A concise history of Perillos

 

Perillos is located relatively close to Perpignan, but in the “hinterland”. As a result, Perillos was only situated on secondary routes, around Embres, Feuilla and Tuchan. Nevertheless, these seem to be important, as the famous 16th century “prophet” Nostradamus refers to Tuchan in his Centuries (8, 22 written as Tucham) in reference to Narbonne and Perpignan. An ancient map of Perillos was made by Cassini, member of the 17th century dynasty that was in charge of the Observatory in Paris, the centre of the French Zero Meridian. Intriguingly, Perillos is noted as “white space”, normally only used for unknown territory. The reason for the absence of detail has never been satisfactorily explained.
Later maps refer to Perillos as divided into two sections: Section du Village and Section de Ste Barbe, the latter linked to the area around the chapel outside the village.

The name “Perillos” has had various spellings between the Middle Ages and today: Perelionis, Perelionibus, Perello, Perillou, but this is more the rule than the exception with place-names after such a long period of time. What does the name “Perillos” mean? In medieval charters, the area between Opoul and Vingrau is called “Peyrouo Mount”, “Petrus’ Mount”. “Peyrouo” might have given rise to “Peyrios”, i.e. “stony ground”, and later “Perillos”. “Stony ground” definitely is an apt description of the landscape, where the saying “between a rock and a hard place” definitely applies to.

Before the arrival of Mankind, the territory was undoubtedly covered with a predominance of oaks and rock roses, but those have now gone. It was situated close to the main roads of migration, including the major Roman Via Domitia highway. Though Perillos might seem remote today, the area was “terra firma” as opposed to the marshes along the Mediterranean Coast.
Moreover, to the south, the territory of Perillos attaches to a formidable hillock that gave its name to the village of Opoul (Oppidum). This high refuge could certainly be useful, as of Celtic-Iberian times, for the population in the valleys below. It is extremely probable that at the same time shepherds roamed through the area.
Perillos had a certain strategic importance in an area that was border territory during ten centuries: it guarded the passage between the Languedoc and Catalonia. As a result, its lords, the lords of Perillos, were key figures in any war waged in the territory. But despite its prominent location, the estates themselves were never vast enough to nourish a large population, having all the disadvantages of the Mediterranean climate, without profiting from the hydraulic irrigation systems of the mountains – the area remained “stony ground”.

Perillos enters the annals of written history in the 12th century: in 1114, a Raymond de Perillos is present at the dedication of the church of Salses, to the south-east of Perillos. At least five lords of Perillos were given the name “Ramon”, Raymond (meaning “worthy protector”), the Christian name the family seem to have cherished most. The castle was and never would be a large fortress, but rather an advance station to avoid the danger that the Roussillon was taken – on observation post.
In the 14th century, the lords of Perillos became influential advisers to the kings of Aragon. François de Perillos was “grand chamberlain” of Aragon and negotiated the agreements with England against Castille, which was supported by France. In 1391, the lord of Perillos was established as a viscount: Raymond became governor of Roussillon, Cerdagne, Conflent and Vallespir, Maréchal of Aragon and Sicily, etc.

This village’s population did not exceed fifty inhabitants in 1359. It is clear that the wealth of the lords of Perillos was not dependent on the income or size of their people. This might be because the lords were largely absent from the village that had given them their title. Though the lords were absent, the braziers and the shepherds continued to live in Perillos, which still did not have more than four or six families, i.e. approximately eighty inhabitants. In the 19th century, the community lived at the same rate and rhythm as in 17th century (73 inhabitants for 16 households in 1806), but a strong infant mortality prevailed (the result of malnutrition, virtually no drinking water, etc.). As a consequence of changes to the inheritance law, the properties were now in shared ownership and there was a move towards agricultural reforms, specifically viniculture and fruit trees. It could not stop the decline of the population. In 1916, the last birth in Perillos was recorded. The mobilisation of the First World War decimated the manpower of the village. After the war, in 1921, there were still 33 inhabitants, but the majority continued to emigrate towards Opoul. The last death in Perillos was recorded in 1932. The habitat was completely abandoned during the Second World War (1939-1945) and shortly after the war, its last inhabitant Antonin Pujol, moved away from the village. His tomb (part of a family’s tombstone) is located near the town of Arques, an hour’s drive to the west of Perillos.