167 - Along the Gardes (waymark no. 16)

Pradelles, capital of the mountains: The origins of Pradelles remain unclear, and it is not until the middle of the 11th century that the first mentions of the town appear in written records. A “castrum Pratellae” appears in an act of homage paid in 1177 by the lord of Luc to the bishop of Le Puy, the nominal overlord of the town. At that time, the town was under the authority of a community of lords, six or seven co-lords (seigneurs pariers), who shared power and revenue, the lord of Luc receiving homage from the others as “high lord”. In 1269, they granted the inhabitants one of the first charters of customs in the region, a sign of the vitality and growth of the town. This prosperity was tied to its geographical position, as the town stands on the great road to the Midi, which avoids the Rhône valley, then still in the hands of the Empire. A trading stopover, it saw wines and spices passing north; livestock, grain and woollen cloth went south towards the Midi. It was also a financial centre where lending at interest developed, as well as a pilgrimage stop on the way to Saint-Gilles. A castle probably predates the town, but nothing is known of it before the end of the 12th century. At that date it came under the viscounts of Gévaudan, but its direct lord was “the prince of Luc”, whose castle stands about twenty kilometres further south. From 1220, these lords recognised the overlordship of the bishop of Le Puy, while they in turn received homage from their subordinates, the many co-lords who defended the fortress. Today very little trace remains of the castle, which is thought to have stood where the present parish church is. Next to the church, a rocky escarpment probably carried the main tower. Below, several houses have kept carved elements from the 15th century, probably the dwellings that the co-lords owned. During the Hundred Years' War, the town obtained from the king the privilege of building fortifications to defend the town and its valuable warehouses. But the activity of armed bands and the attachment of the Rhône valley to the kingdom weakened Pradelles' position. In addition, the town did not escape the great epidemics; it is for this reason that the Saint-Lazare hospital, intended for the destitute and the sick, was built outside the walls.