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Origin and history

The Château de Saint-Privat is located in the commune of Flaugnac, in the Lot department, in Occitanie. It occupied the end of the arid plateau of Quercy Blanc and was part of the disappeared village of Saint-Privat-de-Montcabrier, one of the three parishes of Flaugnac. This village, surrounded by an enclosure in the 14th century, depended on the castle of Castelnau-Montratier. The name of the castle comes from the family of knights Saint-Privat de la Olmière, who held its fief. In 1296, Gaillard de Saint-Privat de la Olmière paid tribute to Rater III de Castelnau. The family died in the 14th century, and the fief passed successively to the Cas, Rouzet, then to the Gontaud de Lalbenque, before being sold in 1460 to Jean de Fenelo de Parisot.

At the end of the 15th century, after the Hundred Years' War, the lords of Fenelo undertook major beautifications: the addition of a circular staircase tower on the main façade, the redevelopment of the church and the castle according to a typical plan of the fortified houses of the period. In 1466 Guillaume de Montégut bought the fief and made changes, such as the acquisition of tithes in 1477. The castle remained in this family until the 17th century, where it was acquired by the cahorsin bourgeois Guillaume Baudus (1628). His descendants, including Marie de Baudus (1649–1719), kept him until the Revolution, when he was sold as a national good.

The captivated chapel, rebuilt at the same time as the works of the castle, houses a remarkable painted decoration from the beginning of the sixteenth century, depicting biblical scenes like the Arrestation of Christ. Classified as a Historic Monument in 2002, it reflects the religious importance of the site. The castle, on the other hand, underwent transformations in the 17th and 20th centuries, including the opening of cross-windows and partial restoration in 1958. Today, it illustrates the architectural evolution of a Quercynian seigneurial, between the late Middle Ages and Renaissance.

The sources also mention preserved medieval defensive elements, such as third-point doors and fragments of gemined windows, as well as interior arrangements (moved into the large hall). The site, although private, remains a major heritage testimony of the Lot, linked to the feudal and religious history of the region.

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