Périgord in the Renaissance

In the Périgord (the old name for what is now broadly the Dordogne department), the most visible aspect of the Renaissance period is unquestionably offered by its many châteaux. Whether to build new ones or modernise their former castles, the numerous aristocratic families throughout the region often put their fortunes at risk to follow the new architectural fashion. The châteaux of Puyguilhem, Richemont, Les Bories and Losse are among a good few examples of this craze.

The Renaissance was also the period which saw the invention of printing. Being rich in wood and waterways, the Périgord region was ideal for the construction of numerous paper mills, notably in the Couze valley. Thirteen are still there, including two which remain in production. Périgueux itself, only six years after Gutenberg launched his discovery of printing by movable type, became the first town in the Aquitaine to have a print works.
At first, only the towns and the wealthy benefited from this cultural and economic revival. Ordinary folk, although enjoying a few periods of peace and prosperity, nevertheless had to suffer the worst effects of the Hundred Years War and France’s bitter Wars of Religion, as well as famine and the plague. Desperate, they staged an insurrection at Périgueux in 1545 and then rose up in a series of revolts later, such as that of the Croquants in 1594.