Raymonde Vital was a woman who lived in the

Comté de Foix The County of Foix (french: Comté de Foix, ; oc, Comtat de Fois) was an independent medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern ''département'' of Ari� ...

in the early fourteenth century, she was made notable when Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie wrote about her in his 1975 book ''Montaillou''. Working as a servant in the home of the Belots, one of the wealthier families of the village of Montaillou, she met

Arnaud Vital Arnaud Vital was a cobbler in the Comté de Foix in the early fourteenth century. He is notable for appearing in Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's ''Montaillou''. Originally from a peasant family in Prades d'Aillon, he moved to Montaillou living as a boar ...

, a cobbler who was boarding there. She married him and the two set up house together, but the marriage was unhappy as Arnaud ignored her in favour of a series of mistresses. After Arnaud died, Raymonde married Bernard Guilhou. For a time she was also the mistress to priest

Pierre Clergue Pierre Clergue was a priest in the village of Montaillou, France in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth century. He is the central figure in Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie's 1975 book ''Montaillou'', a pioneering work of microhistory. Since then h ...

References

*Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. ''Montaillou: The Promised Land of Error.'' translated by

Barbara Bray Barbara Bray (née Jacobs; 24 November 1924 – 25 February 2010) was an English translator and critic. Early life Bray was born in Maida Vale, London; her parents had Belgian and Jewish origins. An identical twin (her sister Olive Classe was al ...

. New York: G. Braziller, c1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vital, Raymonde 14th-century French people People from Montaillou 14th-century French women