After the Albigensian Crusades devastated many communities in southern France, the town of Ambialet was given to a new lord: the crusader Simon de Montfort. He was to be given this land in reward for his efforts in the Crusades... but he died before he could claim the new lordship for himself. So, the land was given to his son ~ his heir. In anticipation of doing homage to their new lord, the town consuls sought to preserve their rights, and even to increase them! Together, they conspired to 'revise' the old town charter, and pass it off as the original. They forged a new charter and even had a notary sign it. According to the forged town charter, the people of Ambialet had the right to hunt wild game ~ a right which they had never been given before! According to the forged charter, the people were allowed to enjoy this hunting right so long as they gave the head of each wild boar they killed to their Lord, and the thigh of any other animal they caught to him as well. The new Lord of the region did not know the customs and rights of the town, and so he let it go!
[Spectacle son et lumière d’Ambialet 2008. Texte redige du spectacle].
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