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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house of the Black Prince, located in Place des Arcades and rue Sainte-Marie in Monflanquin (Lot-et-Garonne), is a typical example of 14th century houses. Although his name evokes Édouard de Woodstock, nicknamed the Black Prince by historian Richard Grafton in 1569, there is no evidence that he stayed there or ordered his construction. This nickname could come from his black velvet purchases for hats, preserved in popular tradition. The house, with its broken arcades and ogival windows, reflects the civil architecture of the time.

Monflanquin submitted to the Black Prince in 1356, after his victory at Poitiers against John II the Good. In 1357 he gave the local castle to Jean de Galard as a reward for his loyalty. Although the Black Prince was able to cross the area between 1363 and 1364, there is no evidence directly linking this house to his presence. Its current name appears only in the 20th century, and the first written mentions are missing before this period. The windows on the first floor were restored in 1960.

Ranked a historic monument in 1951, the house illustrates the English influence in Aquitaine after the Treaty of Brétigny (1360), which reconstructs a territory close to that of Alienor d'Aquitaine. The principality of Aquitaine disappeared in 1370 with the departure of the Black Prince, marking the French reconquest under Charles V. The building preserves remarkable architectural elements, such as protruding ravens and vaults on dogive crosses, testimonies of its medieval past.

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