AHC Cagot persistance

Isn't the "descendents of Lepers" theory the most commonly accepted one, or has something changed since I last 'studied' the Cagots?
 
Just wanted to say that I'm French but discovered the Cagots through your thread. It's extremely interesting so thanks for pointing out their existence!

Regarding irish travellers, @metalinvader665 , I think they're similar to Romanichels in France, which to my folk knowledge come from the East and stayed a distinct group of nomadic people in Western countries

The Romanichels are Romani, and the Irish Travellers and other Traveller groups have separate origins although each group have influenced each other.
 
Isn't the "descendents of Lepers" theory the most commonly accepted one, or has something changed since I last 'studied' the Cagots?
Nope. This is what is most commonly accepted now. "There is one theory however that seems more convincing… That the Cagots were the descendants of a guild of medieval carpenters and artisans.

The red webbed-foot symbol, that Cagots were sometimes forced to wear, may have been the trademark of a carpenters’ guild. Many Cagot communities lay on the Camino de Santiago, important pilgrimage routes that lead to the shrine of St. James the Apostle.

During the 9th and 10th centuries there was a building boom along the route. These dates coincide with the earliest known records of Cagots. Highly skilled outsiders travelling along the route, would definitely have been viewed suspiciously, or perceived as a threat by the local population. The collapse of the guild would have left behind a cohesive and distinct group of people in the communities in which they worked, which would likely have been a target for discrimination and persecution."

Whend did you study the Cagot's? What did your studies reveal?
 
Right, I know that's a bit of thread necromancy, but I was just reading an old paper from 1932 saying the cagots were descendant of New Christians, converted jews and muslims who were shunned as a result.
That conclusion came from ethymology and general ethnology and the conclusion was fairly convincing.

Doc in French: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58326666
 
Right, I know that's a bit of thread necromancy, but I was just reading an old paper from 1932 saying the cagots were descendant of New Christians, converted jews and muslims who were shunned as a result.
That conclusion came from ethymology and general ethnology and the conclusion was fairly convincing.

Doc in French: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58326666

Can you say which page mentions it? It doesn't make much sense in my opinion as New Christian was a true legal status in Iberia up untill the 18th century and Cagots are much older than that. The leper theory seem to be the most reasonable one IMO.
 
Can you say which page mentions it? It doesn't make much sense in my opinion as New Christian was a true legal status in Iberia up untill the 18th century and Cagots are much older than that. The leper theory seem to be the most reasonable one IMO.
The leper bit was also mentioned, but Cagot were mostly present in France I believe, which didn't have a New Christian status
 
The leper bit was also mentioned, but Cagot were mostly present in France I believe, which didn't have a New Christian status

They were also very common in all Green Spain (ie. Northern Spain, including the Basque Country), the areas with the largest concentration of hidalgos in Spain, which were all Old Christians by definition.
 
Right, I know that's a bit of thread necromancy, but I was just reading an old paper from 1932 saying the cagots were descendant of New Christians, converted jews and muslims who were shunned as a result.
That conclusion came from ethymology and general ethnology and the conclusion was fairly convincing.

Doc in French: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k58326666

One theory is that they actually were descendants of early Christian converts, who were shunned by their pagan neighbors. And then when everyone else adopted Christianity, the tradition of discriminating the Cagots was so established that it continued anyway.
 
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