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Origin and history

La borie de Savanac is a historical monument located in the commune of Lamagdelaine, in the Lot (Occitanie). This medieval country palace, typical of the surroundings of Cahors, is distinguished by its quadrilateral organization around a central courtyard. The buildings, built between the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century, combine various materials: brick for the north wing (the oldest, with geminated windows and broken arches), and stone-brick masonry for the west wing and the corner tower. A courtyard initially closed the courtyard to the east, while a gate with a barrier hole suggests a second enclosure to the west, now extinct.

The building reflects an evolution in several phases: the north wing, dated the second third or second half of the 13th century, precedes the tower and the west house, built at the hinge of the 13th and 14th centuries. These defensive and residential elements indicate a high social status, although the archives mention bourgeois owners such as Sabazac's family, which ceded the fortification in 1314 to Sicard de Jean. In 1374 Bertrand Metge, Damoiseau, was quoted as Lord of Savanhac, highlighting the persistence of a local nobility. The estate then passed to Collège Pélegry de Cahors in 1463.

Architecturally, the borie combines agricultural, pastoral and defensive functions, characteristic of the Quercy properties of the time. The windows with stone networks, the preserved chimneys (including one with overflowing box), and the latrines integrated on the floors of the tower show relative comfort for rural aristocracy. The site was listed as historic monuments on 27 May 1993, recognizing its heritage value as a preserved example of medieval Quercy bories, often linked to urban families in Cahors exercising local justice under the authority of the lords of Laroque-des-Arcs.

The archaeological and textual sources (Gilles Séraphin, Valérie Rousset) underline its role in the late feudal landscape, where these secondary residences served as both economic centres and fortified refuges. Their study sheds light on the social dynamics between rising bourgeoisie and small rural nobility, in an area marked by the Hundred Years' War and seigneurial tensions. The Savanac borie, with its four later 19th-century buildings, also illustrates the durability of these structures until the modern era.

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