Cagots

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The Cagots (French, masculine plural; masc. Sg . : Cagot , Fem. Sg .: cagote ; Fem. Plur .: cagottes ; Basque Agotak ) are a group of people who lived in Spain from the 13th to well into the 19th century and France was discriminated against. Numerous, sometimes contradicting, prejudices surround the Cagots with regard to their physical and mental health, their appearance and their descent.

designation

In the area of ​​the Pyrenees the name Cagots or Cahets was common for the members of this people , in Brittany they were called Caqueaux (they called themselves Melandrins there ), in Asturias Vaqueros , in Aunis and Poitou Colliberts .

The names Agots , Capins , Kagnards (because of the duck feet that they had to wear), Chretiens and Chrestias were also used regionally .

origin

Documentary mentions of the Cagots go back at least to the 12th century, but there is no reliable information about their origin. Many thought they were descendants of Arian Visigoths who had to live in isolation after their defeat against Clovis (507) (the word Cagots was derived from chiens Gots , cans Gots = "Gothic dogs").

Others saw in them descendants of the Saracens , who had expelled the Goths from Spain and were therefore called chiens or chasseurs des Goths ; As Muslims, the Saracens had to wash themselves several times a day, which was associated with the duck foot that the Cagots had to wear as a badge.

Still others thought they were descendants of lepers (Spanish agote also means "leper") from the time of the Crusades; for descendants of Jews; for descendants of Gehazi mentioned in the Old Testament (because of the deceit and leprosy they are said to have); for descendants of people who goiter ( goitre had) (because the name Crestinas brought cretins in combination); for descendants of Gnostics or Albigensians (because of the name Chrestiens ); or for descendants of Spanish Roma who immigrated to the Basque Country ( Erromintxela ).

Appearance, health

The exclusion of the Cagots from social life was justified, among other things, with health reasons: it was said that the Cagots suffered from leprosy , from white complexion and swellings on the head and extremities. Since the alleged “leprosy” was not contagious, however, it was said that it was now a weakened, inherited form of leprosy.

The Cagots were often said to have cretinism , on the other hand there are also reports from doctors as early as the 17th century who, contrary to such prejudices, described the Cagots as people with a powerful physique, fresh complexion, gray-blue eyes and somewhat thick, but well-formed lips. The round ears without earlobes were considered to be a special physical distinguishing feature of the Cagots.

As Cagoutelle or Cagutille to the following clinical picture which allegedly occurred frequently in the Cagots called: offensive odor (which brought at that time by the people coming from the East in connection was), paleness, pale eye color, times on the back, cartilage (Aussatzknoten?) On Tongue and face; associated with bouts of madness (similar to both St. Vitus's dance and berserker's rage ) or dullness especially around the time of the full and new moon.

Discrimination

The Cagots were excluded from normal social life. Pain-insensitive areas on the hands and feet (as a result of leprosy?) Were mistaken for devil marks; the cagots were considered to be sorcerers , pederasts, and ogres . As a visible sign, they had to attach a goose or duck foot made of red fabric, regionally also eggshells. Until the 18th century, someone who married a Cagot was considered a Cagot himself and lost his possessions.

In 1695 the Spanish government ordered them to be expelled from the country; Since French communities refused entry, many had to retreat to impassable Pyrenees valleys, where most of them fell victim to hunger, cold and wild animals. At that time, they were forced to cover their hands and feet so as not to contaminate the floor or objects.

In the Catholic churches, which they were only allowed to enter stooped through separate low entrances, they sat separated from the rest of the people by a grid, had to use their own holy water, were only allowed to receive communion after the others and were not buried in the usual cemetery.

In many places the Cagots lived in segregated settlements and exercised the lowest trades; They were allowed to practice carpentry (which the people in turn associated with their supposedly Jewish descent). As carpenters, they had to provide first aid when a fire broke out. They were exempt from the usual taxes, duties and military service. Efforts by individual bishops in the 18th century brought them an improvement in their situation in some areas; officially they received full civil rights through the French Revolution . De facto, however, the Cagots were discriminated against in many places for a long time afterwards; Many of them emigrated to America, especially from Brittany, in order to start a new life there. After all, by the middle of the 19th century, German doctors already regarded them as “not without the ability to become useful members of society.” Up until the end of the 19th century, renowned reference books listed the Cagots as a separate ethnic group in France. Kurt Tucholsky wrote in his book on the Pyrenees in 1927 : “ There were many in the Argelès valley, near Luchon and in the Ariège district. Today they are almost extinct, you have to search a lot if you want to see them. They are not actually cretins - it is a general physical stunting, against the consequences of which they have become in part immune. "

swell

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Victor de Rochas (French sociologist): Les Parias de France et d'Espagne (cagots et bohémiens) , Paris 1876
  2. ↑ Rheinische monthly for practical doctors, 3rd year (1849), p. 288
  3. ^ Kurt Tucholsky: A book on the Pyrenees , Berlin 1927; readable online on the homepage of the Augsburg University of Applied Sciences [1]