MEHUN-SUR-YÈVRE
. The little town of Mehun (Cher) on the Yèvre just north of Bourges, has three medieval
monuments: the remnants of John, duke of Berry’s castle, illustrated in his Très Riches
Heures in a miniature by Paul de Limbourg; the collegial church of Notre-Dame; and the
Porte de l’Horloge, a vestige of the 14th-century ramparts. An older castle was
sumptuously rebuilt between 1367 and 1390 by John, and here he received important
artist friends, among them the writer Froissart, the Limbourg brothers (miniaturists), and
the sculptor and architect André Beauneveu, who worked on the reconstruction under the
general direction of Gui de Dammartin. Built on a trapezoidal plan, Mehun was
distinguished by its light and airy Gothic upper level, which may have inspired
Chambord. John bequeathed the castle to his grandnephew Charles VII, who was
crowned (1422) and died (1461) here. Charles was visited at Mehun-sur-Yèvre by Jeanne
d’Arc in 1429–30.
The Romanesque church of Notre-Dame, built in the form of a horseshoe, was begun
in the 11th century. A Flamboyant chapel was added in the 15th century.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
[See also: BEAUNEVEU, ANDRÉ; JOHN, DUKE OF BERRY; LIMBOURG
BROTHERS]
Deshoulières, François. “Mehun-sur-Yèvre, église collégiale Notre-Dame.” Congrès archéologique
(Bourges) 94(1931): 329–37.
Gauchery, Robert. “Mehun-sur-Yèvre, château.” Congrès archéologique (Bourges) 94(1931):338–
45.
MELUN
. The town and viscounty of Melun (Seine-et-Marne) in the Île-de-France produced a
noble house that rose to prominence in 14th-century France. Tracing their ancestry to the
10th century, the viscounts of Melun were well established by the early 13th. Adam II (d.
1217) accompanied the future Louis VIII on several campaigns, and his brother Jean
became bishop of Poitiers. Adam III (d. 1247) left four sons, two of whom successively
held the vice-comital title, while a third, Simon, became lord of La Louppe and
Marcheville and was a marshal of France before being killed at Courtrai in 1302. Simon’s
brother, the viscount Adam IV (d. 1304), had four sons, two of whom, Guillaume and
Philippe, became archbishop of Sens, while the oldest, Jean I, enhanced the family’s
fortune by marrying the heiress to the Norman lordship of Tancarville.
The children of this marriage brought the family to the height of its prestige. They
were associated with the reforming party in northwestern France. The oldest son, Jean II,
viscount of Melun and count of Tancarville (d. 1382), was a royal chamberlain and
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