Pavin, A Rich but Fragmented History (200 AD–2016)

Abstract

“Pavin Stories”, told to the lake’s visitors seeking its wild beauty, were reported throughout the nineteenth century by famous scholars such as Pierre Larousse, an encyclopedist, and Elysée Reclus, a geographer: Pavin had no depth, no fish, could trigger furious storms and no boat could sail on it. Pavin history before 1770 was not established. The Pavin history puzzle, although still incomplete, is re-interpreted here through the grid of sensorial degassing indicators (Table 1.2). It starts with a famous “treasure stone” retrieved from its waters in 1909, actually a pompeian-type millstone probably carved at Pavin during tranquil periods of the lake, when Roman baths were constructed at the Mont-Dore, 6 km away. Literary sources are lacking afterwards but a small early medieval Christian settlement existed at the nearby mountain of Vassivière, some 1.5 km away from Pavin, possibly succeeding an earlier cult (Chap. 3). In 1547 a miracle occurred there and an extra-ordinary explosion with thunder and lightning is witnessed in 1551. Latent Pavin misbehavior is reported from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century: a storm suddenly triggered by a stone thrown into the lake (François de Belleforest, Cosmographie Universelle, 1575). These storms, which caused damages to the surrounding valleys, were reported to the King of France during its visit in Auvergne (1566). At the time, the lake, already termed since long ago lacus pavens (The Terrible Lake), was avoided by the local people, who feared its permanent summer fog and occasional storms (Jean Banc La Mémoire retrouvée des merveilles des eaux naturelles 1605; Godivel II, late 1600s). Belleforest’s description will be copied by other geographers for three hundred years, making Pavin very famous beyond the borders of Auvergne. Another misbehavior event was also witnessed in 1783. However, the highest Auvergne authorities of the time ignored this very clear sudden lake overturn, thereby undermining the validity of the Pavin Stories. A similar event probably occurred in 1936. The “normalization” of Pavin was achieved by the introduction by Lecoq of the first boat (1847) and the first fish (1859), which facilitated its scientific exploration (Chap. 1). Pavin’s fame has remained intact since the early 1900s, but its rich history and wealth of legends (Chap. 3), as well as its unique scientific character, are largely ignored by guidebooks. When Pavin historical descriptions are compared to other lake degassing events (Chap. 1), there is no doubt that several degassing periods and/or events of various intensities were witnessed there in the past.