Yesterday morning, I drove over to Montrichard, the next town down the Cher River from Saint-Aignan, for a routine appointment with my dentist. I parked the car close to the church across the street from the dentist's office, and I noticed that the street I was on was called la rue du Faubourg-Nanteuil. (The guy below seems to have pretty good teeth...)
By the way, it was freezing cold yesterday morning. It was also raining off and on. I mean drizzle, really, or bruine in French — a heavy, soaking mist. I came home after doing some shopping at Intermarché, a local supermarket, and we had lunch. Right after lunch, I noticed that it was raining harder.
And then I was surprised to see that it wasn't just rain. It was an ice shower. I could see little ice pellets bouncing off the skylight windows upstairs. It didn't last long, but it just shows how cold it is. On our thermometer, the temperature outside this morning is +2ºC, which is about 35ºF. This why we haven't planted delicate plants out in the garden yet. It's good that we now have the greenhouse tent.
Back to Nanteuil: I had wondered why the church on the west side of Montrichard was called Notre-Dame de Nanteuil. Now I know. Nanteuil is the name of a village that was at some point incorporated into the adjacent town of Montrichard ("cheater's mountain") — a very old village. On Wikipédia, I found an article about another village called Nanteuil (there are many in France) that explained the Gaulois (Celtic) meaning of the word: The Nant- part came from nanto, the Gaulois word for "valley", and the -euil from ialo, the word for "clearing", as in a clearing in a forest.
The closest village to us is called Mareuil-sur-Cher. Apparently, the Mar- part of the name came from the Celtic word for "large" and the -euil part from that same word for "clearing". So Mareuil is "the big clearing (on the Cher)". And Nanteuil is "the clearing in the valley".
I went into the church again and took some more photos. I also took some exterior shots, despite the miserable weather. A few of them are here. Oh, and I got a good report from the dentist. My teeth are in good shape and now they have been cleaned one more time. I'm so glad to have found a good dentist again.
I like the gargoyle in the first picture, that looks like he's swallowing the column.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the weather we're having, it's so cold and grey a lot of the time hat it could be English!
My father tells me that it was snowing in Derbyshire yesterday.
DeleteMiserable. I was just checking next week's forecast and it shows temperatures around 20ºC with sunny skies. Let's hope it works out that way.
DeleteThat first picture with the title about the dentist made me crack up.
ReplyDeleteDid you see the teeth on the guy in the last photo?
DeleteOh, I do so enjoy a close-up of a carving or a stained-glass window :)
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteI never knew what euil means, thanks for the definition. I like the sound of euil words.
ReplyDeleteI had never realized that it was the -euil suffix thet meant "clearing" -- Auteuil, Vineuil, Mareuil, Nanteuil, Bourgueil, Francueil -- the spelling chages slightly depending on the consonant...
DeleteWhen I saw "le dentiste" in your headline I thought your post might be about the horrible dentist who was just sentenced to eight years. If so, I wasn't going to read it! I was relieved when you referred to your own dentist.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good checkup. As my childhood dentist said, Be true to your teeth and they will never be false to you.
I've been hearing a lot about that dentist, but no, mine in Montrchard is fine and more than competent.
DeleteI've been hearing a lot about that dentist, but no, mine in Montrchard is fine and more than competent.
DeleteHow nice to see stained glass and pretty old churches as part of your normal routine. Glad your dentist appointment went well. I had to have a root canal last week. All during the procedure the office was playing lovely songs by Adele. Now I hate her.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing about Adele but not hearing her songs -- I guess I need a more tuned-in dentist.
DeleteCarolyn and Lynn your comments made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteKen, love the first picture and the lovely stained glass. Given your weather, no wonder they say not to plant until May in your area.
: ^ )
DeleteIn your last picture, I thought his hat, or helmet, was teeth, so one head eating the next in line.
ReplyDeleteWonder what the good folks in Montrichard did to get to be known as "cheater's mountain". Shifty dealing in medieval markets, perhaps?
The man who built the castle in Montrichard was known as "le tricheur" I think. I'll have to look that up again. Tricheur would have been pronounced something like tree-char in medieval times.
ReplyDeleteI just found this information:
DeleteLa maison de Blois est une succession de « Thibault » et de « Eudes ». Le fondateur est Thibault dit « le tricheur », ce qui donnera le nom d’une ville de son fief : « Montrichard ».
on this site.
So, Thibault the Cheater? Clutching my Larousse, I will venture into that site. Thanks.
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