Discover Nogaret’s Mandate on the Aubrac mountains’ foothills
During a long period spanning from the Middle Ages to the 1789 revolution, Gévaudan was composed of 8 baronies, to which one could add the Montferand "comtors", who possessed among others Nogaret’s Mandate regrouping the present Saint -Germain du Teil, Saint-Pierre de Nogaret and Trélans communes. It was attached to the crown of the King of France in 1258, and enjoyed a special status which gave it the right to be represented at the Gévaudan General Estates.
Nogaret’s Mandate extended from Mailhebiau to the Lot river Valley. It consisted of small cultivated plateaus and deep valleys where dwellings were only accessible by narrow paths. It thus constituted an almost impregnable territory by invaders, assuming an important defensive function, in particular the control of circulation axes coming from Rouergue and the hinterland towards the Lot river Valley.
The castle located above the dead village of Nogaret, the Mandate’s headquarters for centuries, has been in ruins for a long time; as for the Montferrand castle, its ruins are still visible on the spur dominating the Lot river and the Booz lake.
