Mattaincourt is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Vosges

Vosges

Vosges is a French department, named after the local mountain range. It contains the hometown of Joan of Arc, Domrémy.-History:The Vosges department is one of the original 83 departments of France, created on February 9, 1790 during the French Revolution. It was made of territories that had been...

 department in Lorraine

Lorraine (région)

Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...

 in northeastern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Inhabitants are called Mattaincurtiens.

Geography

Mattaincourt lies on the southern part of the Lorraine Plateau, in a wooded area of gentle hills known as the Vôge. It is some 15 kilometres (9 mi) to the east-northeast of Vittel

Vittel

Vittel is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the Vittel brand.-History:...

 and 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Épinal

Épinal

Épinal is a commune in northeastern France and the capital of the Vosges department. Inhabitants are known as Spinaliens.-Geography:The commune has a land area of 59.24 km²...

. The River Madon

Madon

The Madon is a long river in the Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle départements, northeastern France. Its source is near Vioménil. It flows generally north...

 flows through the commune on its way north to join the Moselle River

Moselle River

The Moselle is a river flowing through France, Luxembourg, and Germany. It is a left tributary of the Rhine, joining the Rhine at Koblenz. A small part of Belgium is also drained by the Mosel through the Our....

 near Nancy.

Etymology

The name Mattaincourt is a latinate one which comes from Martin Court, or the domain (Latin "curtis") of Martin. The Martin in question must have been part of the local Gallo-Roman establishment: the neighbouring village of Hymont

Hymont

Hymont is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....

 is believed to have belonged to a Frank

Franks

The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...

 named Hindonis. The course of the Roman road connecting Langres

Langres

Langres is a commune in north-eastern France. It is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne département in the Champagne-Ardenne region.-History:As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then Lingones, and now Langres.The town is built on a limestone...

 with Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

 runs through the commune a short distance to the west and north of the village where part of it doubles as the modern departmental road connecting Mattaincourt with the village of Mirecourt

Mirecourt

Mirecourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the violin family...

, beyond Hymont

Hymont

Hymont is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....

 to the north.

Manufacturing

The waters of the Madon

Madon

The Madon is a long river in the Vosges and Meurthe-et-Moselle départements, northeastern France. Its source is near Vioménil. It flows generally north...

 were formerly used for linen fulling (producing)

Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....

. Raw materials were purchased at the markets of Frankfurt or Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

, and the linen cloth produced was sold not just in Savoy

Savoy

Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....

, but also in Burgundy, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and even in Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

. The drapers of Mattaincourt, Mirecourt

Mirecourt

Mirecourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the violin family...

 and Poussay

Poussay

Poussay is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Porsuavitains .-Geography:...

 formed themselves into a single grouping which became a commercially powerful corporation: the weavers' mark appeared on each item of cloth. The figure "4" which can still be seen on some of the doorways in the village is said to be the drapers' mark.

Personalities

Pierre Fourier

Peter Fourier

Saint Peter Fourier, C.R.S.A., was a French canon regular who is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, who had served as a pastor in Mattaincourt , and who also helped to found a religious congregation of canonesses dedicated to the care of poor children...

 (30 November 1565 - 9 December 1640), a leading apostle of the counter-reformation

Counter-Reformation

The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...

, was the parish priest responsible for Mattaincourt for two decades from 1597 (some source state 1595).