Walking with the Camisards
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One of the goals of www.lookat-france.com is to provide activity-based views of the information on the site as well as the traditional location-based view. This advertorial article, highlighting an original group walking tour offered by The Enlightened Traveller is one example of the kind of commercial offering we will publicise as well as providing general information about the chosen activity.
A little bit of history
What became known as the ‘Camisard Revolt’ or ‘War’ began with the assassination at Pont-de-Montvert in July 1702 of a local personification of Royal repression, the Abbot of Chaïla, who had imprisoned a group of Huguenots caught attempting to flee France. It was the spark that lit the blue touch paper for the Cévenol Protestants or ‘Camisards’ - an epithet believed to originate from the Occitan word for shirt, ‘camisa’, the dark uniform worn by the rebels during night raids. This regional Occitan language, experiencing something of a rebirth today, gave Protestants some freedom of thought and expression vis-à-vis the central authorities, although they wrote and prayed in French.
The Camisards confronted the royal army with irregular tactics, or what some historians have described as the first examples of guerilla warfare. They withstood superior forces in several pitched battles and gained some notable successes. The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) refers to The Camisards as “A sect of French fanatics” whose origins lay in the “Albigensian spirit.” This reference harkens back to the Cathar Crusade against ‘heretics’ in the same Region half a century earlier.
There seems no doubt that some of the Protestant preaching was apocalyptic and inflammatory, and was used as justification for intensifying repression; some of which was ‘outsourced’ to Catholics from neighboring communities known as “Cadets of the Cross.”
Atrocities took place on both sides. The worst of the fighting occurred between 1702 and 1704, with sporadic skirmishes until 1710 and the end of real hostilities in 1715. This followed the death of Louis XIV and the arrival in the Cévennes of the French reformer, Antoine Court, who played a critical role in restructuring the Protestant population and faith.
A chance to relive it
For seven days this October, hikers with a penchant for themed hillwalking will be given the chance to re-live the main events, visit key locations and battlefields, and learn about the principal personalities in play during the course of the rebellion.
‘Walking with the Camisards’ is a limited-space, group walking tour that takes place on two dates this October: from 7 to 14, and 14 to 21 October 2007. It comprises moderately-challenging walking in the wild and rugged Cévennes hills of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, accommodation in comfortable hotels and an all-inclusive transport programme with access via Nimes airport or TGV railway station.
Organised by The Enlightened Traveller, a specialist UK tour operator, this is the first opportunity to experience this walking tour with like-minded international hikers, as hitherto it has been available solely as an independent walking tour.
It really is a fabulous chance to enjoy some exhilarating walking, during the most auspicious month weather-wise in The Cévennes, and explore a fascinating theme and a troubled period in French history.
Full details of Walking with the Camisards (and some stunning photos).
© Scott Anderson and The Enlightened Traveller 2007
