Bur, Michel. La formation du comté de Champagne. Nancy: Annales de l’Est, 1977.
Corvisier, Marie-Anne. “Le comté de Blois sous les Châtillon: édition du cartulaire de 1319.”
Positions des thèses. Paris: École Nationale des Chartes, 1976, pp. 45–50.
Du Chesne, André. Histoire de la maison de Chastillon-surMarne. Paris: Cramoisy, 1629.
Savietiez, Charles. “Dampierre-de-l’Aube et ses seigneurs.” Revue de Champagne et de Brie
20(1886):96–114, 246–60, 345–54, 434–45; 21(1886):240–72.
CHÂTILLON-SUR-SEINE
. In the high Middle Ages, the small town of Châtillon-sur-Seine (Côte-d’Or), a former
center of Gallic and Gallo-Roman activity, enjoyed the protection of a château owned by
the bishops of Langres. According to tradition, one of them, St. Didier, founded the
oratory of Sainte-Marie-du-Château in the 4th century. In 868, during the Viking
invasions, the relics of St. Vorles (d. 592) were transported to the oratory at the
instigation of Isaac le Bon, bishop of Langres. This translation is the origin of the church
of Saint-Vorles, built in the last years of the 10th century.
The original plan of the church was distorted by careless construction, particularly in
the chevet, and parts of the church have been gutted; yet one of its most distinctive
features is still easily recognized: the transept or massive transversal, situated in front of
the nave, perhaps inspired by Carolingian églises-porches. The transept includes a
crossing covered by a cupola and two projecting crossbars, vaulted in semicircular
Romanesque arches. Of the original choir, only the principal apse remains. In the
Lombard style, which is exceptional for this northern part of Burgundy, Saint-Vorles
displays unwieldy and massive internal structures with minimal decoration.
E.Kay Harris
Deshoulières, François. “Église Saint-Vorles.” Congrès archéologique (Dijon) 91(1928):184–205.
CHAUVIGNY
. Built on a spur over the Vienne, Chauvigny (Vienne) preserves the remains of four
medieval fortresses, a testimony to its military importance in the period. The Château
Baronnial was begun in the 11th century, when
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 404