Saint-Eutrope () is a former

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...

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 southwestern France. On 1 January 2017, it was merged into the new commune

Montmoreau Montmoreau () is a commune in the department of Charente, southwestern France. The municipality was established on 1 January 2017 by merger of the former communes of Montmoreau-Saint-Cybard (the seat), Aignes-et-Puypéroux, Saint-Amant-de-Mo ...

Geography

Saint-Eutrope is a common South Charente located 2.5 km northwest of Montmoreau and 26 km south of Angoulême. It is a small town on the surface (less than 3 km2), and lying territory (3.5 km long and 0.5 km wide). The village is 9 km southeast of Blanzac. The town is crossed by two county roads. The main one is the D 10, drive to Montmoreau Blanzac and Chateauneuf, which runs through the town staying on the ridge. The other is the D 74 which joins the road to Angoulême Libourne (D 674) by Saint-Cybard and part of the town. It is also the route of Nonac in North Western Canada.2. The nearest train station is in Montmoreau, served by TER to Angoulême and Bordeaux.

Hamlets and localities

The village is quite large, and the town hamlets are small and are only farms: Bel-Air, Large Stones, Maine Blanchard, in Calais, Perry. Chabreville Castle, not far from the town, is in the municipality of Courgeac.

Geology

The ground is limestone Cretaceous (chalk), but the peaks are covered with sand and clay tertiary deposit, and wood (or heath) have chestnuts and pines, calcifuges species. The clay of the ground meant that Saint-Eutrope was a renowned place of manufacture of solid pottery until the 20th century, there was also an iron mine

History

In the early sixteenth century, St. Eutrope de la Lande was a priory. A Romanesque church dates from the twelfth century. St. Eutropius was in the manor of Montmoreau dependent Angoumois, and following the religious wars, Francis has installed persecuted Catholic families, as well as Saint-Laurent-de-Belzagot. Saint-Eutrope has long been famous for its pottery. In the eighteenth century, no fewer than 30 families working there, with 25 fours. Saint-Eutrope specialized in the manufacture of large pieces: mass graves, Ponnes and flagons, as well as "faience pebbles" yellow glaze characteristics of certain workshops in the locality. This craft has reached its peak in 1841 with 140 potters. After the 1914–18 war, they were only a dizaine. The clay was then briefly operated as a building material (brickworks in Bel-Air, adopted in 1986).

Name

The first mention of the place appears in 1523: Sanctus Eutropius of Landa. Saint Eutrope was the first bishop of Saintes, and his relics were the subject of pilgrimages in the Middle age. During 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 ...

, Saint-Eutrope was called ''La Poterie'', and ''Utrope''.

Dialects

Although the dialectal limit is 10 km to the east, the town also has the distinction of being a small enclave

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

(Limousin dialect) language of oïl.Une colonie limousine en Saintonge, Saint-Eutrope, par Anatole Boucherie (éd. Maisonneuve, 1876)