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Origin and history

The castle of Saint-Privat stands on the arid plateau of Quercy Blanc, in Flaugnac (Lot), at the location of a disappeared village, Saint-Privat-de-Montcabrier, formerly one of the three local parishes. It depended on Castelnau-Montratier's chestnut. His name comes from the family of knights Saint-Privat de la Olmière, who held the fief. In 1296, Gaillard de Saint-Privat paid tribute to Rater III de Castelnau. The village, surrounded by a enclosure in 1398, had some houses around the church and castle.

The Saint-Privat family died in the 14th century with Magne, married to Bertrand de Cas, knight of Caylus. In 1403, Arnaud de Rouzet paid tribute for the fief to the bishop of Cahors. The Gontaud de Lalbenque succeeded the cases, then sold the fief in 1460 to Jean de Fenelo, who sold it to Guillaume de Montégut in 1466. The latter, again mentioned in 1490, also bought tithes in 1477. Fenelo, lords in the 15th century, embellished the church and castle after the Hundred Years' War, adding a circular staircase tower, typical of the strong houses of the period.

In 1628 the fief was acquired by Guillaume Baudus, a bourgeois of Cahors. His descendants, including Marie de Baudus (1649–1719), retained the estate until the Revolution, where he became a national, bought by a Sieur Boncour. The castle, renovated in the 17th century (windows with crosses, door in broken arch, fireplace), changes hands several times before being restored in 1958. The chapel, a vestige of the medieval village, has been listed as a historical monument since 2002.

Architecturally, the castle combines a rectangular plan in limestone bellows, vestiges of the 13th–XIVth centuries (gates in third-point, fragments of geminous windows) and a 15th century stair tower. Modern restorations preserved these elements, testifying to its evolution from the medieval strong house to the seigneurial home.

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