Javier is a town in the Languedoc, the last settlement before the river crossing to the Château de Chambois, with about three hundred inhabitants and a spring fair that draws the whole district.
| Type | Place (town) |
| Population | About 300; perhaps double at the fair |
| Spanish entry | Javier |
Description
The town sits by a watercourse with a water mill, among sown and fallow fields, goats and sheep. The last harvest “was not so bad”, and in spring the town turns to sowing. At its center stands a small stone church, half-restored after the wars of religion and other conflicts.
Fair and market
Javier gathers the district’s worship, trade and milling: spring processions, a market where “all the peasants” bring local produce, and the mill. Local fare is cheese, sausage and “something of the place”. During the spring fair, with perhaps six hundred people, there are stalls and “some places to stay”. It is also where news of the region is gathered. Fair, procession and sowing coincide; one arrival is dated the first of April.
The Château de Chambois lies across a river; Javier is the last stop for supplies, news and lodging before it.
Conflicting accounts
- Accounts call Javier a village, a large town or even a city.
Open questions
- The river’s name, how it is crossed and how long it takes are unknown.
- The fair’s length, frequency and trade beyond rural goods are not recorded; cabbages are noted once but named by no voice.
- Who governs the town and holds jurisdiction is unknown.
- What damaged the church, and when it was rebuilt, are not recorded.