Ambel () is a commune in the

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

region of southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Ambellons'' or ''Ambellonnes''

Geography

Ambel is located at the southern end of the department of

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Drac river which forms the north-eastern border and the Souloise river which forms the western border. The commune is some 20 km south-west of

La Mure La Mure () is a commune in the Isère département in southeastern France. It is located south of Grenoble on the plateau Matheysin. Population Sights * The Chemin de fer de la Mure is a small touristic train using a railway initially bu ...

and some 50 km north by north-east of

Veynes Veynes (; oc, Vèina) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. It developed largely as a minor rail hub, at the crossing of two lines. Population See also *Communes of the Hautes-Alpes department The following is a ...

although is not directly accessible from the places. Access to the commune is by minor road D217 which branches from national route N85 at Le Motty to the east of the commune. The D217 goes west to the village then turn south to Monestier-d'Ambel.Google Maps
/ref> Ambel overlooks ''Lake Sautet'' which is formed by a dam located 1 kilometre north of the village, and dams the two rivers on two sides of the commune. The Plateau of Ambel is one of the residues of an ancient alluvial plain created by a glacial barrier which was at the location of the current dam and subsequently cut through by the Drac and Souloise.

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

to the east and Pellafol to the west are located on the lateral edges of the plain at the same altitude. This gives the local landscape a distinctive aspect with the three villages facing and partially embedded inside the gorge.

Neighbouring communes and villages

Toponymy

''Ambel'' takes its name from the Latin root ''amb-'' meaning "with two sides" which refers to the geographical position of the village on a promontory between the Souloise and the Drac valleys: ''Ambilis in Taraone'' in low-Latin, ''Hembel'' or ''Hembellum'' in the 15th century.

History

There was a lordship with a castle at Ambel which existed at the end of the 8th century. Ardradus, son of Bysardon, had a son Eldrade (781-844?) who became a monk and gave up all his rights to

Novalesa Abbey Novalesa Abbey ( it, Abbazia di Novalesa) is a Benedictine monastery in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy. It was founded in 726, and dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Andrew. Novalesa is in the Val di Susa, on the route to the Mont ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

destroyed everything in the early years of the 10th century. Ambel was part of the

Comte de Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

but was liberated in the year 973, then was part of Forcalquier in 1054, then Dauphiné in 1209. When creating the Castellany in 1250, Ambel was part of

.Jean Gueydan, ''The Lords of Beaumont'', ed. Cosmogone, 2003, , p. 111-113 . The Lordship of Ambel, which was composed of the two parishes of Ambel and Monestier, was established on 11 March 1315, by dismantling the mandate of Corps in favour of Pierre of Ambel and "as needed" his brother Humbert. Peter had, by concession from the Dauphin, high, middle, and low jurisdiction rights over Ambel. The lordship was transmitted through four generations of the Ambel family until the death of Raymond III around 1445. His eldest son Stephen had died ten years earlier and Raymond left only daughters; the

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; la, Lex salica), also called the was the ancient Frankish civil law code compiled around AD 500 by the first Frankish King, Clovis. The written text is in Latin and contains some of the earliest known instances of Old Du ...

did not apply to dauphinoise land so the eldest, Burguette, became Lady Ambel and her husband, Raymond de la Villette was Lord "of his wife's head" until his death. In 1470 their two sons, John and Aymar de la Villette, become co-lords of Ambel on the death of their mother and sold the lordship to Jean de Bonne, whose eldest son Peter in 1500 gave rights to his brother Reynaud over Monestier which then became a separate lordship. The lordship of Ambel, which was now reduced to a mere parish of Ambel, was sold by Pierre de Bonne to Guillaume ''of

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The

Wars of religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

raged in Ambel: the village was destroyed and the castle taken and retaken five times between 1562 and 1577. In 1578, Lesdiguières besieged Ambel; Bertrand III Raimbault de Simiane, Baron of Gordes, dislodged him but Lesdiguières returned and took the castle again. Pierre III ''of

Poligny Poligny is the name of several communes in France: * Poligny, Aube * Poligny, Hautes-Alpes * Poligny, Jura * Poligny, Seine-et-Marne Poligny () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. ...

'' bought the lordship in Vienne in 1617 and resold it to Jean Achard around 1645. Antoine Achard, nephew and heir of Jean, emigrated in 1867 and his fief was confiscated and given to his younger son Judéon. Pierre Achard, the son of Judéon, passed it to his cousin and adopted son Richard Gautier. Marc-Richard, his son, was deposed by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. In 1790 the commune was, like its neighbours, integrated into the department of Hautes-Alpes then a few years later to the department of

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

. The building of the Sautet Dam in 1935 physically separated Ambel from

and Pellafol and this forced long detours to reach the neighbouring communes. A ferry link was attempted, but abandoned after a capsize.

The lords of the Ambel family

(Dates are not given as they are too uncertain) *Pierre, created Lord by the Dauphin in 1315 (''Pierre I''), and Humbert, his brother, Lord "as needed" *Raymond, son of Pierre I (''Raymond I'') and Pierre called Perret, his brother (''Pierre II'') co-Lords *Henri, son of Raymond I, and Raymond, his brother (''Raymond II''), co-Lords *Aymar, son of Henri, Lord, childless *Raymond, nephew of Henry and Raymond II (''Raymond III''), Lord, died without male issue in 1445 (date uncertain). During the wars of religion, a Stephen Ambel, Protestant, whose kinship with the previous Lords was not established, was briefly lord of Ambel.

The succession of Raymond III

Raymond had five children but his only son, the eldest of the five, died before him. On his death the elder branch of Ambel was extinguished and the eldest daughter, Burguette, passed the lordship of Ambel to her children. The other three sisters, Clemence, Lantelme, and Catherine inherited the lands of high- Valgaudemar which entered the family by the marriage of their great-uncle Henri to Alix de Bonne. Clemence's land remained known as ''Clemence-d'Ambel'' until the middle of the 20th century. Those of Catherine passed to her daughter Marguerite whose husband Guillaume Pérouse bought Lantelme's share constituting the territory now known as ''Guillaume-Pérouse''.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive MayorsList of Mayors of France
/ref>

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 28 inhabitants.

Sites and monuments

On the hill overlooking the village there is surmised to be the remains of the ancient castle. A little further down is a small 19th-century church. In the forecourt is a view of the Dévoluy and Lake Sautet (the Souloise side) dominated by the Obiou.

Notable people

*Saint Eldrade was born in 781 in Ambel, the son of Lord Aldradus, he chose to be a monk and became superior of

. An annual pilgrimage is held from

Monestier-d'Ambel Monestier-d'Ambel (, literally ''Monestier of Ambel'') is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Isère department *Grande Tête de l'Obiou The Grande Tête de l'Obiou (or simply ...

towards Ambel. Pilgrims come from the region and sometimes from

Le Monêtier-les-Bains Le Monêtier-les-Bains (; oc, Lo Monastièr) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France. Geography Le Monêtier-les-Bains is the highest village of the French ski resort of Serre Chevalier at 1,500m. It is situated in t ...

and Italy to commemorate the saint.

Bibliography

*Jean Gueydan, ''The Lords of Beaumont'', ed. du Cosmogone, 2003, .

References

External links

Ambel on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website
''Ambel'' on the 1750 Cassini Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ambel, Isere Communes of Isère Dauphiné