Name
Etymology
The origins of both the term (and , , , etc.) and the Cagots themselves are uncertain. It has been suggested that they were descendants of theVariations
Their name differed by province and theGeography
The cagots were present in France inToponomy
Toponymy and topography indicate that the places where the cagots were found have constant characteristics; these are gaps, generally across rivers or outside town walls, called “” (and derivatives) or “” (Laplace names are frequent) next to water points, places allocated to live and above all to practice their trades. Toponymy also provides evidence of areas where Cagots had lived in the past. Various Street names are still in use such as: * in the municipalities of Montgaillard andTreatment
Cagots were shunned and hated; while restrictions varied by time and place, with many discriminatory actions being codified into law in France in 1460, they were typically required to live in separate quarters. Cagots were excluded from various political and social rights.Religion and government
Cagots were not allowed to marry non-Cagots leading to forcedWork
Cagots were prohibited from selling food or wine, touching food in the market, working with livestock, or entering mills. The Cagots were often restricted to craft trades including those of carpenter, masons, woodcutters, wood carvers,: "" Apart from splitting wood and carving, they are not allowed to do any other craft: these two occupations have become contemptible and dishonorable because of this."/ref> coopers, butcher, and rope-maker. Due to association with crafts working with wood Cagots, as well as making the instruments, they often worked operating instruments of torture that were made of wood in towns and villages, as well as executioners. Such professions may have perpetuated their social ostracisation. Cagot women were often midwives until the 15th century. Due to social exclusion, in France the Cagots were exempt from taxation until the 18th century. By the 19th century these restrictions seem to have been lifted, but the trades continued to be practiced by Cagots, along with other trades such asAccusations and pseudo-medical beliefs
The Cagots were not an ethnic nor a religious group. They spoke the same language as the people in an area and generally kept the same religion as well, with later researchers remarking that there was no evidence to mark the Cagots as distinct from their neighbours. Their only distinguishing feature was their descent from families long identified as Cagots. Few consistent reasons were given as to why they were hated; accusations varied from Cagots being cretins,Origin
Biblical legends
Various legends placed the Cagots as originating from biblical events, including being descendants of the carpenters who made the cross thatReligious origin
Another theory is that the Cagots were descendants of theMedical origin
Another possible explanation of their name or is to be found in the fact that in medieval times all lepers were known as , and that, whether Visigoths or not, these Cagots were affected in the Middle Ages with a particular form of leprosy or a condition resembling it, such asOther origins
wrote that the Cagots were likely descendants of Spanish Roma from the Basque country. In Bordeaux, where they were numerous, they were called (synonymous with the Gascon word for thief), also used in Old French to refer to leprosy, close to the Catalan and the Spanish meaning robber or looter, similar to the older, probably Celtic-origin Latin term (or bagad), a possible origin of . The alleged physical appearance and ethnicity of the Cagots varied wildly from legends and stories; some local legends (especially those that held to the leper theory) indicated that Cagots had blonde hair and blue eyes, while those favoring the Arab descent story said that Cagots were considerably darker. In Pío Baroja's work comments that Cagot residents of had both individuals with "Germanic" features as well as individuals with "Romani" features. One common trend was to claim that Cagots had no ears or noReligion
Cagots followed the same religion as the non-Cagots who lived around them. They were forced to use a side entrance to churches, often an intentionally low one to force Cagots to bow and remind them of their subservient status. This practice, done for cultural rather than religious reasons, did not change even betweenGovernment
The nominal though usually ineffective allies of the Cagots were the government, the educated, and the wealthy. This includedModern status
Cagot symbols used in anti-vaccination protests
In 2021 and 2022In media
* In the 1793 French play , by Sylvain Maréchal, the liberated subjects of the kings of Europe provide critiques of and insult their former rulers, where they say the Spanish king has "stupidity, cagotism and despotism ..imprinted on his royal face". * The author Thomas Colley Grattan's 1823 story ''The Cagot's Hut'' details the ''otherness'' he perceived in the Cagots during his travels in the French Pyrenees, detailing many of the mythical features that became folklore about the Cagots appearance. * The German poetGallery
See also
* , untouchable caste in Korea. * , outcast community of Vietnam afterReferences
Bibliography
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