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Origin and history

This house in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, built in the 3rd quarter of the 16th century, is distinguished by a carved sign built above the lintel of its entrance door. This bas-relief, dated 1553 thanks to a phylacter, depicts the profile of King Henry II surrounded by the symbols of royalty and palm play: a racket, a ball, and a shield with three fleurs de lys. The border decorated with stylized flowers and twelve balls highlights the decorative and commemorative character of this sign, the only visible vestige of the building's history.

The sign is a rare testimony of the games of palm, popular activity among the elites and the bourgeoisie of the Renaissance. These games, the ancestors of modern tennis, were often associated with royal courts and urban sociability sites. The presence of King Henry II, who died in 1559, suggests a posthumous homage or celebration of his reign, a period marked by the rise of the arts and architecture in France. The element was protected by a registration order under the Historic Monuments on 18 November 1935.

The location of the house, at 12 rue de la Treille, in a Bastide town of Rouergue, reflects medieval and reborn urban planning of the region. Villefranche-de-Rouergue, founded in the 13th century, was a commercial and cultural crossroads, where bourgeois houses like this bear witness to local prosperity. The ensign, by its royal iconography, could also evoke links between the city and the central power, although the archives lack to clarify this context.

Today, the accuracy of the location is considered "passable" (note 5/10), and the exact address remains subject to verification between sources (12 or 14 rue de la Treille). The building, although partially documented, offers an overview of the cultural and artistic practices of the Renaissance in Occitanie, through an exceptional architectural detail.

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