Tusey (also spelled Tuzey or Touzy) is today a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

Vaucouleurs Vaucouleurs () is a commune in the Meuse department, northeastern France. It is situated on the river Meuse, approximately from Toul and Commercy. History Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville (1225/33 – 21 October 1314) also known as G ...

on the

Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

. It is first mentioned in documents of 859–65 as Tusey-sur-Meuse (''Tusiacum super Mosam'' or ''Mosellam''). From 22 October to 7 November 860 a

church council A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word meani ...

was held there under King

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

. There was a royal palace at nearby Vaucouleurs. The importance of Tusey declined during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. A large cut stone, about one metre square, known locally as the ''borne d'Empire'', "bollard of the Empire", is probably a boundary marker placed at the site of the 1299 meeting in a then forested area (since named Quatre-Vaux) between

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...

and

Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg (german: Albrecht I.) (July 12551 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude o ...

the so-called meeting of the Emperor and the King. The boundary markers that came out of this meeting were topped by bronze pieces, removed during the reign of Henry II. The hole for the bronze attachment is still visible on the stone. In 1832, Pierre Adolphe Muel established a

foundry A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

at Tusey. In 1840 he brought in a partner and renamed the company Muel et Wahl. In 1862 Zégut took over and in 1874 Louis Gasne. From 1896 until 1904 it was in owned by Dufilhol et Chapal, and passed on Dufilhol's death to Laurent Chevailler. Pierre Esch took over in 1935 and the foundry was finally shuttered in 1963.

Sources

* * {{authority control Geography of Meuse (department) Villages in Grand Est