Our Lady of the Assumption
Place de l'Eglise
72320 Montmirail
Church | XIIe - Reconstruite aux XVe-XVIe | Romanesque, Gothic | Catholic Church
Map
Opening hours
01 January - 31 December
Mon 9.00 - 18.00
Tue 9.00 - 18.00
Wed 9.00 - 18.00
Thu 9.00 - 18.00
Fri 9.00 - 18.00
Sat 9.00 - 18.00
Sun 9.00 - 18.00
Description
The stronghold of Montmirail, whose name comes from the Latin for ‘the mountain from which one can admire’, is located at the summit of the highest mountain in the Perche region of Sarthe. Situated on the ancient road linking Chartres to Le Mans, the city enjoys a major strategic location. It quickly became an essential defensive point for the Kingdom of France against its English vassal, who held both the English crown and a large part of the western territories.
Montmirail was the scene of a major diplomatic meeting between King Louis VII of France and Henry II Plantagenet. During these exchanges, Louis VII unsuccessfully attempted to reconcile the future Saint Thomas of Canterbury with the King of England. However, this meeting, which went down in history as the ‘Peace of Montmirail’, strengthened the ties between the two houses through a proposed marriage alliance. It also laid the foundations for the future division of the Plantagenet possessions between the sons of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine: Henry, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland.
The castle, the highest point in the town, structured its organisation.
Nearby stands the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. Damaged during the siege of 1421, during the Hundred Years' War, only a few 12th-century walls remain. Rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries, its choir was completely rebuilt in 1505 for the wedding of Jean V de Bruges and Marie de Melun, hereditary lords of Maine. With a simple layout, the building was enlarged in the 17th century with the addition of a side aisle, then in the 19th century with the chapel known as the château chapel and a sacristy.
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Photos
Remarkable elements
Holy water fonts
At the entrance, the three 17th-century holy water fonts were donated in 1685 by Honorat Gomer, collector of salt taxes. The largest, made of pink marble and standing on a base, was used as a baptismal font. The other two, made of black and white veined marble, bear the same inscription commemorating this donation.
Baptismal font
The baptismal font in black and white veined marble, along with its wrought iron grille, dates from the 18th century. At the base, the bars of the grille form a fleur-de-lis pattern. The capitals are decorated with chubby-cheeked angel heads, symbols of the Holy Spirit descending upon the newly baptised.
Pieta
Dating from the 16th century, this sculpted group was restored to its 18th-century polychromy during its restoration in 1949. It represents the Lamentation, an episode of the Passion between the Descent from the Cross and the Entombment. In accordance with tradition, Saint John, dressed in red, accompanies the Virgin and Christ, surrounded by holy women. This scene is the origin of the iconography of the Pietà, which retains only Mary and Christ.
Funeral monument
This carved stone reliquary contains the heart of ‘the high and mighty lady Marie de Melun’, whose body lies in La Palisse, as indicated by the epitaph. Married here in 1505, she married Jacques II de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice, who was close to the royal power, in her second marriage. The ensemble is decorated with bas-relief figures of saints.
Stained glass window
This 16th-century window depicts Jean V de Bruges, Lord of La Gruthuse, and his third wife, Marie de Melun, who brought him the territory of Perche-Gouët, where Montmirail is located. Their coats of arms appear on Jean V's armour. Both are depicted in prayer at the feet of their patron saints, Saint John and the Virgin Mary.
