Montsalvy (; ) is a commune in the

Cantal Cantal (; or ) is a rural Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour, Cantal, Saint-Flou ...

department in south-central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

Montsalvy was founded around 1070 as a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

with a Sauveté, (a refuge zone around a church or a chapel by several boundary markers) by Bérenger de Millau, husband of Adèle de Carlat. Formerly the "capital" of the Veinazès region, it was for a long time the chief town of the Canton de Montsalvy. Today it is part of the canton of

Arpajon-sur-Cère Arpajon-sur-Cère (, literally ''Arpajon on Cère''; or just ) is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France. Geography Arpajon-sur-Cère is located immediately to the south of Aurillac some 70 km ...

and is the second largest commune in terms of population.

Population

Culture

Literature

Montsalvy appears in the following works: *

Juliette Benzoni Juliette Benzoni (born Andrée-Marguerite-Juliette Mangin; 30 October 1920 – 7 February 2016) was a French author and international bestseller in several genres, including historical romance, historical fiction, mystery and screenwriting. In ...

, French author (Alexandre Dumas Prix 1973) who wrote and set her Catherine (Benzoni novel) series

historical romance Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Lord Byron, Byron helped popularize in the early 19th century. The genre often takes the form of the novel. Varieties ...

in Montsalvy.

Notable person

Marcellin Boule Pierre-Marcellin Boule (1 January 1861 – 4 July 1942), better known as merely Marcellin Boule, was a French palaeontologist, geologist, and anthropologist. Early life and education Pierre-Marcellin Boule was born in Montsalvy, France. Car ...

(1861–1942), palaeontologist, geologist, and anthropologist, was born and died in Montsalvy.

References