Millau

Millau lies at the meeting of the Tarn and Dourbie in Rouergue. A consular charter of 1187 established a municipal government responsible for taxation and justice; the town passed to the French crown in 1271. Its medieval bridge across the Tarn carried a route connecting northern and southern France.

In 1361, during the Hundred Years' War, Millau came under English rule. Peace in the fifteenth century encouraged economic recovery, and Louis XI confirmed its attachment to the crown in 1476. Leatherworking and lambskin gloves formed part of the town's long craft tradition, while its municipal consuls continued to shape local affairs.