Ménil-en-Xaintois
Encyclopedia
Ménil-en-Xaintois is a commune
in the Vosges
department in Lorraine
in northeastern France
.
Inhabitants are called Ménilois.
to the east-south-east with Bar-le-Duc
to the north-west. The village houses are mostly stretched along this road, in a setting of fields and pastures. Across the fields some 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the south are Vittel
and Contrexéville
, though the minor roads connecting to them are not very direct.
Surrounding communes include Dombasle-en-Xaintois
to the east, Gironcourt-sur-Vraine
to the west and Saint-Menge
to the south-west. Adjacent communes with only an indirect road connection to Ménil are Biécourt
and Totainville
to the north, and Gemmelaincourt
and Rouvres-en-Xaintois
to the south. With these last two named, along with Dombasle-en-Xaintois
, the Ménil commune shares the forest of "le Bois dessous Haye".
which would probably have been at the centre of an area of agricultural cultivation two thouasand years ago.
, and subsequently that of Baudricourt
. The village is listed in a schedule confirming the assets of Deuilly Priory (now replaced by a hamlet in modern Serécourt
) drawn up in 1118 by the Bishop of Toul
. Subsequently the village was included in the Vôge Bailiwick
, subject to the provostship of Mirecourt
in 1594 and still administered from Mirecourt in 1790. In terms of civil justice, the highest authority would therefore have been that of the Dukes of Lorraine. Spiritually the parish was dependent on the Abbey of Chaumousey which received two thirds of the tithe
, while the rest went to the parish priest. Neighbouring Dombasle-en-Xaintois
was also subject to the parish priest of Ménil-en-Xaintois, a post that was filled by an Augustinian friar
.
were far reaching in their effect.
The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of surging nationalism across most of Europe, and in 1884 the parish priest had the idea of establishing a theatre in the village in order to put on a play in honour of Joan of Arc
. The villagers were unwilling to fund Curé Meignien's dream, but with the enthusiastic support of Bishop Foucault of Saint-Dié
and the consent of the parishioners, the dream nonetheless became a reality in 1894, ten years later, with a play presented by her compatriots tracing Joan of Arc's life from her birth across the département at Domrémy
to her death by burning at Orléans
. The villagers of Ménil and of Dombasle-en-Xaintois
were recruited to support the production. A wooden audience chamber was built in the village with seating for 2,000. The play was presented annually between 1896 and 1901, the year when the interior of the theatre was destroyed by a storm. Performances resumed in 1907, but by now the project had lost its momentum. In 1908 the theatre and its interior furnishings were sold at auction: today an agricultural building occupies the site.
Curé Meignien's dream captured the spirit of the age. At the height of its fame, the little theatre attracted audiences from the leisured classes visiting surrounding thermal spas
, as well as religious/political pilgrims from the big cities and beyond, including Jules Méline
, Maurice Barrès
, and the Shah of Persia
. Intellectuals compared the theatre with the best theatres in Germany
and there was talk of presenting the play in Paris
as part of the Universal Exhibition
of 1900. But perhaps the ultimate accolade was the double-page spread that appeared in an issue of the "L'Illustration
" on 22 July 1899.
During the Second World War, exploiting the excellent views of the surrounding area from the higher ground in the commune, the German military installed a radar base
which operated from 1941 until September 1944. The base included a bunker
, a wooden barracks and a large concrete water tank requisitioned from the village. The station was used to support military aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery. It was evacuated ahead of the arrival of the Americans.
In 1996 the village came under the media spot-light because of a notorious child cruelty case .
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 Ménilois.
Geography
Ménil-en-Xaintois is a rural commune set on the Vosges Plain, crossed by the former National Road RN66, now declassified to RD 66 but still connecting EpinalÉpinal
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...
to the east-south-east with Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc, formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the préfecture . The department is in Lorraine in north-eastern France-Geography:...
to the north-west. The village houses are mostly stretched along this road, in a setting of fields and pastures. Across the fields some 10 kilometres (6 mi) to the south are 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 Contrexéville
Contrexéville
Contrexéville is a commune of north-eastern France, in the Vosges département. Inhabitants are called Contrexévillois.The reputation of Contrexéville as a health resort dates from 1864, when development began by a company, the Société des Eaux de Contrexéville.-Twin towns:Contrexéville is twinned...
, though the minor roads connecting to them are not very direct.
Surrounding communes include Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
to the east, Gironcourt-sur-Vraine
Gironcourt-sur-Vraine
Gironcourt-sur-Vraine is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
to the west and Saint-Menge
Saint-Menge
Saint-Menge is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.- Heraldry :- References :*...
to the south-west. Adjacent communes with only an indirect road connection to Ménil are Biécourt
Biécourt
Biécourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
and Totainville
Totainville
Totainville is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....
to the north, and Gemmelaincourt
Gemmelaincourt
Gemmelaincourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....
and Rouvres-en-Xaintois
Rouvres-en-Xaintois
Rouvres-en-Xaintois is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
to the south. With these last two named, along with Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
, the Ménil commune shares the forest of "le Bois dessous Haye".
The names
Writing in the early eighteenth century, the historian of Lorraine, Dom Calmet believed that the village was the same as Ménil la Tour mentioned in ancient title records. The name has in any case been variously spelled over the years: Masnile in 1109, Masnille in 1130, Manile in 1148, Masnili in 1187, Mesnil in 1242, Manil en Sainctoris in 1251, Manilz on Santois in 1280, Mesgnil in 1287, Mesni en Sentois in 1309, Manil en Sainstois in 1330, Masnillo en Saintoix in 1332, Mennil en Saintoix or Menyl in 1380, Manillo in 1402, Manil en Saintoix in 1426, Mesnil en Sanctoix in 1459, Le Mesnil in 1656, Mesnil en Xaintois in 1711 Mansile in Sanctesio in 1768 and Ménil en Saintois in 1779.Gallo-Roman
Thanks to extensive archeological work undertaken on the initiative of Canon Jean Colson in the 1980s, it is known that in the district of Seucherey in the south-west of the commune a former monastery was actually built on the site of a first century Villa rustica (Rural villa)Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
which would probably have been at the centre of an area of agricultural cultivation two thouasand years ago.
Medieval
The village appears to have been destroyed and abandoned in the violence that followed the Gallo-Roman civilisation. Thereafter, it was initially subject to the Marquisate of RemovilleRemoville
Removille is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.- References :*...
, and subsequently that of Baudricourt
Baudricourt
Baudricourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....
. The village is listed in a schedule confirming the assets of Deuilly Priory (now replaced by a hamlet in modern Serécourt
Serécourt
Serécourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
) drawn up in 1118 by the Bishop of Toul
Toul
Toul is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:Toul is located between Commercy and Nancy, and situated between the Moselle River and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin....
. Subsequently the village was included in the Vôge Bailiwick
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
, subject to the provostship 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...
in 1594 and still administered from Mirecourt in 1790. In terms of civil justice, the highest authority would therefore have been that of the Dukes of Lorraine. Spiritually the parish was dependent on the Abbey of Chaumousey which received two thirds of the tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
, while the rest went to the parish priest. Neighbouring Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
was also subject to the parish priest of Ménil-en-Xaintois, a post that was filled by an Augustinian friar
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
.
Modern
The area was spared the worst of the destructive violence of the late eighteenth century, though the administrative reforms and secularisation that followed the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
were far reaching in their effect.
The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of surging nationalism across most of Europe, and in 1884 the parish priest had the idea of establishing a theatre in the village in order to put on a play in honour of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
. The villagers were unwilling to fund Curé Meignien's dream, but with the enthusiastic support of Bishop Foucault of Saint-Dié
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Dié
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Dié, in Latin Dioecesis Sancti Deodatiis), is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese has the same boundaries as the department of the Vosges. The bishop has his throne at Saint-Dié Cathedral in the town now named...
and the consent of the parishioners, the dream nonetheless became a reality in 1894, ten years later, with a play presented by her compatriots tracing Joan of Arc's life from her birth across the département at Domrémy
Domrémy-la-Pucelle
Domrémy-la-Pucelle is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.The village, originally named Domrémy, is the birthplace of Joan of Arc. It has since been renamed Domrémy-la-Pucelle after Joan's nickname, la Pucelle d'Orléans .-Geography:Domrémy is positioned along the...
to her death by burning at Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
. The villagers of Ménil and of Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois
Dombasle-en-Xaintois is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.-References:*...
were recruited to support the production. A wooden audience chamber was built in the village with seating for 2,000. The play was presented annually between 1896 and 1901, the year when the interior of the theatre was destroyed by a storm. Performances resumed in 1907, but by now the project had lost its momentum. In 1908 the theatre and its interior furnishings were sold at auction: today an agricultural building occupies the site.
Curé Meignien's dream captured the spirit of the age. At the height of its fame, the little theatre attracted audiences from the leisured classes visiting surrounding thermal spas
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
, as well as religious/political pilgrims from the big cities and beyond, including Jules Méline
Jules Méline
Félix Jules Méline was a French statesman, prime minister from 1896 to 1898.-Biography:Méline was born at Remiremont. Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in 1879 he was for a short time under-secretary to the minister of the interior...
, Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès
Maurice Barrès was a French novelist, journalist, and socialist politician and agitator known for his nationalist and antisemitic views....
, and the Shah of Persia
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal family of Turkic descent who ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925....
. Intellectuals compared the theatre with the best theatres in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and there was talk of presenting the play in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as part of the Universal Exhibition
Exposition Universelle (1900)
The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a world's fair held in Paris, France, from April 15 to November 12, 1900, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate development into the next...
of 1900. But perhaps the ultimate accolade was the double-page spread that appeared in an issue of the "L'Illustration
L'Illustration
L'Illustration was a weekly French newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Edouard Charton; the first issue was published on March 4, 1843....
" on 22 July 1899.
During the Second World War, exploiting the excellent views of the surrounding area from the higher ground in the commune, the German military installed a radar base
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
which operated from 1941 until September 1944. The base included a bunker
Bunker
A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks...
, a wooden barracks and a large concrete water tank requisitioned from the village. The station was used to support military aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery. It was evacuated ahead of the arrival of the Americans.
In 1996 the village came under the media spot-light because of a notorious child cruelty case .