Page "Saint-Étienne" Paragraph 2

Named after Saint Stephen, the city first appears in the historical record in the Middle Ages as Saint-Étienne de Furan ( after the River Furan, an affluent of the Loire ).

In the 13th century it was a small borough around the church dedicated to Saint Etienne.

On the upper reaches of the Furan near the Way of St. James the Abbey of Valbenoîte had been founded by the cistercians in 1222.

In the late 15th century it was a fortified village defended by walls built around the original nucleus.