MONTIER-EN-DER
. Site of a Benedictine abbey (montier) founded by St. Berchaire in 672 on the banks of
the Voire, Montier (Haute-Marne) is the capital of the area of Champagne called Der,
from the Celtic word for the oak trees that dominated this plain before the monks
harvested them in the Middle Ages. The abbey church and most of the town were
destroyed in World War II but have been admirably restored. The oldest portions of the
original church dated to the 990s. The sober Romanesque nave consists of eight
semicircular bays resting on low rectangular pillars. The Gothic chevet (ca. 1220), which
has four levels, is a marvel of Champenois design: large arcades on twin columns,
surmounted by a tribune with paired arches separated by a colonnette and oculus, in turn
surmounted by a triforium with triple trilobed arcatures, and finally a row of clerestory
windows separated by colonnettes.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
Arnoult, René. “L’église abbatiale de Montier-en-Der.” Congrès archéologique (Troyes)
113(1955):262–76.
Aubert, Marcel. “À propos du chœur de Montier-en-Der.” Congrès archéologique (Troyes)
113(1955):277–81.
Koppe, Bernhard. Die frühromanische Emporenbasilika in Montier-en-Der. Saarbrücken:
Saarbrücker Druckerei und Verlag, 1990.
MONTLHÉRY
. The fortress of Montlhéry (Seine-et-Oise), just south of Paris, was built in the early 11th
century and became a serious threat to the authority of the early Capetian monarchy.
Philip I, who said that it “has made me old before my time,” arranged for his younger son
to marry the daughter of the lord of Montlhéry in 1104, and Louis VI acquired the tower
a few years later. When his castellan was murdered by a rival lord, Louis had to regain
Montlhéry by force in 1118.
Centuries later, on July 16, 1465, Louis XI fought a battle near Montlhéry against the
rebellious magnates known as the Ligue du Bien Publique. He overcame his adversaries
but missed the chance for a decisive victory and retired to Paris, leaving the magnates in
a position to secure a favorable negotiated settlement.
Nothing remains of the infamous 11th-century château, although the site is occupied
by ruins of later constructions: fortification walls that date from the reign of Philip II
Augustus (1180–1223) and a donjon of the 14th century.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
Châtelain, André. Châteaux forts et féodalité en Île de France du XIe au XIIIe siècle. Nonette:
Créer, 1983, pp. 305–10.
Mesqui, Jean. Île-de-France gothique. 2 vols. Paris: Picard, 1987–88, Vol. 2, pp. 248–55.
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1198