Timeline

Origin and history

The house on Rue des Boucheries in Saint-Saturnin is a civil building dating from the 4th quarter of the 15th century, typical of late medieval architecture. It is distinguished by a landing on the street, near the old fortified gate of the village, and features a mask carved at the corner of its facade. This ornamental detail, rare for a dwelling, suggests a desire to mark the social status of its occupants or a symbolic function in the urban fabric.

The main façade has a central turret, raised in relation to the rest of the building, accessible by a sliding door. This door, decorated with a broken arch, incorporates a sculpted tympanum of a shield with wooded coats of arms – a common practice after the French Revolution to erase noble or religious symbols. The building, partially protected since 1988 (inscription of the turret façade), illustrates the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in the villages of Auvergne.

Saint-Saturnin, the village of Puy-de-Dôme in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, was at that time a fortified village organized around artisanal and agricultural activities. Houses like this were used both for housing and workshop, reflecting a society where local elites (goodmen, notables) displayed their prosperity by distinctive architectural elements. The rue des Boucheries, as its name suggests, was probably linked to the meat trade, a central activity in medieval economies.

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