Ménil-en-Xaintois is a commune in the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in northeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Inhabitants are called Ménilois.

Geography

Ménil-en-Xaintois is a rural commune set on the Vosges Plain, crossed by the former National Road RN66, now declassified to RD 66 but still connecting Epinal to the east-south-east with

Bar-le-Duc Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...

to the north-west. The village houses are mostly stretched along this road, in a setting of fields and pastures. Across the fields some to the south are

Vittel Vittel (; archaic ) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mineral water is bottled and sold here by Nestlé Waters France, under the '' Vittel'' brand. A series of negotiations involving Nestlé, local agr ...

and

Contrexéville Contrexéville () is a commune of north-eastern France, in the Vosges département. The mineral springs of Contrexéville have been known locally for many years, but became generally known only towards the end of the 18th century. The particul ...

, though the minor roads connecting to them are not very direct. Surrounding communes include Dombasle-en-Xaintois to the east, Gironcourt-sur-Vraine to the west and

Saint-Menge Saint-Menge () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Heraldry See also * Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 506 communes of the Vosges department of France. Intercom ...

to the south-west. Adjacent communes with only an indirect road connection to Ménil are

Biécourt Biécourt () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 506 communes of the Vosges department of France. Intercommunalities The c ...

and Totainville to the north, and Gemmelaincourt and Rouvres-en-Xaintois to the south. With these last two named, along with Dombasle-en-Xaintois, the Ménil commune shares the forest of ''"le Bois dessous Haye"''.

History

The Names

Writing in the early eighteenth century, the historian of Lorraine, Dom Calmet believed that the village was the same as Ménil la Tour mentioned in ancient title records. The name has in any case been variously spelled over the years: Masnile in 1109, Masnille in 1130, Manile in 1148, Masnili in 1187, Mesnil in 1242, Manil en Sainctoris in 1251, Manilz on Santois in 1280, Mesgnil in 1287, Mesni en Sentois in 1309, Manil en Sainstois in 1330, Masnillo en Saintoix in 1332, Mennil en Saintoix or Menyl in 1380, Manillo in 1402, Manil en Saintoix in 1426, Mesnil en Sanctoix in 1459, Le Mesnil in 1656, Mesnil en Xaintois in 1711 Mansile in Sanctesio in 1768 and Ménil en Saintois in 1779.

Gallo-Roman

Thanks to extensive archeological work undertaken on the initiative of Canon Jean Colson in the 1980s, it is known that in the district of Seucherey in the south-west of the commune a former monastery was actually built on the site of a first-century Villa rustica ''(Rural villa)'' which would probably have been at the centre of an area of agricultural cultivation two thousand years ago.

Medieval

The village appears to have been destroyed and abandoned in the violence that followed the

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

civilisation. Thereafter, it was initially subject to the

Marquisate A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or widow) ...

of Removille, and subsequently that of Baudricourt. The village is listed in a schedule confirming the assets of Deuilly Priory (now replaced by a hamlet in modern

Serécourt Serécourt () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 506 communes of the Vosges department of France. Intercommunalities The ...

) drawn up in 1118 by the Bishop of

Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...

. Subsequently, the village was included in the Vôge

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 ...

, subject to the provostship of

Mirecourt Mirecourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (French department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particula ...

in 1594 and still administered from Mirecourt in 1790. In terms of civil justice, the highest authority would therefore have been that of the

Dukes of Lorraine The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were ...

. Spiritually the parish was dependent on the Abbey of Chaumousey which received two-thirds of the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

, while the rest went to the parish priest. Neighbouring Dombasle-en-Xaintois was also subject to the parish priest of Ménil-en-Xaintois, a post that was filled by an

Augustinian friar The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were following the Rule of Saint Augustine, ...

Modern

The area was spared the worst of the destructive violence of the late eighteenth century, though the administrative reforms and secularization that followed the French Revolution were far reaching in their effect. The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of surging nationalism across most of Europe, and in 1884 the parish priest had the idea of establishing a theatre in the village in order to put on a play in honour of

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

. The villagers were unwilling to fund Curé Meignien's dream, but with the enthusiastic support of Bishop Foucault of Saint-Dié and the consent of the parishioners, the dream nonetheless became a reality in 1894, ten years later, with a play presented by her compatriots tracing Joan of Arc's life from her birth across the département at Domrémy to her death by burning at

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Dombasle-en-Xaintois were recruited to support the production. A wooden audience chamber was built in the village with seating for 2,000. The play was presented annually between 1896 and 1901, the year when the interior of the theatre was destroyed by a storm. Performances resumed in 1907, but by now the project had lost its momentum. In 1908 the theatre and its interior furnishings were sold at auction: today an agricultural building occupies the site. Curé Meignien's dream captured the spirit of the age. At the height of its fame, the little theatre attracted audiences from the leisured classes visiting surrounding thermal spas, as well as religious/political pilgrims from the big cities and beyond, including

Jules Méline Félix Jules Méline (; 20 May 183821 December 1925) was a French statesman, Prime Minister of France from 1896 to 1898. Biography Méline was born at Remiremont. Having taken up law as his profession, he was chosen a deputy in 1872, and in ...

Maurice Barrès Auguste-Maurice Barrès (; 19 August 1862 – 4 December 1923) was a French novelist, journalist, philosopher, and politician. Spending some time in Italy, he became a figure in French literature with the release of his work ''The Cult of the S ...

, and the Shah of Persia. Intellectuals compared the theatre with the best theatres in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and there was talk of presenting the play in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as part of the

Universal Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

of 1900. But perhaps the ultimate accolade was the double-page spread that appeared in an issue of the "

L'Illustration ''L'Illustration'' (; 1843–1944) was a French language, French illustrated weekly newspaper published in Paris. It was founded by Édouard Charton with the first issue published on 4 March 1843, it became the first illustrated newspaper in ...

" on 22 July 1899. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, exploiting the excellent views of the surrounding area from the higher ground in the commune, the German military installed a radar base which operated from 1941 until September 1944. The base included a

bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

, a wooden barracks and a large concrete water tank requisitioned from the village. The station was used to support military aircraft and anti-aircraft artillery. It was evacuated ahead of the arrival of the Americans. The acting Commander, Heinlem Tereskasho, lead the evacuation effort which saved the lives of nearly one-hundred German soldiers. In 1996 the village came under the media spot-light because of a notorious child cruelty case.Johnny, enfant martyr dans un village où personne ne l'a vu - l'Humanite
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