artisans and technologists have reproduced the contours of the real cave with intense precision, thanks for computer-integrated light scans. They have carefully recreated the surface materials of different stones. And rendered the drawings of animals and symbols with the same pigments used over 15,000 years ago in the real cave.
A strikingly modern building slides into the hill just a bit below the real cave.
A guide escorted us through a dark passageway that allowed our eyes to adjust to dimmer illumination. And then we emerged into the remarkable caverns covered with drawings and etchings of bison, horses, ibex, deer, aurochs (ancestors of modern cattle), mammoths, lions, bears and wolves. There are some 600 representations of animals at Lascaux. Despite years of inquiry and theorizing, no one currently really knows why people created this art deep in caves 15 – 20,000 years ago. They seemed to depict animals in movement, and usually with very elegant, adept line-work. They seemed to hide fiercer predators like lions and bears in dark painted areas of paintings of other less dangerous animals — perhaps as a way of keeping the dangerous animals at bay. They almost never included human figures. At Lascaux there is only one human-like figure; it’s located at the bottom of a shaft away from most of the other paintings, and it has an snouted animal head. It also has an erection. What’s that about? No one knows!
After about an hour in the full recreated cave, we emerged into what they call the Atelier, or workshop. We found this part of the site really fascinating for two reasons. The artisans created excerpts of parts of the cave. We could see the technology of how they constructed these copies. Additionally, animations over the copied art helped us see more clearly what the artists had created over the years — since they painted in the cave over many many generations.
It’s a wonderful challenge to try to imagine 15,000 years. Gothic cathedrals are 1,000 years old. Roman temples are 2,000 years old. Egyptian pyramids are 4,500 years old. These cave paintings are at least three times older than the pyramids. And, at that time, this part of France resembled modern-day Siberia. A warm summer day was maybe 15 deg C (59 F); a winter day was maybe -20 deg C (-4 F). People lived, hunted and gathered in this cold; they could be eaten by bears and lions; and they were still motivated to create enormous powerful art deep in pitch-black caves. Amazing!
September 2024