Fireback With The Arms Of The Abbaye d'Acey And Pierre Ernest-françois De Mercy (86x95 Cm

Fireback with half-part arms of the Abbey of Acey* and Pierre Ernest-François de Mercy, dated 1685 and inscribed MS Condat monastery, now Saint Oyand de Joux abbey, current Saint-Claude abbey , sent a dozen monks to the Ognon valley, in the Jura, to create a hermitage. The abbey of Cherlieu established a monastery there. The abbey of Acey, daughter of Cherlieu founded in 1136 was prosperous for three centuries, fell in commendation in the 15th century and was looted by the troops of King Louis XI in 1477. Precariousness sets in despite the protection of the Archduchess Marguerite in 1530 or Charles Quint in 1545. The armies of Henri IV, in 1595, devastated the abbey and when the Ten Years' War broke out (1634-1644) the remaining monks fled or died of the plague. The conquest of Franche-Comté by Louis XIV in 1668 completed the ruin of the abbey which suffered a fire in 1683. In the 18th century it was partly rebuilt and sold as national property in 1791. In the 19th century a boarding school for young girls was settled there then Benedictines, then Trappists. With the perseverance of the Bishop of Saint-Claude, a community of around thirty religious rebuilt the place. The monastery regained its title of abbey in 1938 and currently has 24 Cistercian-Trappist monks. Pierre Ernest-François de Mercy, commendatory abbot of Acey from 1639 to 1649 lived there with his sister, probably Anne, the only unmarried sister. His main titles were: Provost of the insignia collegiate and privileged church of St Pierre de Lille, abbot of Acey and Justemont, prior of Fives, apostolic prothonotary, knight of the order of Alcantara, adviser to his imperial majesty and Courtine Sommelier to His Highness the Archduke Leopold. In view of the disorder of the date 1685 like the initials M and S, it is likely that our plate is a later order of the original plate. Two Comtoise columns complete its decoration. A small crack is to be specified in the lower part. Plaque found at Bard lès Pesmes in Haute-Saône. His weight is 152 kg. Arms: - *Acey (St-Claude): Argent, 2 staves striped Gules in saltire alaisé, a fess shortened Vert, debruising over all, accompanied in chief of a trefoil of the same and in base of a crescent Gules. * There remains, despite everything, a question mark for this coat of arms. - De Mercy - (Riestsap): De … with a silver chevron accompanied by three golden apples, the tails down. Lorraine, November 11, 1555. - (Dom Pelletier): Gules a chevron Argent accompanied by three spheres Or, two in chief and one in point. Lorraine, ennobled in 1555. - (Callot - ≈ 1718): Gules a chevron Or cantoned with three spheres Or. Our last picture. Sources: - *Armorial general of France, Charles d'Hozier, 7th volume, Burgundy generality of Besançon, November 1711, p 392. - Images of power, power of images: the coat of arms of the Abbey of Saint-Claude (XIV - XVIII th centuries), Nicolas Vernot, The friends of old Saint-Claude, 2003, n° 26, p. 2 to 19. A similar plaque is known at Petit-Noir in the Jura. - Johannes Baptist Rieststap, Armorial général, 1861, page 202. - Comte Théodore de Renesse, 1897, volume 3, page 618. - Jougla de Morénas, Grand armorial de France - Supplement - Volume 7. page 891. “Lord of Procheville” - Nobiliary or general armorial of Lorraine and Barrois by Dom Ambroise Pelletier, pages 564 and following - The true nobiliary of Lorraine and Barrois, written according to the order of the alphabet, which contains the former squires of the bailiwicks of St Mihiel , Bar and Clermont. Next Sieur Callot, by MDLB around 1718, page 287. - Heraldry and genealogy, national review of genealogy, January March 1993, XXV° year, n°1, page 323 and following - History of the collegiate church and the chapter of Saint Pierre de Lille by E. Hautcoeur, volume 3, 1899, page 111 - Memoirs and unpublished documents to serve the history of Franche Comté by the Academy of Besançon, volume five, 1844/1867, page 406. You can visit our website: www.claudeaugustin.com