Walking in the Cevennes. Janette Norton
de la Jonte. Freezing in winter and extremely hot in summer, it would not be an easy place to live, and the few isolated hamlets are mainly deserted. Since there are few trees (though in some places conifers have been planted) the wind whistles across the bare fields. The limestone absorbs the spring rain and, though it has hollowed out underground rivers and gorges, little water remains on the surface except in shallow depressions called lavognes, which enable the flocks to drink and the farmers to grow wheat, corn and barley. The sudden extreme changes in temperature have caused the rocks to crack and created clapas, piles of rocks and stones, which are often used to make low stone walls.
After walking up the side of the gorge, with its fascinating rocky outcrops and vertiginous cliff face, it is always something of a shock to arrive at this flat upland landscape at the top (see Walk 23). It is as though you have suddenly entered another world, with its silent windswept slopes, some dotted with boulders and bushes, small isolated fields and the occasional fir plantation, but little else. The few farms still occupied concentrate on cattle, sheep raising or making cheese. This is also the home of the rare Prezwalski horse, which is threatened with extinction in the wild but flourishes here in a protected area of 300 hectares. On the western edge, where the Gorges du Tarn meets the Gorges de la Jonte, the bald-headed vulture can be seen, its huge wings cruising the air currents among the high, dramatic cliffs. These birds were reintroduced to the region in the 1970s.
Although there are roads, to get the feel of this unique country you have discover it on foot, and one of the most interesting walks is to a strange rocky area called the Chaos de Nîmes (see Walk 26). There is also a long-distance walk around the Causse Méjean, which takes about six days.
Gorges du Tarn
The Tarn rises near the Pic Cassini in the Mont Lozère region. In its infancy a narrow, rushing, rocky stream, it widens and grows calmer as it flows west through the village of Pont-de-Montvert to join the river Tarnon at the Pont du Tarn, north of Florac. Here the cliffs are already high, but as the river sinuously carves its way like a huge snake through the Causse Sauveterre to the north and the Causse Méjean to the south, the cliff walls become even higher and more dramatic. The rare villages and habitations that cling to the riverbanks are completely overshadowed by these daunting walls of rock, often pitted with caves and small bushes.
Solitary graves at Moulin des Geminards (Walk 29)
The river continues westwards and then turns south to meet the Jonte river. All along are impressive cliffs and look-out points, and in summer the D907, which follows the river, is clogged with cars and tourists. One of the best ways to experience the gorge is to go down on a boat, if you don’t mind the odd rapid! Seen from above the water is a deep translucent green, which contrasts with the silvery sheen of the pebble beaches, dotted with bikini-clad sunbathers in high season. After the Corniches de Méjean cliffs, the river opens up and turns southwest towards the town of Millau.
A Short History of the Cevennes
Like other areas of southern France, in prehistoric times the Cevennes was a melting pot of different tribes and cultures, although it seems that early man took longer to penetrate the narrow upland valleys of this remote region. The earliest traces of civilisation have been found in caves and overhanging grottos where primitive man sheltered in order to survive by hunting and fishing.
During the Bronze Age hundreds of megaliths – standing stones called menhirs and dolmens – were constructed and placed in prominent places on tops of ridges and passes (see Walks 5, 18 and 23). Why they were put there, and how, is still a mystery – they could have been used for religious purposes, as waymarks for travellers or even for early scientific experiments regarding the solar system. In any case, the size of some of them and the fact that they were dragged to these remote summits is a tribute to the ingenuity and courage of our ancestors.
Two tribes of Celtic origin occupied the Causses and the Cevennes regions around 6000 BC, the Gabales in the north and the Volques in the south. The conquest of France by Julius Caesar and the arrival of the Romans did not affect the remote areas of the Cevennes to any great extent, although archives have shown that in order to penetrate the Massif Central, ‘Caesar did not let winter hinder him from crossing the Cevennes on foot’, probably taking the drailles already in use by the Celts. Vestiges of a Roman road linking Nîmes to Millau can still be seen (Walk 3). Mention is also made that the most popular cheese in Rome came from the Lozère region. The Romans were also the first people to exploit the mineral riches of the region, and evidence has been found of early mining of iron, copper and silver, especially in the Tarn Gorge, where remains of Roman settlements have been discovered.
When the Roman Empire fell, confusion reined as the Visigoths and other barbarian hordes invaded southern France. The Saracens (Moors from north Africa) penetrated as far as the Vallée Français, but were driven off by Roland, nephew of Charlemagne. Little is known about historical events at this time, but by the ninth century the Cevennes was integrated into France proper and free from invasion.
Christianity was slower to penetrate the Cevennes than the other regions of France, and the first records indicate that the area was divided into two bishoprics, that of Mende to the north and Nîmes to the south. Monasteries and rural priories sprang into existence, such as the one in Ste-Enimie (see Walk 21). This was also the epoch of the local grand seigneurs, who ruled over different regions and who built their castles strategically overlooking the valleys and gorges of their domains. Together with the clergy they ruled the area militarily, politically and economically.
In the unstable environment of the 11th and 12th centuries the monasteries were often welcome havens of peace and stability. In the wild upland area of Mont Lozère the knights of the order of Saint John of Jersusalem established themselves in the village of l’Hôpital and founded the Commanderie (garrison) de Gap-Francès. They acquired vast tracts of land, and their boundaries were marked by large stones engraved with the cross of Malta, which are still standing to this day (see Walk 20 and Tour of Mont Lozère). Their benevolent rule lasted until the start of the French Revolution.
The War of the Camisards
The Cevennes only really entered the pages of history in the early 15th century, when much of the population was converted from Catholicism to the ideologies of Luther and Calvin. Preachers and settlers entered the region spreading the word of this new way of thinking. It fell on fertile ground, and such was the zeal of the local inhabitants that a message was sent to Geneva from the town of Le Vigan in October 1560 asking for a minister. By 1563 twelve ministers were preaching in the region. The reaction of the authorities was to send punitive expeditions into the area, but the inhabitants fled into the countryside and there was little bloodshed.
The Edict of Nantes was issued in 1598, wherein it was stated that religious liberty was permissible throughout France. The Calvinist faith flourished and chapels were built where the population could openly gather and hold services. However, in 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and the massacre of the Protestants began. Chapels were burnt, whole villages massacred and those that were not killed were imprisoned or sent to the gallows. Instead of deterring the people this seemed to harden their faith and they gathered secretly in isolated farms and caves to conduct their services, including marriages, baptisms and funerals. Many of the richer and more educated families fled to Calvinistic countries such as Switzerland or Germany; some emigrated to Canada and America. Others decided to stay and fight it out.
The War of the Camisards lasted for only two years, but many innocent people, both Catholic and Protestant, were killed as a consequence. The word Camisard comes from the word‘camisa’, meaning chemise (shirt) in the Occitan language, signifying the special shirts worn by the adherents.
The war began with the murder of the Abbot de Chaila, who was harbouring prisoners in his house in Pont-de-Montvert in the Mont Lozère region (see Walk 19), by a group of insurgents led by Esprit Séguier, who was subsequently burnt alive a few weeks later. Surprisingly few of the noble families were involved, and it was mainly a war organised by the peasants, the four commanders being Roland Laporte from Mailet and Castanet from the Aigoual region, who were both wool carders; brickmaker Jouany from