Bruniquel, France October 2012

This weekend’s goal was to take the new car out for a test drive while enjoying the scenery of Les Gorges de l’Aveyron. Earlier in the week I stopped at the regional tourist office to get a map and trip advice. I left the office with a map that had five towns circled on it; a good day’s trip, guaranteed. Two of the towns were listed as a “Most Beautiful Village” and another was a “Grande Site of the Midi-Pyrenees”. The weather forecast was excellent, so we started early.  

Our first circled town was one of the “Most Beautiful Villages of France”, Bruniquel. The Michelin Green Guide gives it one star, and explains a little bit of the history; an ancient fortified village with two castles at the top of the steep hill. The town is named after Brunhilda the wife of the 6th century Austrasian King Sigebert I son of Clovis. The story told relates to her long life and cruel death by being tied by the arms, leg and hair to the tail and legs of a wild horse. As best as I can tell, a person who is dismembered by an animal has something named after it, for example St. Sernin. There will be more about the history and legend of Brunhilda later.

The town of Bruniquel is a fortified village made of old pink stone and red tiled roofs and is situated high above the confluences of the rivers Aveyron and Vere. At the entry to the town is an unremarkable old church which was destroyed during the Wars of Religion and rebuilt during the 17th century and modernized during the 19th century. The town streets are steep and narrow, leading up the Chateau de Bruniquel. At the top there are actually two chateaus: the Chateau Vieux and the Chateau Jeune. The Chateau Vieux was built in the 12th century on the foundation of the 6th century fortress. The Counts of Toulouse owned this property. In the mid-15th century a second castle is built due to a feud between two of the Count’s nephews. For several centuries a wall divided the two castles, but at the end of the 18th century the Count of the Chateau Vieux buys out the Count of the Chateau Jeune and the wall is removed. In recent history, a 1970’s movie called “Le Vieux Fusil” (The Old Rifle) was filmed there. The movie depicted the German occupation of France during WWII. The town and several others in the area have been used as locations for movies with this same theme.

The Bruniquel is in the area known as Quercy. During medieval times it was a crossroads area for the trade of hemp, flax and saffron. Pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostela passed through the region and stayed in a hospital called St. Catherine which opened in 1303. Saffron is still produced in the area and now there is VDQS status for its wines; Coteaux du Quercy.  

Quercy was the old name for the Cot grape which is now commonly known as Malbec; the famous grape of Cahors. However, the blends of grapes for Coteaux du Quercy wines are stipulated as such: 40-60% Cabernet Franc, and the rest is a combination of Merlot, Gamay, Malbec and Tannat, none of which can be more than 20%. This is a relatively new wine designation and a very small region of only 400 hectares. I went to several of my local wine stores to try a bottle, but was told that Cahors was the wine of the region Quercy. When I asked about a wine from the region that was made of Cabernet Franc, I was told that it was forbidden for a Cahors wine to be made from Cabernet Franc, only 100% Malbec. From what I have read, the winters in the region are cooler, the summers hotter so grapes have more concentrated flavor. The wine is said to be perfect in 3-5 years after bottling. I will continue with my search for this wine.  

Now back to Brunhilda the Visigoth princess from Toledo Spain who married King Sigebert I of Austrasia. King Sigebert I had several other brothers who were also kings of nearby kingdoms. Apparently, the other brothers did not care as much who they married or carried on with until they noticed the wealth and education of Queen Brunhilda. King Chilperic (Sigebert’s brother) decides to marry the sister of Brunhilda to equalize the status. When Brunhilda’s sister arrives to the Chilperic’s kingdom, she demands that all mistresses and prostitutes are banned from the castle. Chilperic obliges for a while, but soon tires of this situation. Someone strangles Brunhilda’s sister in her sleep and Chilperic takes his favorite mistress back, and Fredegund becomes his wife. This action enrages Brunhilda and she convinces Sigebert to start a war with his brother. This war lasts through decades and generations of the family. Assassins are hired by Fredegund and they kill King Sigebert I. Brunhilda is captured and put in a tower. An enterprising nephew of Sigebert (step son of Fredegund) rescues Brunhilda and marries her to then rule Sigebert’s kingdom. The bishop declares this marriage to be void, but Brunhilda is able to grasp power and rule the kingdom. Eventually she loses control of the kingdom and is exiled by a grandson. Another grandson takes her in, and renewed fighting breaks out between these brothers. The bishop of Vienne (the soon to be St. Didier) condemns the royal relationship of Brunhilda and her grandson, calling it an incestuous relationship. Brunhilda is displeased by the bishop’s condemnation and hires three assassins to take care of the bishop. Brunhilda’s sponsoring grandson kills his brother and rules the kingdom. At some point the grandson dies, and Brunhilda again takes control of the kingdom in the name of her great grandson. By this time she is almost eighty years old. The dukes of the kingdom have had enough of Brunhilda’s rule and attempt to rid the kingdom of her. She flees to the east seeking help but is finally captured and accused of killing the past 10 kings of the Franks. Her punishment is to be tied to the legs of an unbroken horse and dragged to her death.

The story of Brunhilda is pretty incredible and managed to live on throughout the middle ages. It is believed that her story may be the basis for “The Nibelungenlied”. “The Nibelungenlied” is a series of Germanic heroic motifs which include oral traditions of reporting historic events of the 5th and 6th century. Regardless of whether or not this is the case, she has one of the most beautiful villages of France named after her.