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Origin and history

The castle of Escorailles, located in the Cantal in Escorailles, is an ancient fortified enclosure attested from the eighth century. The castrum Scalalium is mentioned in texts related to Pépin the Brief, which besieged and seized in 767 during his campaign against Waifre, Duke of Aquitaine. The ruins, located on a rocky spur northeast of the village, bear the name "La Trizague". They were classified as historical monuments in 1978.

The legendary origin of the name Scorailles dates back to a false "Charter of Clovis" (actually a false medieval of the 11th–12th centuries), where the site was associated with narratives involving Roman generals such as Scaurius Aurelius, lieutenant of Emperor Honorius (395–425). These accounts, exploiting assonances with names of the Aurelia people, were taken up by 19th-century amateur historians, without a proven historical foundation. The polyptych of the Abbey Saint-Pierre-le-Vif-lès-Sens (IXth century), however, cites the castrum Scalalium among other Aquitaines.

The feudal castle, distinct from the early enclosure, was built above on the present site of the village around the eleventh century. It was occupied by the Scorail family in the 12th century and abandoned in the 16th century because of its disrepair. Today's ruins reveal imposing walls and corner towers, including one still well preserved. The Scorailles family then transferred their residence to the Château de La Vigne, built in Ally on an old farmhouse.

The enclosure of La Trizague, dated from the High Middle Ages, illustrates the defensive architecture of the period. Its cuts, visible on a rocky spur cut by the Auze, testify to its strategic importance. The site was gradually deserted to the present village, born around the feudal castle. Today, the remains have been owned by the commune and protected since 1978.

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