Collonges-la-Rouge is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of France. The monks of Charroux Abbey founded a priory in the 8th century which attracted a population of peasants, craftsmen and tradesmen who lived and prospered around its fortified walls. The welcoming of pilgrims for Compostelle through Rocamadour was a lasting source of profit. In 1308, the viscount of Turenne granted the village a right to high, medium and low jurisdiction, permitting it to govern the birth of lineages of prosecutors, lawyers and notaries. The enclosure soon became too small to contain the entire population, and faubourgs were created. Following the French wars of religion , the reconstruction of the nobility's fortune coincided with the viscount's rise in power. After selling the viscounty in 1738, an...