Everything about Mortain totally explained
Mortain is a small town and
commune in the
Manche département,
France. It is the chief town of an
arrondissement and seat of a sub-prefect. Population 2,452.
Geography
Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the
Cance, a tributary of the
Sélune.
» Area: 744 ha.
Altitude: 232 m
History
Mortain was, in the
Middle Ages, the head of an important county (
comté), reserved for the reigning house of
Normandy (
see List of Counts of Mortain). Around
1027 it was established for Robert, who was probably an illegitimate son of
Richard I of Normandy. He was succeeded by William Warlenc ("the waning") who was probably his son. In or about
1049 Duke William took it from William Warlenc and bestowed it on his half-brother,
Robert, thenceforth known as "count of Mortain," whose vast possessions in
England after the Conquest (
1066) gave name to "the small fees of Mortain," which owed less feudal service than others. Robert was succeeded as count by his son
William, Count of Mortain, who rebelled against
Henry I, was captured at the
battle of Tinchebrai (
1106) and forfeited his possessions. Some years later, Henry bestowed the comtéship on his nephew
Stephen, who became king in 1135. On Stephen's death (1154) his surviving son William became count of Mortain, but when William died childless in 1159 the title was resumed by Henry II. On the accession of
Richard I (1189) he granted it to his brother
John, who was thenceforth known as count of Mortain until he ascended the throne (1199). With his loss of Normandy the
comté was lost, but after the recapture of the province by the House of Lancaster, Edmund Beaufort, a grandson of
John of Gaunt, was created count of Mortain and so styled till 1441, when he was made
earl of Dorset.
In August
1944, Mortain was the site of an important battle between the German and American forces. Over a period of six nights the
30th Infantry Division fought valiantly (with one radio with dying batteries) against the German Panzer counter-attack of
Operation Lüttich, to preserve the breakout established in
Operation Cobra.
Sights
The parish church of
St Evroult is a magnificent example of the transitional style of the early
13th century. Close to the town is the
Abbaye Blanche, founded as a
Benedictine convent in
1105 and soon afterwards affiliated to
Citeaux. The church is a perfect example of a
Cistercian monastic church of the late
12th century, and portions of the 12th-century
cloisters also survive. The ruins of a castle was once the home of the cruel Sir Guillaume de Mortain and the site of the Gap of Goeblin.
Miscellaneous
Mortain was the birthplace of
Ferdinand André Fouqué (
1828-
1904),
geologist and
petrologist.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mortain'.
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