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Origin and history

The cross of Bleyssoles, also called crotz de Bleissòl en Occitan, is a 15th century monument located near Vabre-Tizac, in the department of Aveyron. It is one of the few vestiges of the medieval village of Bleyssoles, now reduced to a place called integrated in the municipality of Bas Segala. This limestone cross, about 2 metres high, rests on a rectangular altar and presents complex sculptures: a Christ on the cross, St.Antoine and St.Barbe (whose head is missing), as well as a pieto supported by an armored shield representing a lion and a cross. The opposite side shows a Virgin to the Child overlooking the weapons of the Morlhon, noble family of the Rouergue, suggesting a seigneurial origin.

The cross stands at the crossroads of rural roads, on the patus of the place called Bleyssoles, in the top of the village. Its state of conservation is remarkable for its age, despite some degradations (missing head of Saint Barbe and Christ of the Pietà). It was once linked to local traditions, such as pilgrimages to implore the rain, and still today hosts an open-air service every 12 August. Classified as a historic monument since 1923, it was cleaned in 2019 as part of the maintenance programs of the Classed Historical Monuments.

Historically, the cross is associated with Bleyssol, a small priory dependent on Saint-Clair, removed before the Revolution. The priory then had only two villages and a few farms. The nearby church was rebuilt around 1460, as evidenced by the map of Cassini, which mentions Blaysols near Vabre. The coat of arms of the Morlhon, visible on the cross, confirm their connection to the monument, this family being a powerful line of the Rouergue. The map of Cassini also places the commune of Mourlhon (today Morlhon) nearby, reinforcing the local historical context.

The cross illustrates late medieval religious art, mixing Christian symbols (Petà, Virgin to Child) and seigneurial emblems. Its iconography, including sleek cabbages and leafy motifs at the ends of the hill, reflects the decorative styles of the era. Although the priory has disappeared, the cross remains a marker of the rural heritage of Aveyron, testifying to the piety and social structures of the Rouergue at the end of the Middle Ages.

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