Last modified: 2011-05-14 by ivan sache
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![[Flag of Tintigny]](../images/b/be-wlxtt.gif)
Municipal flag of Tintigny - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 16 May 2005
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The municipality of Tintigny (3,739 inhabitants on 1 January 2007; 8,179 ha) is located in the region of Gaume, not far from the border with France. The municipality of Tintigny is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Tintigny, Bellefontaine, Rossignol and Saint-Vincent.
The origin of the name of Tintigny is disputed. Some say it comes from
the Germanic word tintingen, refering to a kind of esplanade where
the assemblies took place; other say it was formed after the name of a
Roman estate (villa Tintinacum); and other say it was formed in the
Middle Ages when a dyer's workshop (tincterie) was set up. A poetical
etymology relates Tintigny to the jingling (tintement) in forges
which might have worked along the river Semois.
Anyway, the site of Tintigny has been settled since the early Age of
Iron (Hallstatt period, 850-750 to 475 BC); the cremation cemetary
found in Saint-Vincent and the fortress of Gros Cron, in Lahage, are
remains of that period. The four groups of burial mounds of
Saint-Vincent are the only Hallstatian cemetaries found in the province
of Luxembourg.
A village seems to have emerged along the Roman way Reims-Trier, as
shown by several remains found on the municipal territory. The way was
built under Emperor Claude (45-54), as written on a milestone reused as
a wall elements of the donjon of Montauban.
In 1097, Tintigny is listed (as Tintiniacum, then Tintigni in 1173,
Tintignei in 1230 and Tintegney in 1327) in the chart founding the St.
Walburg priory in Chiny. Some hamlets and isolated farms are listed
later, in 1258, in the chart granting the Beaumont Law to Tintigny. In
Luxembourg, the northern communities were granted the Ardenne Law,
whereas the southern communities were granted the Beaumont Law. The
Beaumont Law was granted to Beaumont-en-Argonne in 1182 by Guillaume,
Bishop of Reims, and later extended to the Counties of Chiny and Bar,
the Duchy of Bouillon, and, to a lesser extent, to the Duchy of
Luxembourg and the Principality of Liège. In 1383, 180 villages and
hamlets followed the Law; it was confirmed in the 15th century by the
Arche of Beaumont. The Law of Beaumont suppressed serfdom, emancipated
people from the military duties and, in most cases, made the communities
owner of their woods. It is the origin of the "common woods", managed
by the communities themselves. Maria-Theresa suppressed the Law of
Beaumont in 1775 but the "common woods" have remained until now as
bois d'aisances. Wauthoz says that Tintigny was chartered before
1257, Rossignol before 1383 and Saint-Vincent before 1300.
In 1320, Gilles de Weez was lord of Villemont. Important nobles families
settled in Tintigny and stayed there until the end of the 18th
century. The Weez were succeeded by the Barbançon around 1400. On 22
June 1530, the titles of Beaudoin de Barbançon, lord of Villemont,
were confirmed by Letters PAtented by Charles V. Later, Villemont was
owned by the Merode (1612-1676) and Trazegnies (until the Revolution)
families.
In the 12th-13th centuries, the forest of Chiny was cleared along
the river Semois and several new settlements emerged. Among those new
villages, Rossignol was the biggest village in the Provostship of Chiny
and a local trade center, with fairs.
The strategical location of Tintigny, near the castle of Villemont and
the river Semois, was the cause of several destructions. In 1542, the
village was plundered and burnt down by Duke d'Orléans during the
invasion of Luxembourg. In 1558, Tintigny was again occupied by
Hautecourt, lieutenant of the Duke de Nevers; the troops seized the
castle of Villemont and burnt it down. The region was regularly
occupied and trashed by French, Croat, Polish, Austrian and Hungarian
troops until the end of the 18th century. In 1636, black plague
nearly suppressed the village of Tintigny. In 1766, Tintigny had 89
houses and 392 inhabitants.
The castle of Villemont was rebuilt in 1713 and transformed in 1718 by
Gérard de Trazegnies.
After the French Revolution, Tintigny was incorporated in 1795 in the department of Forests; it was granted the municipal status in 1823. During the fight of Bellefontaine and Rossignol, on 22 August 1914, 3,500 German and French soldiers were killed. The French 3rd Division of Colonial Infantry was nearly suppressed by the 6th Silesian Corps. A memorial to the Colonial Troops was inaugurated in 1927 by Mr. Feunette, whose son Gaby had been killed during the battle; Feunette committed suicide on the tomb of his son short after the ceremony. Among the victims of the battle of Rossignol is the writer Ernest Psichari (1883-1914), a Greek-born who converted to Christianism when aged 29. Psichari was member of the mystic circle including French writers such as Jacques Maritain, Georges Rouault, Charles Péguy and Léon Bloy. On 22 August 1914, the German burnt down Tintigny, because of the alleged presence of franc tireurs and shot 92 civilians. The Germans completely destroyed the castle of Villemont, which was rebuilt in 1922 by Baron d'Huart. On 26 August, another 126 "franc tireurs" were arrested in Rossignol, sent to the railway station of Arlon and executed. In 1920, the remains of the martyrs of Arlon were brought back to Rossignol; the funeral cortege left Arlon on 18 July, in the presence of King Albert I; the next day, more than 25,000 people attended the inhumation into the vault of Rossignol.
Bellefontaine is named (at least since 1251) after the numerous sources and fountains found on its territory. The legend says that the daughters of a local lord used to perform their ablutions in one of these fountains, which was nicknamed fontaine des belles. In 1797, Bellefontaine became a municipality including the villages of Bellefontaine, Saint-Vincent and Lahage; Saint-Vincent seceded on 2 July 1887.
Rossignol was found in 1097 when Count de Chiny Arnoul II built in a clearing a fortress, a mill and an oven. Rossignol means in French "nightingale", and there were probably several of those birds there. The successive names of the villages consistently refer to the bird, either under its French or Latin (philomela) name: Locenol in 1265, Philomela in 1271, Losignot and Losignol in 1274, Philomena in 1279-1295, and Lossignot in 1327.
Saint-Vincent does not seem to have been named after Saint Vincent but after a Roman soldier named Savinus. The successive names of the village are Sainvinsart in 1068, Savinsart in 1207 and Saint Vieusart in 1344.
Source: Municipal website
Ivan Sache, 16 May 2005
The municipal flag of Tintingy is horizontally divided red-yellow with
a white triangle charged with a red flame placed along the hoist.
According to Armoiries communales en Belgique. Communes wallonnes, bruxelloises et germanophones [w2v03a], the flag was adopted on 4 June 2003 by the Municipal Council, as Deux laizes longitudinales rouge sur jaune avec à la hampe un triangle blanc chargé d'une flamme rouge.
The flag is derived from the municipal coat of arms, Tiercé en pairle; en chef, d'argent à trois flammes de gueules, 2 et
1; à dextre, de gueules à trois pattes de lions, les griffes en haut, 2 et 1, accompagnées en chef d'une étoile à six rais, le tout d'or; à senestre, d'or à trois bandes de gueules; en abîme sur le tout, d'or au chef de gueules (Tierced per pall, a chief argent three flames gules placed 2 and 1,
dexter gules three lion paws claws up in chief a mullet all or,
sinister or three bends gules, an escutcheon or a chief gules.
According to the municipal website, the components of the coat of arms recall the arms of the former local lords:
- dexter: Henri de Bellefontaine (14th century);
- chief: Gilles de Saint-Vincent (13th century);
- sinister: Jean de Rossignol (15th century);
- escutcheon: Jean de Weez (13th century).
Arnaud Leroy, Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 15 May 2005