Château Figeac: The de Cazes Family
Although the archaeology does not help us much with our Roman investigations, there are certainly the remains of an early Medieval property here, some of which are now incorporated into the modern château. Some walls in the right wing of Château Figeac, where there are some very small windows and an equally diminutive door, date to the 11th century. These walls were probably once part of a feudal château owned by the Lescours family, as indeed was the ancient dovecot that still stands here. The Lescours family held the seigneurie of Figeac until it passed from them to the de Cazes (sometimes written as Decazes) family, during the 15th century.
We can pick up the history of Château Figeac at this time with Jean de Cazes (c.1430 – c.1513), the first recorded seigneur of Figeac, perhaps taking this title on only after the hostilities of the Hundred Years’ War had drawn to a close with the battle of Castillon in 1453. He had three sons, Etienne, Charles and François, and it was Etienne de Cazes who inherited his title, becoming seigneur of Figeac as well as mayor of Libourne in 1476. Etienne had a son Raymond I de Cazes (born 1560), sieur of Figeac, who married Raymonde Raoul and had a son also named Raymond II de Cazes (died 1595) who inherited his title. It was during his tenure that the Medieval château was largely destroyed by Henry of Navarre (1553 – 1610), who was subsequently King Henry IV of France, during the French Wars of Religion (which ran from 1562 to 1598).
