Who were the Agotes (aka Cagots or Chrestians) ?

Adaryn

The Living Force
First, here are 2 articles taken from the official sources (all emphases mine) :

_http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Cagots
CAGOTS, a people found in the Basque provinces, Bearn, Gascony and Brittany. The earliest mention of them is in 1288, when they appear to have been called Christiens or Christianos. In the [1]6th century they had many names, Cagots, Gahets, Gafets in France; Agotes, Gafos in Spain; and Cacons, Cahets, Caqueux and Caquins in Brittany. During the middle ages they were popularly looked upon as cretins, lepers, heretics and even as cannibals. They were shunned and hated; were allotted separate quarters in towns, called cagoteries, and lived in wretched huts in the country distinct from the villages. Excluded from all political and social rights, they were only allowed to enter a church by a special door, and during the service a rail separated them from the other worshippers. Either they were altogether forbidden to partake of the sacrament, or the holy wafer was handed to them on the end of a stick, while a receptacle for holy water was reserved for their exclusive use. They were compelled to wear a distinctive dress, to which, in some places, was attached the foot of a goose or duck (whence they were sometimes called Canards). And so pestilential was their touch considered that it was a crime for them to walk the common road barefooted. The only trades allowed them were those of butcher and carpenter, and their ordinary occupation was wood-cutting. Their language is merely a corrupt form of that spoken around them; but a Teutonic origin seems to be indicated by their fair complexions and blue eyes. Their crania have a normal development; their cheek-bones are high; their noses prominent, with large nostrils; their lips straight; and they are marked by the absence of the auricular lobules.
The origin of the Cagots is undecided. Littre defines them as "a people of the Pyrenees affected with a kind of cretinism." It has been suggested that they were descendants of the Visigoths, and Michael derives the name from caws (dog) and Goth. But opposed to this etymology is the fact that the word cagot is first found in the for of Bearn not earlier than 1551. Marca, in his Histoire de Bearn, holds that the word signifies "hunters of the Goths," and that the Cagots are descendants of the Saracens. Others made them descendants of the Albigenses. The old MSS. call them Chretiens or Chrestiaas,and from this it has been argued that they were Visigoths who originally lived as Christians among the Gascon pagans. A far more probable explanation of their name "Chretiens" is to be found in the fact that in medieval times all lepers were known as pauperes Christi, and that, Goths or not, these Cagots were affected in the middle ages with a particular form of leprosy or a condition resembling it. Thus would arise the confusion between Christians and Cretins. To-day their descendants are not more subject to goitre and cretinism than those dwelling around them, and are recognized by tradition and not by features or physical degeneracy. It was not until the French Revolution that any steps were taken to ameliorate their lot, but to-day they no longer form a class, but have been practically lost sight of in the general peasantry.
See Francisque Michel, Histoire des races maudites de France et d'Espagne (Paris, 1846); Abbe Venuti, Recherches sur les Cahets de Bordeaux (1754); Bulletins de la societe anthropologique (1861, 1867, 1868, 1871); Annales medico-psychologiques (Jan. 1867); Lagneau, Questionnaire sur l'ethnologie de la France; Paul Raymond, Mceurs bearnaises (Pau, 1872); V. de Rochas, Les Parias de France et d'Espagne (Cagots et Bohemiens) (Paris, 1877); J. Hack Tuke, Jour. Anthropological Institute (vol. ix., 1880).

Extracts translated from : _http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagots
Living like outlaws and virtually stricken with taboo, a considerable number of interdictions dictated by superstition weighed on them : certain professions were forbidden to them, generally having to do with certain elements susceptible to transmit leper, like earth, fire and water (which they had to take from fountains which were kept specially for them). Thus, they never were farmers. Professions having to do with food were also forbidden to them. They were forbidden to carry any sharp object, such as weapons or knives, but curiously, we find them practising professions such as surgeon, and they were believed to have a gift for healing ; women were often midwives ; till the XVth Century, the Cagot women even had the total exclusivity in this activity. On the other hand, they were allowed to touch wood, thus they often were carpenters, masons, wood cutters or coopers. Whenever the torture instruments were wooden-made, which was frequent in small towns and villages, they sometimes were hangmen or joiners, coffins builders and gravediggers, all functions which didn't improve their image, and thus their condition, among the local population. Professions they most often practised were basket makers, rope-makers and weavers . Payed in cash, they didn't receive salaries, and thus were a cheap workforce. However, they were exempt from paying taxes, until the reign of Louis XIV, where 2500 Chrestians were numbered in Béarn. Then, they bought back -- for a fee compensating for the taxes they were exempt from -- their "emancipation" by royal decree.

Now, other extracts, translated from a conspiracy/paranormal/"alternative" site : _http://secretebase.free.fr/civilisations/autrespeuples/chrestians/chrestians.htm

Many historians who looked into the history of this strange and disseminated people, found, everywhere in Europe, the same description of these beings as the description which was made in France. The Chrestians have strange physical characteristics : they're bald, they have no visible ear pavilion (instead, two holes can be seen, as in the saurians), they have webbed feet and hands, and they have a definitely abnormal corporal heat. These peculiarities, registered many times, caused them, for a long time, to be relegated and gathered in tribes, at the outskirt of cities, where they lived in kind of autonomous suburbs. As they were considered to have a repulsive aspect, they were forced to wear ample clothes, and shoes. But as if it wasn't enough, the Chrestians had to wear a dried goose foot painted red, which was sown on their clothes. This signal reminded the population that these beings had webbed feet and hands !
One could see in these descriptions the product of a collection of legends and false information spread by rumour, if, in the XVIth Century, Ambroise Paré (1506-1590), the father of modern surgery, called to the service of King Henry II, hadn't scientifically looked into this strange race, damned for 3 centuries already.. At the time, the Chrestians, who lived isolated, hadn't lost any of their physical and physiological characteristics registered under the Carolingians. Ambroise Paré spent several weeks studying them, doing his best not to let himself influence. He proceeded to collect genuine medical observations and carefully write them down. He notably reports their prodigious capacity to practice "mummification through magnetism". This exercice, reported here in the old original French, is supposed to reveal the power of personal magnetism : " l'un d'iceux tenant en sa main une pomme fraîche, icelle après apparaisoit aussi aride et ridée que si elle eut restée l'espace de huit jours au soleil "
[Translation : "One of them holding a fresh apple in his hand, this one soon appeared as dry and wrinkled as if it had stayed 8 days in the sun".] Ambroise Paré explains this reaction by the abnormally high heat released by their body. It is told that during a bloodlettting, a nearly boiling liquid of a bluish/greenish colour flowed from his [the Cagot] veins. These characteristics caused a specific set of laws to be set up in order to ban them from society and prevent them from mixing with other humans.
[…]They were forbidden to get married, and even to mate with other human beings. This idea was even the subject of humour, because it seems nothing was known about their mode of reproduction. The popular rumour said they were bisexuals, so much that they were never mentionned using a gender ! Discrimination was at its peak during trials : the accounts of 7 Chrestians were needed to compete with a single human account. Things remained this way during the whole Middle Ages, but, progressively, the Chrestians mixed with the population, and it is perhaps the sign of their integration. By the XVIIIth C., only popular folklore talked about beings with such strange characteristics. History [the French revolution] accelerated the disparition of this banned people.
[…]
Very few modern scientists looked into this historical phenomenon. Theses or essays about Chrestians are really rare. At the faculty of History, a course is devoted to the Chrestians mystery, but their origin still remains unknown. Certain XIXth C. authors proposed the hypothesis that these strange individuals suffered from leprosy. This thesis doesn't hold water, because the way they were treated doesnt look like the specific treatment and distinctive signs which were imposed on the lepers in the Middle Ages. Besides, Chrestian cemeteries from the XIIth and XIIIth C. which were recently dug up show perfectly sane skeletons, without the terrible bone lesions that can be observed on the lepers remains. Other researchers proposed the hypothesis that Chrestians were descendants of Saracens who stayed in our climate after the invasion. However, chronicles from the Middle Ages assure that the long hair of the rare Chrestians who were not bald were invariably "blonds comme les blés" (golden blonde). It was also proposed that they descended from the Vikings, but the Vikings had already been integrated for a long time in the European society.
The purely scientifical circles, apart from Ambroise Paré, were never concerned to know who really were the Chrestians, contenting themselves to declare that "bisexual beings without ear and with webbed fingers and a hot and green blood didn't exist".
----
I tried to search for the extract taken from Ambroise Paré, but the only way to find it would be to browse the whole works of Ambroise Paré in the French National Library… that's a lot to read and I don't know where to start :
_http://gallica.bnf.fr/

Another interesting page on the Chrestians : _http://www.france-secret.com/excalibur_art2.htm
Most information about them is unfortunately in French.
Well, there's a 10 page English article on the Cagots (written by D. Hack Tuke, XIXth C. physician and expert on mental illness) on the site of the Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, but unfortunately, one has to be a member of the Institute to access it :_http://minilien.com/?SuAyUxgLoL
 
Hi Lúthien;

Today I spotted you post in the 'questions for the C's' area and after I had already replied I found this thread.
I think it is more appropriate to continue replying in this thread.

I am intrigued by your statement:
I tried to search for the extract taken from Ambroise Paré, but the only way to find it would be to browse the whole works of Ambroise Paré in the French National Library… that's a lot to read and I don't know where to start :
_http://gallica.bnf.fr/

Because while searching for 'Chrestians' information I stumbled across this page Google translated from French to english and i wonder if you might have seen this over the years since this post was made?

_ttp://secretebase.free.fr/civilisations/autrespeuples/chrestians/chrestians.htm

I am unable to paste the French to English translation of the page into this post, but the headline of the page is thus:
LES CHRESTIANS THE Chrestian
Des êtres tombés du ciel et venus de nulle part Beings fell from the sky and came out of nowhere

If someone can post the tranlslation of the page that would be cool. I'm not sure of the validity of the story presented other than there appears to be details in the article copied (or repeated) from other sources. If the article has some truth to it it would offer a facinating possible answer to your question regarding the orin of the Chrestians.


What do you think?

-=Steve
 
Hi SnoDog,

SnoDog said:
I am intrigued by your statement:
I tried to search for the extract taken from Ambroise Paré, but the only way to find it would be to browse the whole works of Ambroise Paré in the French National Library… that's a lot to read and I don't know where to start :
_http://gallica.bnf.fr/

Because while searching for 'Chrestians' information I stumbled across this page Google translated from French to english and i wonder if you might have seen this over the years since this post was made?

_ttp://secretebase.free.fr/civilisations/autrespeuples/chrestians/chrestians.htm

If you look at my post above, Ambroise Paré's description (which I translated) is actually taken from the "secretbase" site. The site also claims that in 800 AD, UFO's landed near Lyons (France), hence the claim that the Cagots "fell from the sky".
According to another UFO/Conspiracy forum, the Archbishop of Lyons, Agobard (779-840) reported in his "Chroniques" [Chronicles] (a manuscript stored in the Bibliothèque Nationale) that in 800 AD, the city of Lyons was suddenly invaded by creatures sailing in aerial ships.
_http://www.forum-ovni-ufologie.com/archeo-ufologie-cas-d-observation-d-ovni-dans-l-histoire-f80/des-ovnis-au-moyen-age-t1739.htm

This report seems to be controversial because:

some researchers stated that it does not mention a spaceship but a mundane ship, a boat, and that the "cloudship" interpretation would come from a translation mistake.

On the other end, sovereigns of the time mention penalties against creatures that travel in aerial ships, because it happened so very often. Emperor Charlemagne's edicts also forbade the perturbing of the air, provoking of storms by magical means and the practicing of mathematics.

There is a second reference of the original story: a manuscript, "Annales Laurissenses" - A.D. 776, has allegedly some additional details on this incident: it narrates that the aliens came from a spaceship, and were accused by the mob of being emissaries sent by Grimoald, Duke of Benevento, to spoil the French harvests and vintage by their enchantments. The crowd killed them, because they had an "horrific appearance", and their corpses were fastened to boards and thrown into the rivers...

Unfortunately, there is no such mention in this text. It does mention a UFO event, but it has nothing to do with the Lyons affair: "Those watching outside in that place, of whom many still live to this very day, say they beheld the likeness of two large shields reddish in colour in motion above the church..."

(text in English):
http://www.ufologie.net/htm/lyon840.htm
 
From google translation of Secretbase:

THE Chrestian
Des êtres tombés du ciel et venus de nulle part Beings fell from the sky and came out of nowhere

Peu d'événements étaient susceptibles d'étonner l'homme de l'époque médiévale car il survivait alors à grand-peine. Few events were likely to surprise the man of the Middle Ages because he survived so with great difficulty. Lorsqu'il avait résisté aux hivers rigoureux, aux guerres féodales et aux fléaux, il acceptait sans trop se formaliser les incursions de l'irréel ou du fantastique dans le réel. When he resisted the harsh winters, the feudal wars and plagues, he accepted without much formalize the incursions of the unreal or fantasy into reality. D'ailleurs, la frontière était floue entre l'imaginaire et levécu et les phénomènes étranges pouvaient communément être acceptés comme des signes d'uneautre réalité. Moreover, the boundary was blurred between fantasy and levécu and strange phenomena could be commonly accepted as signs of uneautre reality. L'Eglise elle-même saisissait les esprits en évoquant la présence immanente du malin et en décrivant les forces obscures de démons immatériels. The Church itself seized spirits by evoking the immanent presence of malignant and describing the dark forces of demons immaterial. La mort faisait partiedu quotidien et chacun se savait continuellement menacé. The death was partiedu daily and everyone knew he was continually threatened.

Qui étaient les Chrestians qui vécurent près de six siècles en Europe, et d'où venait Who were the Chrestian who lived nearly six centuries in Europe, whence
réellement ce peuple qui tomba du ciel pour s'installer en France à l'époque médiévale? actually the people who fell from the sky to settle in France in medieval times?

Seul cet aspect de la pensée médiévale peut expliquer que, en l'an 800, sous le règne des Carolingiens, les habitants de la vieille ville de Lyon n'aient pas été choqués de l'apparition de surprenants objets descendants du ciel. Only this aspect of medieval thought may explain why, in the year 800, during the reign of the Carolingians, the inhabitants of the old city of Lyon have not been shocked by the surprising appearance of objects descending from the sky. Les Lyonnais franchirent les portes fortifiées de la ville et gagnèrent avec force cris les champs où venaient de se poser les " vaisseaux ". The Lyons crossed the fortified gates of the city and gained strength with cries fields that had just put the "vessels". Ils furent rapidement encerclés, puis un grand silence se fit lorsque le premier pilote sortit de l'engin. They were quickly surrounded, then a great silence fell when the first driver left the vehicle. Comme les citadins ne comprenaient rien à son langage inconnu, il fut décidé sans autre forme de procès de s'emparer de ces êtres. As the townspeople did not understand his language unknown, it was decided without further ado to capture these creatures.



Les " pilotes venus du ciel " furent immédiatement cloués sur des planches et confiés au courant de la Saône et du Rhône. The "drivers from the sky" were immediately pinned on boards and handed aware of the Saone and the Rhone. Ainsi pensait-on châtier ces étranges visiteurs qui " venaient sur Terre pour abîmer les récoltes par le fracas de leurs terribles engins volants ". So thought we punish these strange visitors "came to Earth to cause damage to crops by the terrible din of their flying machines."

Ce châtiment était supposé dissuader d'autres visiteurs célestes qui, voyant du ciel leurs compagnons emportés par les flots, se seraient tenus à distance de la Terre. This punishment was supposed to deter other heavenly visitors who saw their comrades of the sky swept by the waves, would have kept away from Earth. Pourtant, des chroniqueurs médiévaux rapportent que, quelque temps plus tard, apparurent en grand nombre,dans nos régions et sous nos climats, des êtres aux caractéristiques physiques pour le moins étonnantes. Yet medieval chroniclers relate that some time later, appeared in large numbers in our region and in our climate, physical beings with the least amazing. Bien que d'abord persécuté, ils furent peu à peu tolérés jusqu'à vivre à côté des humains. Although initially persecuted, they were gradually tolerated to live alongside humans. Relégué au rang des bannis, ils s'organisèrent de façon autonome en marge de lasociété. Relegated to the exiles, they organized themselves independently in the margins of Their society. Les représentants de cette race maudite furent baptisés " Chrestians ", " Gézitains ", " Gahets ", " Agots ", ou encore " Cagots ". Representatives of this accursed race were baptized "Chrestian", "Gézitains", "Gahete", "Agota", or "Cagots.

Ci-contre : Exemplaire contemporain d'un bénitier de Cagots en l'église de Saint Savin Ci-cons: a contemporary copy of Cagots font in the church of Saint Savin

Les nombreux historiens à s'être penchés sur l'histoire de cet étrange peuple dispersé, retrouve, aux quatre points cardinaux de l'Europe, la même description de ces êtres que celle qui fut faite en France. Numerous historians have examined the strange history of this scattered people, found at the four cardinal points of Europe, the same description of these beings that which was made in France. Les Chrestians ont des caractéristiques physiques étranges : ils sont chauves, ils n'ont pas de pavillons d'oreilles visibles ( à leur place, on distingue deux trous, comme chez les sauriens ), ilsont les pieds et les mains palmés et ils dégagent une chaleur corporelle absolument anormale. The Chrestian have strange physical characteristics: they are bald, they have no ear lobes visible (at their place, there are two holes, as in lizards), ilsont feet and webbed hands and they give off a absolutely abnormal body heat. Ce sont des particularités, maintes fois relevées, qui firent qu'on les relégua longtemps en tribus, aux portes des cités où ils érigeaient des sortes de faubourgsautonomes. These are special, often cited, which made it a long time relegated the tribes, the gates of the cities where they erected a kind of faubourgsautonomes. Comme on considérait alors qu'ils avaient un aspect repoussant, obligation leurétait faite d'être amplement vêtus, encapuchonnés et chaussées. As we saw when they had a repulsive appearance, bond Leuret made to be fully clad, hooded and pavements. Ceci étant, même soigneusement vêtus, les Chrestians avaient pour autres obligations de porter, cousue surleurs vêtements, bien visible sur la poitrine, une patte d'oie séchée et peinte en rouge. However, even carefully dressed for the Chrestian had other obligations to wear sewn clothes surleurs, clearly visible on his chest, a bridle dried and painted red. Cette signalétique rappelée à la population que ces êtres avaient des pieds et les mains palmés ! This signage reminded the public that these people had webbed feet and hands!

On pourrait voir dans ces descriptions le fruit d'un ramassis de légendes et de faussesinformations colportées par la rumeur si, au XVIe siècle, Ambroise Paré ( 1509 - 1590 ), lepère de la chirurgie moderne, affecté au service du roi Henri II, ne s'était scientifiquement penché sur cette étrange race, maudite depuis déjà trois siècles. We could see in these descriptions the result of a bunch of legends and rumors spread by faussesinformations if, in the sixteenth century, Ambroise Pare (1509 - 1590), Lepère of modern surgery, engaged in the service of King Henry II, does was scientifically examined this strange race, cursed since already three centuries.

À l'époque, les Chrestians, qui vivaient isolés, n'avaient perdu aucune de leurs caractéristiques physiques et physiologiques consignées sous les Carolingiens. At the time, Chrestian who lived in isolation, had lost none of their physical and physiological characteristics recorded under the Carolingians. Ambroise Paré passa plusieurs semaines à les étudier en s'efforçant de ne pas se laisser influencer, il s'attacha à accumuler de véritables constatations médicales et à les consigner soigneusement par écrit. Ambroise Pare spent several weeks in the study in trying not to be swayed, he endeavored to accumulate real medical findings and the record carefully in writing. Il rapporte notamment leur capacité prodigieuse à pratiquer la " momification par magnétisme ". It relates in particular their prodigious ability to practice "mummification by magnetism. Cet exercice, rapporté ici dans le vieux français d'origine, est supposé révéler la puissance du magnétisme personnel: " l'un d'iceux tenant en sa main une pomme fraîche, icelle après apparaisoit aussi aride et ridée que si elle eut restée l'espace de huit jours au soleil ". This exercise, reported here in the Old French origin, is supposed to reveal the power of personal magnetism, "one of iceux holding in his hand a fresh apple, after hereunto apparaisoit as dry and wrinkled as if she had remained the space of eight days in the sun. " Ambroise Paré explique cette réaction par la chaleur anormalement élevée dégagée par leur corps. Ambroise Paré explains this reaction by the abnormally high heat generated by their bodies. On a dit que lors d'une saignée, est sorti de ses veines un liquide presque bouillonnant et d'une teinte entre le bleu et le vert. It was said that during a recess, came out of her veins almost boiling liquid and a hue between blue and green. Ces caractéristiques firent qu'un arsenal juridique spécifique fut mis sur pied afin de les mettre au ban de la société et d'éviter qu'ils ne se mêlent aux humains. These characteristics made a specific legal arsenal was established to bring them to the margins of society and prevent them mingle with humans.

Vivant en groupes dans les faubourgs des cités, ils avaient leurs propres cimetières où ils étaient systématiquement inhumés sans prêtre ni office religieux. Groups living in the suburbs of cities, they had their own cemeteries where they were systematically buried without a priest or religious service. Ils ne pouvaient exercer qu'un seul métier, celui de tonnelier car au Moyen Âge le boisétait réputé ne pas véhiculer les maladies. They could perform only one job, that of cooper since the Middle Ages the boisétait deemed not carry diseases. Ces êtres étranges ne vivaient cependant pas dans la misère car ils avaient un grand sens des affaires. These strange beings do not, however, lived in poverty because they had a great sense of business. D'anciennes archives notariales nous ont laissé des inventaires de biens établis après le décès de Chrestians. Old legal archives have left inventories of goods made after the death of Chrestian. On peut découvrir la description d'un niveau de vie très évoluée. One can find the description of a very advanced level of life. Ces textes montrent, en outre, queces hôtes étranges possédaient une capacité juridique relativement évoluée pour l'époque.C'est probablement pour éviter le développement d'une économie parallèle indépendante qu'un arsenal juridique draconien fut alors mis en place. These texts show also had a strange host queces legal capacity relatively advanced for its time. It is probably to avoid the development of an independent economy that draconian legal arsenal was then introduced. Ainsi, bien qu'interdits des cités, les Chrestians pouvaient posséder des maisons intra muros à condition de ne pas les habiter eux-mêmes. Thus, although banned in cities, Chrestian could own houses within the walls provided they do not live themselves. Ceux qui étaient tentés de louer leurs propriétés à un humain devait obligatoirement passer par l'intermédiaire d'un gérant non Chrestians. Those who were tempted to rent their properties to a human would necessarily pass through a non Chrestian manager. Bref, un racket bien organisé a rapidement rendu tout à fait tolérable la présence de ces populations marginalisées. In short, a well-organized racket has quickly made quite tolerable presence of these marginalized populations.

Ceci étant, la tolérance n'aurait pas pu aller jusqu'à l'intégration : il leur était interdit de se marier, et plus encore de s'accoupler avec des humains. That said, the tolerance would not have gone to integration: they were forbidden to marry, and more to mate with humans. D'ailleurs, l'idée faisait sourire à l'époque car on semblait ne rien connaître de leur mode de reproduction. Moreover, the idea made him smile at the time because they seemed to know nothing of their mode of reproduction. La rumeur populaire les disait bisexués au point que jamais on ne parlait d'eux en utilisant un genre ! The popular rumor said the bisexual point that we never spoke of them using a kind! C'est lors d'un procès que la discrimination était encore plus forte : il fallait les serments ou les témoignages de 7 Chrestians pour pouvoir rivaliser avec celui d'un humain ! It was during a trial that the discrimination was even stronger: it was necessary oaths or testimony of 7 Chrestian to compete with that of a human! Les choses continuèrent ainsi pendant tout le Moyen Âge mais, peu à peu, les Chrestians se sont fondus dans la population et, c'est peut-être le signe de leur intégration, au XVIIIe siècle, seul le folklore parle d'êtres aux caractéristiques aussi étranges. Things continued well throughout the Middle Ages, but little by little, Chrestian have melted into the population, and this may be a sign of their integration in the eighteenth century, only folklore speaks of beings to the characteristics as strange. L'histoire devait accélérer la disparition du peuple banni. The story should accelerate the disappearance of people banned.

La révolution de 1789 donna naissance au " Droits de l'Homme ". The revolution of 1789 gave birth to the "Human Rights". Les Chrestians devait immanquablement en profiter. The Chrestian would inevitably benefit. Néanmoins, compte-tenu de l'étrangeté de leurs caractéristiques, une vaste étude médicale fut organisée afin de savoir si, oui ou non, ils pouvaient être considérés comme des hommes jouissant de la plénitude de ces droits nouvellement acquis. Nevertheless, given the strangeness of their characteristics, a large medical study was organized to determine whether or not they could be regarded as men enjoying the fullness of these newly acquired rights. Les conclusions de l'examen révélèrent que les spécimens examinés n'étaient affectés qu'approximativement des symptômes décrits par Ambroise Paré et les chroniqueurs du Moyen Âge. The findings of the review revealed that the specimens examined were assigned approximately the symptoms described by Ambroise Paré and the chroniclers of the Middle Ages. Dès lors, les Chrestians purent se fondre et se couler dans l'anonymat de la ville, achever la totale dilution de leurs caractéristiques et occuper jusqu'aux plus hautes fonctions au sein de l'état sans que leurs origines puissent même lors être rappelées. Therefore, Chrestian could melt and slip into the anonymity of the city, completing the total dilution of their characteristics and hold to the highest position within the state without having their origins can be even when recalled.

Pourtant, après les glorieuses victoires de l'Empire, auxquelles bon nombre d'entre eux avait efficacement participé, un reste de mépris existait encore à leur égard dans les campagnes.Quelques Chrestians y revinrent malgré tout, chargés de gloire. However, after the glorious victories of the Empire, which many of them had participated effectively, a remnant of contempt against them were still in there campagnes.Quelques Chrestian returned after all, responsible for glory. On possède même le témoignage de l'un d'eux, se plaisant à venir bruyamment, avec du retard, aux offices du dimanche, couvert de toutes ses médailles bravement gagnées. It even has the testimony of one of them is pleasant to come noisily late, with Sunday services, covered all his medals bravely earned. Vingt années plus tôt, n'ayant pu imaginer mettre les pieds dans l'église d'une ville ou d'un village, il bravait enfin ses anciens tortionnaires, analphabètes pour la plupart, afin de voir si l'un d'eux aurait eu,s elon ses propres termes, " l'envie de venir lui friser les moustaches ". Twenty years earlier, could not imagine setting foot in the church of a town or village, he finally braved his former tormentors, mostly illiterate, to see if one of them would had, ccording to his own words, "want to come and curl the whiskers.

Rares sont les scientifiques modernes qui se penchèrent sur ce phénomène historique. Few modern scientists who have studied this historical phenomenon. Les thèses ou écrits rédigés sur les Chrestians se comptent sur les doigts d'une main. Theses written or drawn on Chrestian be counted on the fingers of one hand. À la faculté d'histoire, on consacre aujourd'hui un cours à l'énigme des Chrestians mais leur origine reste toujours inexpliquée. At the Faculty of History, is now devoting a course to the riddle of Chrestian but their origin remains unexplained. Certains auteurs du XIXe siècle ont avancé l'hypothèseque selon quoi ces étranges individus auraient pu être des lépreux. Some authors have advanced the nineteenth century by hypothèseque what these strange people have been lepers. Cette thèse ne tient pas car la façon dont ils étaient traités ne ressemble pas au traitement particulier et aux signes distinctifs imposés aux lépreux au Moyen Age. This argument fails because the way they were treated not like the special treatment and distinctive imposed on lepers in the Middle Ages. En outre, des cimetière de Chrestians des XIIe et XIIIe siècles, récemment fouillés, laissent entrevoir des squelettes parfaitement sains, dépourvus des terribles lésions osseuses que l'on peut observer sur les restes des lépreux. In addition, cemetery Chrestian the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, recently excavated skeletons suggest perfectly healthy, without the terrible bone lesions that can be seen on the ruins of the Lepers. D'autres chercheurs avancèrent l'hypothèse selon laquelle les Chrestians seraient les descendants de Sarrasins restés sous nos climats après les invasions. Other researchers put forward the hypothesis that Chrestian are the descendants of Saracens stayed in our climate after the invasion. Or les chroniques du Moyen Âge assurent que les rares Chrestians non chauves portant les cheveux longs les avaient invariablement " blond comme blé au soleil ". Now the chronicles of medieval ensure that scarce Chrestian not bald with long hair were invariably the "blond as wheat in the sun." On a aussi parlé d'éventuels descendants de Vikings mais ces derniers étaient déjà, depuis longtemps, intégrés à la société européenne. We also talked about possible descendants of Vikings, but they were already long been integrated into European society.

Le milieu purement scientifique, en dehors d'Ambroise Paré, ne s'est jamais préoccupé de savoir qui était vraiment les Chrestians, se contentant d'affirmer péremptoirement que " des êtres bisexués, sans oreille, aux doigts palmés, avec un sang vert et chaud n'existaient pas ". The purely scientific community, outside of Ambroise Pare, has never cared about who was really Chrestian, merely to say conclusively that "bisexual beings, without ears, fingers webbed with blood and green hot did not exist. " Pourtant, en reprenant certains éléments de leur histoire, on peut, par exemple, être frappé par l'aspect de saurien qui fait du Chrestian un parfait extraterrestre, semblable à ceux décrits par les contactés depuis le milieu du XXe siècle ! However, using some elements of their history, one can, for example, being struck by the appearance of lizard that makes a perfect Chrestian alien, similar to those described by the contactees since the mid-twentieth century! Ensuite, fait encore plus troublant, ces êtres " venus de nulle part " débarquent en Occident et principalement en France, juste après qu'y soit apparue une inexplicable invasion de vaisseaux aériens dont les pilotes, une fois pris,étaient systématiquement jetés dans les rivières après avoir été cloués en croix. Then, even more disturbing, these Beings "from nowhere" land in the West and especially in France, just after an inexplicable What appeared to be invasion of airships including pilots, once made, were routinely dumped into rivers after being nailed on the cross. Ne faudrait-il pas voir en eux des survivants de débarquement durement réprimés, résultat d'un exode planétaire pacifique, plutôt que d'une tentative de colonisation ? Should we not see them as survivors of landing harshly repressed, resulting from a global peaceful exodus, rather than an attempt at colonization?

Ces vaisseaux apparus en grandes quantités, comme le décrivent si bien les documents de l'époque appelés capitulaires, n'ont finalement été remarqué que là où il y avait des témoins pour les voir, c'est-à-dire près des cités. These ships appeared in large quantities, as described so well the documents of the period called the Chapter, have finally been noticed that where there were witnesses to see, that is to say near the cities. On peut penser que la plupart de ces engins ont pu finalement débarquer sur Terre le plus paisiblement du monde. Presumably most of these devices have finally landed on Earth as the world peacefully. Quoi d'étonnant, dans ce cas, à ce que cette population aux caractéristiques physiologiques particulières ait formé une population rapidement mis à l'écart des villes ? What wonder, in this case that this population with particular physiological characteristics has formed a population quickly sidelined cities? Pendant plus de six siècles, ces hommes sont restés " les maudits " de notre histoire et il leur faudra attendre le XIXe siècle pour se fondre définitivement dans les rangs de la population terrienne. For over six centuries, these men remained "the curse" of our history and it will take until the nineteenth century to finally merge into the ranks of the earth population. Pour approcher un peu plus le mystère de cette population paria, le château médiéval de Nestes ( IXe - XIe siècles ), dans les Hautes-Pyrénées, a ouvert le musée des Cagots. For a little nearer the mystery of this population pariah, the medieval castle of Nestes (IX - XI centuries), in the Hautes-Pyrenees, opened the museum Cagots. On y apprend notamment que l'on interdisait à ces " intouchables " du Moyen Âge de boire aux fontaines de peur qu'il ne les souille! Particular, we learn that we prevented them "untouchables" of the Middle Ages to drinking fountains for fear he does defile!
 
after reading it twice. There are definitely a loot of anomalies about said group of people. They seem like some sort of hybrid. A genealogy of the people around that area should reveal something.
 
I've just came upon this thread,Wow what a surprise!!!

My previous home was the house of a famous family of "cagots",one km waydown the village;the necropolis of the local community was on my land,no bones no graves as in this area they were required to cremate,but dozens of huge granite erratic blocks,several 5meters hight,10m long,very amazing place and so peaceful together.(St Savin,Hautes-pyrénées,france)

You can imagine as I have an inquiring mind I immediatly did some researches...It was 20 years ago,we stayed 10 years in this really magical place,then unfortunatly I bankrupted and was so busted that when the owner decided to sell we had to quit this paradise where we have raised our two kids from 0 to 10.It has been a really traumatic event at this time;but we overcame and eventually did our own.

The quotes (especially emphases) of Adaryn are absolutly right;all the rest is disinfo.
Genealogies have been made and published in 1988 by Alain Guerreau and Yves Guy in: LES CAGOTS DU BEARN Recherches sur le développement inégal au sein du système féodal européen,ed Minerve.

...God, what a mess in the whole valley!Because,History is ironic,the most part of the descendants are pretty well established and represents actually the local higher society of the county!
It seems that they didn't really appreciate the disclosure of their ancient conditions...Of course I know personally most of them as every one around and I can say they are all taller than average,blue eyed,blond and have fair complexions.

So,to make a long story short,after the plague,beginning of first millenium,huge amount of people have spread all over europe from the north.Imagine nordic types arriving and establishing among latin genetically types:short,black haired,rather dark complexion,etc...
We saw the emerging of xenophobia and fear of foreign people.Cagots means literally "chiens de goths" (dogs goths);to penetrate in the church they were obliged to pass by a little door on the side 1m high in order to self humble.You can still see these doors in all the churches or abbeys in the area(porte des cagots),not allowed to use the main holy water font but only their own of course(a tiny one)in a backside,being accused to bear white leprosis so they were only allowed to exercise profession related to wood(carpenters,joiners,loggers,etc...)because wood was supposed not to bring the disease.
But for sure and it's strange,they had the right to be doctors or healers and there were really good at that.I figured out that an ancient habitant of the place I lived witch name was Jean de Mailhoc has been the first man allowed to exploit the very famous thermal sources in Cauterets previously used long time ago by roman legionnaires in convalescence...

Well,so much things to say...the lesson is that racism and xenophobia didn't start today and as we say in french:Quand on veut tuer son chien on dit qu'il a la rage(when one want to kill his dog one tell it has (a)rabies...pun intended!
 
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Hello Adaryn,

I'll continue your reflection. In my opinion, you have to go back to Clovis and the Merovingian dynasty to find an interesting origin in the Cagots and I will focus on their webbed feet and hands.

1) The Clovis dynasty is associated with toads (or frogs).

The Frankish coat of arms was represented by 3 toads. More cautiously, it should be noted that it was during the Renaissance that this idea spread.
It can clearly be seen on a 14th century tapestry ( "Battle of Tolbiac", Saint Rémi Museum in Reims). Nostradamus refers to it in his centuries (" Le tres puissant Seigneur, héritier des crapauds " / The very powerful Lord, heir to the toads; centurie X, quatrain 101). According to Daniel Specklin, a 14th century architect, the Frankenburg castle (supposedly built by Clovis) had the first coat of arms of the Franks on one of the stained glass windows of the chapel: 3 black toads on a white background.

According to Christian hagiography, the image of the 3 lilies of France is sent by an angel to a hermit who entrusted it to Queen Clotilde. Clovis won the Battle of Tolbiac, converted to Christianity and adopted the flower emblem on the fly to replace the toads.
It is important to note that the "fleurs-de-lis" are, according to historians, the symbol of royalty adopted by the Carolingians and that the legend was certainly attributed to Clovis by them at that time. The Carolingian coup d'état and the suppression of the Merovingians imposed the "disappearance of toads". The toad's association with witchcraft and black magic could come from there.

Note the stylistic similarity between the fleur-de-lis and the toad:

1572826185698.png

Gérard de Sede, in his book "La race fabuleuse, extraterrestrials et mythologie méroviengienne", reports a very interesting fact.
In Saint Mary's Cathedral in Auch, Francis I is represented under the guise of King David on the harp. The character invites us by the position of his index finger to look at his feet. In a very surprising way, a "toad king" is carved at the feet of Francis I/ King David.

1572826234514.png

According to the author, the Sicambers were originally Hebrews emigrating from Greece (Arcadia) to Sicily, then the Alps and the Rhine to the east of La Gaulle, among the Franks. Among their attributes, he notes their long hair and hairy character, drawing a parallel with the Hebrew priestly rites and the Nazir with intact hair.

2) Pedal Queen (la reine Pédauque)


Queen Pedauque is a mythical queen who would find her origin in the city of Toulouse at the time when she was capital of the Visigothic kingdom (from 413 to 508). It is characterized by a crow's feet, hence its name: "pè d'auca" in Occitan means "crow's feet".

Again, we have a connection with the Goths.

This also brings us back to Charlemagne's mother, "Berthe au grand pied" and more broadly to the Germanic goddess Brechta, to Freya at the foot of the swan, to the Queen of Sheba and her forked foot, to Mother Goose (la Mère l'Oie)...

Nous avons donc plusieurs récits qui convergent vers le folklore germanique et ses « pieds palmés ». Les Cagots, ces « chiens Goth », blonds aux yeux clairs et à la peau blanche, pourraient donc être les descendants de Clovis ou rattaché à son groupe ethnique. Ainsi, des connexions intéressantes se font avec les Mérovingiens, ces prêtres-rois, adeptes de magie et de guérison, et les Cagots et toutes ces légendes qui sont très présentes dans le Sud de la France.

So we have both a Tradition and a genetic index that could refer to a certain lineage.This also leads us to the book "The Sacred Enigma" and the myth of Merove.

Best regards, friends
 
Nous avons donc plusieurs récits qui convergent vers le folklore germanique et ses « pieds palmés ». Les Cagots, ces « chiens Goth », blonds aux yeux clairs et à la peau blanche, pourraient donc être les descendants de Clovis ou rattaché à son groupe ethnique. Ainsi, des connexions intéressantes se font avec les Mérovingiens, ces prêtres-rois, adeptes de magie et de guérison, et les Cagots et toutes ces légendes qui sont très présentes dans le Sud de la France.

Sorry, part of the text remained in French!

So we have several stories that converge towards Germanic folklore and its "webbed feet". The Cagots, these "Goth dogs", blond with pale eyes and white skin, could therefore be the descendants of Clovis or attached to his ethnic group. Thus, interesting connections are made with the Merovingians, these priest-kings, adepts of magic and healing, and the Cagots and all those legends that are very present in the South of France.
 
through the article below, i discovered the existence of the cagots. what did ring a bell is the mentioning of the pyrenees, assumed home to a remainder of stone age people, of cathars, and other mysterious folk. also of interest is that the laura gang lives not that far away.

 
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