Sainte-Menehould (; german: Sankt Mathilde) is a

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

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

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 north-eastern France. The 18th-century French playwright

Charles-Georges Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey Charles-Georges Fenouillot de Falbaire de Quingey (16 July 1727 – 28 October 1800) was an 18th-century French playwright. --> Works ;Theatre *'' L'Honnête Criminel, ou l'Amour filial, drama in 5 acts and in verse'', published in 1767 and giv ...

(1727–1800) died in Sainte-Ménéhould. It was the

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of the

arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould The arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould is a former arrondissement of France in the Marne department in the Grand Est region. It was disbanded at the April 2017 reorganisation of the arrondissements of Marne.Décret n° 2017-453 du 29 mars 2017 portant suppression de l'arrondissement de Sainte-Menehould (département de la Marne)

History

Dom Pérignon Dom Pérignon (; ) is a brand of vintage Champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover the Champagne method for making ...

, the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

who made important contributions to the production and quality of

Champagne wine Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, sp ...

, and is often (erroneously) credited with its invention, was born in Sainte-Menehould around 1638. As part of the county of

Clermont-en-Argonne Clermont-en-Argonne (, literally ''Clermont in Argonne''; formerly Clermont-sur-Meuse, literally ''Clermont on Meuse'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The former towns of Auzéville-en-Argonne, Jubé ...

, Sainte-Menehould was in the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following t ...

until 1641, when the county was ceded to France; in 1648, it was granted as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

to Louis, ''le Grand Condé'', effectively making it independent of Crown control. Condé established Sainte-Menehould as his capital and fortified it in 1652, when he was leader of the 1650-1653 civil war known as the ''

Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...

des nobles''. The military engineer Vauban worked on the fortifications as a member of Condé's regiment; he changed sides when captured by a Royalist patrol in early 1653. Condé's governor, the Comte de Montal surrendered the town in November 1653, allegedly in return for a payment of 50,000

pistoles Pistole is the French name given to a Spanish gold coin in use from 1537; it was a doubloon or double escudo, the gold unit. The name was also given to the Louis d'Or of Louis XIII of France, and to other European gold coins of about the value ...

. After his return to France in 1659, Condé retained Clermont, which remained in his family until the

abolition of feudalism in France One of the central events of the French Revolution was to abolish feudalism, and the old rules, taxes and privileges left over from the age of feudalism. The National Constituent Assembly, acting on the night of 4 August 1789, announced, "The Na ...

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 ...

in 1790. The next year,

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

passed through the town during the

Flight to Varennes The royal Flight to Varennes (french: Fuite à Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which King Louis XVI of France, Queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family unsuccessfull ...

, where he was recognized, allegedly on account of the similarity between his face and the image on the coinage. The royal party left the town before the significance of the king's recognition had been acted upon, but they were pursued along the road towards

Varennes Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639. Geography Varennes-en-Ar ...

and arrested by Citizen Drouet the local postmaster. 130 years later Ste-Menehould was important in the

Champagne Riots The Champagne Riots of 1910 and 1911 resulted from a series of problems faced by grape growers in the Champagne area of France. These included four years of disastrous crop losses, the infestation of the phylloxera louse (which destroyed of viney ...

of 1910/1911. Following the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Sainte-Menehould saw the birth of French sociologist

Michel Crozier Michel Crozier (6 November 1922, Sainte-Menehould, Marne – 24 May 2013, Paris) was a French sociologist and member of the ''Académie des sciences morales et politiques'' from 1999 until his death. He also was a fellow of the American Academy ...

Population

Cuisine

The town and its several restaurants pride themselves on serving a local specialty called ''pied de cochon'' or

pig's trotter A pig's trotter, also known as a pettitoe, or sometimes known as a pig's foot, is the culinary term for the foot of a pig. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, and experienced a resurgence in the late 2000s. Description Pigs' t ...

''à la Sainte-Menehould'', which are cooked for hours, to the point of softening the bones and making them edible.

Twinning

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Cap-Pelé, NB, Canada

References

External links