94

Beginning in the fourteenth century, prostitution was a source of concern for town authorities in the West in the Middle Ages. In the South of France, municipal consuls established municipal brothels, intended to contain this venal trade in an enclosed space. In 1525, the public brothel of Toulouse, the “Grande Abbaye”, had to be demolished: the town was reinforcing its walls, and this establishment was too close to the town walls. For two years, the capitouls (town councilors) debated a new, more appropriate location for their new establishment. Too close to a church or a convent, too near a school – there was a long list of proposed locations that the authorities deemed inadequate. During the municipal debates about establishing the new brother, “Château Vert”, the way the capitouls managed the urban space gradually became clear, notably with areas for honest activities and others for venal ones.