A 10th-century Dance in Carennac: A Medieval Carnival Spoiled by Calamities

Nestled deep within the throbbing core of Carennac, a 10th-century priory once danced as a grand spectacle, orchestrated by the Abbey of Beaulieu, later seized by the Abbey of Cluny in 1040, under the supervision of Bernard III, Bishop of Cahors. By the mid-1100s, the priory whirled with affluence, amassing sprawling possessions. Yet, its tale is tainted with tribulations. The Romanesque cloister stumbled during the Hundred Years War at the end of the 1300s. A mere stone's throw from the end of the 1400s, the cloister was rejuvenated, but its riches were significantly strained. The French Wars of Religion, a battle between Catholic and Protestant France in the 1500s, brought additional torment when the deanery was looted in 1562 by the Protestant forces of Bessonies and Marchastel, leaving the priory wounded and emaciated.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons