Abstract EN:

The number of medieval buildings that have been preserved testifies to the prosperity of cahors between 1100 and 1350. The capital of the quercy did not benefit from any particular economic advantage and is, for this reason, a good example of the widespread prosperity of the time. From the bheginning of the 13th century the consulate became the main power of the town. Its role of municipal government was reinforced by the increasing presence of royal administration. The action taken by the aldermen with regard to urban regulations and their realisations (the creation of squares, the construction of two bridges) went hand in hand with urban growth. An urban project thus took form around 1300. The distinctive character of the towm was a main center and arterial roads which brought together commercial activities and residential needs. Constructive characterisrics have allowed the identification of about 30 "romanesque" houses. Archaelogical analyses have been concentrated principally on the edifices (houses, mansions and palaces) of the 13th and 14th centuries. To this end the programmes, the construction materials, the domestic layouts, etc. Have been studies. Brick became dominant during the course of the 13th century. Comfort increased. The evolution of the sculpture reveals that from the last decades of the 13th century onwards the french gothic vocabulary was adopted in its entirety.