Montdidier, Somme
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Montdidier (; or ) is a commune in the
Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France * Somme, Queensland, Australia * Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), ...
department in the
administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
of
Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
(historically
Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
), northern France.


Geography

Montdidier is on the D935 road, some 30 km southeast of
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
, in the region known as the 'Santerre'. Montdidier station has rail connections to Amiens and Compiègne.


Population


History

The commune has existed since before
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
times, possibly corresponding to the site of ''Bratuspance''. Under
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, a
donjon A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residenc ...
was built in the north-west of the town, on a chalk promontory, (nowadays the site of the ''Prieuré''). It was here, in 774, that
Desiderius Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...
, king of the
Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
, was held prisoner by Charlemagne, giving the town its name (in French, ''Didier''). Around the year 948, the first church was built near the castle by Heldwide, the wife of Hilduin, first of the house of the Counts of Montdidier. In 1184, King
Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), also known as Philip Augustus (), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks (Latin: ''rex Francorum''), but from 1190 onward, Philip became the firs ...
had the outlying buildings of the town burnt down, during the war for the possession of the Amiénois and the
Vermandois Vermandois was a French county that appeared in the Merovingian period. Its name derives from that of an ancient tribe, the Viromandui. In the 10th century, it was organised around two castellan domains: St Quentin (Aisne) and Péronne ( Som ...
. In 1195, the town was granted its communal charter. In 1472, Montdidier was set alight by the Burgundians.
Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...
is reported to have said "Such are the fruits of war". Under the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
, Montdidier was in the province of the Santerre (one of eight ''provinces'' of
Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
) and the seat of a
bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...
(established in 1516)
By edict of 1575,
Henry III of France Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...
created the ''élection'' of Montdidier, granting tax-raising powers to elected representatives. The year 1590 saw the commune threatened and eventually invaded by the troops of
Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
. As with many towns of the region, Montdidier bore the brunt of the fighting of World War I. Many of the town's more ancient and valuable monuments were destroyed in that occasion.


Main sights

* Church of ''Saint-Sépulcre'' in flamboyant gothic, with six 17th century Reydams tapestries on show in the
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
* Church of St Peter (flamboyant gothic) * Ruins of Saint-Martin's church * Statue of Antoine-Augustin Parmentier on Parmentier Place * The town hall, in the Flemish style and decorated in
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
style * The priory (once known as the ''Salle du Roy''). Rebuilt in 1930, after being damaged during World War I. It has functioned as the ''Palais de Justice'' and became the ''Centre des Impôts'' in 1965.Page 9 : ''« Terres de Parmentier » - Guide d'accueil et de tourisme'', éd. "Office de Tourisme de Montdidier, ses environs" - 28 pages (diffusé gracieusement en janvier 2008) * The war memorial * Monument to the 212 French pilots who lost their lives in Picardy in May and June 1940


Personalities

*
Fredegund Fredegund or Fredegunda (Vulgar Latin, Latin: ''Fredegundis''; French language, French: ''Frédégonde''; died 8 December 597) was the queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Franks, Frankish king of Neustria. Fredegund served as regent ...
(c.545–597), Queen of
Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...
* Felicia of Roucy (c.1060–1123), Queen of Aragon * Gilles de Roye (died 1478),
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monk *
Jean Fernel Jean François Fernel ( Latinized as Ioannes Fernelius; 1497 – 26 April 1558) was a French physician who introduced the term "physiology" to describe the study of the body's function. He was the first person to describe the spinal canal. The ...
(1497–1558), physician * Claude Capperonnier (1671–1744), philosopher * Jean Capperonnier (1716–1775), philosopher and librarian * Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737–1813), agriculturist * Jean-Jacques-Antoine Caussin de Perceval (1759–1835), linguist * Cléon Galoppe d'Onquaire (1805–1867), writer and playwright * Louis-Lucien Klotz (1868–1930), journalist and politician * Maurice Blanchard (1890–1960), aeronautic engineer and poet * Urbain Wallet (1899–1973), footballer * Jimmy Casper (born 1978), cyclist


See also

*
Communes of the Somme department The following is a list of the 771 communes of the Somme department of France. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Raymond Couvègnes


References


Bibliography

* Paul Roger, pages 259 à 266 in Tome II de « ''Histoire des Cathédrales, Abbayes, Châteaux-forts et Villes de la Picardie et de l'Artois'' », éd. Duval et Herment, Amiens, 1842 (Réimpression Editions La Découvrance, 2003), 352 p. -


External links


Municipal website

A history of Montdidier

Old postcards of Montdidier

Tourist Office website
{{authority control Communes of Somme (department) Subprefectures in France Territories of the Valois dukes of Burgundy