The struggles between the bishops and the bourgeois
To counterbalance Clermont’s power as an Episcopal town, the counts of Auvergne established the town of Montferrand outside one of their castles. During the XII century, the family of the Counts of Auvergne divided into rival branches. As a result of this, the Bishop was spared the need to submit to the guardianship of the counts, instead falling under the protection of the King of France. Clermont was, and remained until the XVI century not only the Episcopal seat, but also the capital of a seigneury, the Comté of Clermont, under the authority of the Bishop, who therefore needed to take account of the bourgeois spirit of freedom in his town.
A window in the cathedral : "Salome’s Dance"
In the Middle Ages, the town of Clermont expanded beyond the five gates of the ramparts. Districts were established and then surrounded by walls in the flat countryside beyond. In the east, a district sprang up along an East-West road, now the Rue du Port, with a church, the church of Notre-Dame du Port; this was the "Portus" market district. In the west, two districts were established: one along a road leading to one of the five gates located in what is now the Rue Tour de la Monnaie, the other along a road, now Rue des Chaussetiers where the Place Lemaigre is today.
The traders undertook to make Clermont the rich town it became, which stirred up the rivalries between Counts and Bishops between the XIII and XVI centuries. The richness of the bankers, apothecaries, lawyers, goldsmiths, cutlers, butchers, led the municipal authorities to quickly move closer to the authority of the crown, to the detriment of the episcopacy.
Like all of Auvergne, Clermont suffered disaster and disorder during the Hundred Years war, particularly since the town was often close to the English Guyenne frontier.
Once the consequences of the Hundred Years war had been put right, the second half of the XV century was essentially marked by fights between the bishops and the bourgeois, and the town’s position in meetings between the states of the Auvergne Low Countries.
Gargoyle - Notre Dame de Prospérité
The XVI century was a time of change and progress for Clermont. Following a long trial in Parliament against the Bishop, Guillaume Du Prat, Catherine de Medici became Lady of Clermont in her capacity as successor to the ancient Counts of Auvergne. The bishop was reduced to having his spiritual role. Catherine de Medici increased municipal freedom, granted Clermont a firstly seigneurial and later Royal Senechal’s court, which became a rival to the older Senechal’s court at Riom, and founded a consular jurisdiction. Clermont suffered little during the religious wars. Where most towns in Auvergne joined the League, it remained loyal to the crown. At the beginning of the XVII century, the catholic reform movement led to the creation, outside the boundaries, of many religious establishments, the presence of which was not without influence on the town’s subsequent development: Marists, Augustines, Sulpicians, Bernardines, Visitandines, Capuchins, Benedictines, Sisters of the Visitation, Sisters of Mercy.
The XVII century saw the arrival in Clermont of the Court of Aids, which until then had been in Montferrand, and a Jesuit college, although local notables had a preference for Jansenism. In 1665 the famous Grands Jours d’Auvergne were held (at the court of justice) . These were recounted in great detail in a chronicle written by Fléchier. In the XVIII century, the Intendants of the Généralité of Riom, based in Clermont, stimulated urban development, particularly with changes to the ramparts and ditches on public roads. Clearing of the central section of the town would only take place following the Revolution.
This operation, which ended in the creation of the Place de la Victoire, could only take place by acquiring ecclesiastical, and in particular Episcopal buildings, which became possible once they became national property following the Revolution.
