Editing Lourdes (section)

===Middle Ages===
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Little is known of Lourdes in the period from the barbarian invasions to the [[Carolingian]] period when the town was part of the County of Bigorre. The fortress was at times the seat of counts and, during the [[Albigensian Crusade]], it was the subject of disputes between various local lords. Ultimately it came under the domination of the Counts of Champagne. In the fourteenth century Lourdes was first occupied by Philip the Fair, then, during the Hundred Years' War, by the English, who controlled it for nearly half a century, from 1360 to 1407, through local feudal lords such as Pierre Arnaud de Béarn and, later, his brother Jean de Béarn. The English were able to take advantage of the excellent strategic situation and the prosperity of an eleventh century market that had been increasingly consolidated thanks to its proximity and good communications with Toulouse and Spain, managing to secure important gains for those who held the town. In the town, which developed in the valley, east of the fort, there were 243 fires at the beginning of the fifteenth century, compared to 150 of the thirteenth century.

After being the residency of the [[Bigorre]] counts, Lourdes was given to England by the Treaty of Brétigny which bought a temporary peace to France during the course of the [[Hundred Years War]], with the French losing the town to the English in 1360. In 1405, [[Charles VI of France|Charles VI]] laid siege to the castle during the course of the war and eventually captured the town from the English after an 18-month siege.