Since nothing is related of her origin and she shares the geometric pattern of the robes of the much more famous Black Madonna of Le-Puy…

The first Black Madonna in Aurillac was a Romanesque statue in the little chapel of Aurinques. She was said to have been brought back from the Crusades by one of the local feudal lords…

Here is another whitened Black Madonna. She was restored in 1954. (For more on the issue of restoring Black Madonnas to their original colors see Ronziere and Saint Guiraud)…

Legend claims that this is one of several statues, which King Saint Louis brought back to France from the Crusades. While Ean Begg mentions that the king did indeed have “many connections with Murat”…