Limoges first emerged as a Roman town called Augustoritum. It had large arenas and public baths. In the 4th Century, St. Martial evangelized the region. The Abbey of St. Martial was probably established in the 9th Century by the ecclesiastics who served the saint's crypt. It grew very powerful - to the point that during the Middle Ages, Limoges actually consisted of two towns: the City and the Chateau ("Castle"). The latter belonged to the Abbots of St. Martial until their political rule came to an end in 1371 as King Charles V united the Chateau with the royal demesne. In the 13th Century, the Abbey possessed the second largest library in France after Cluny Abbey, about 450 volumes. Louis XV bought 200 of them in 1730, and today they constitute one of the most valuable collections in the National Library in Paris. Many of the manuscripts, decorated with fine miniatures, were written in the abbey itself. The Abbey also played an important role in medieval music. The St. Martial school of composition created a large body of plainchant and an early form of polyphony.

The city's architectural monuments include the Gothic St. Etienne cathedral (13th C.), the church of St. Pierre du Queyroix and the church of St. Michel des Lions.

Limoges prides itself as the capital of the 'arts of fire"'- enamel, porcelain and stained glass making - for a thousand years.

During the Middle Ages, the St. Martial Abbey was an important stopover at the Santiago de Compostella pilgrimage route. The demand for religious souvenirs gave a boost to craftsmanship, including silversmith's trade and enamel champleve on copper. Enamel workshops flourished, and masters proudly signed their works. In the champleve technique, compartments are formed in a copper plate, and are filled with enamel, a mixture of minerals and metal oxides that vitrifies when fired at very high temperature (about 800oC). The municipal Enamel Museum in Limoges has a wonderful collection of enamel masterpieces, representing different periods and styles.