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Old tidal barn of the Merrie à Chenu dans la Sarthe

Sarthe

Old tidal barn of the Merrie

    2 Rue Principale
    72500 Chenu
Ownership of the municipality
Crédit photo : HubertduMaine - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
2e quart XIIIe siècle
Construction of barn
XIVe siècle
Transfer of rights
1789-1799
Sale as a national good
18 octobre 1993
Historical monument classification
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Former tithe barn (cad. C 796) : classification by decree of 18 October 1993

Key figures

Chapitre de Saint-Martin de Tours - Sponsor and original owner Have the barn built on the 13th floor.
Prévôté d’Anjou - New rights holder Get the fief back in the 14th century.
Maire (officier local) - Lordship representative Named to perceive tithe.

Origin and history

The tithe barn of the Merrie, located in Chenu in the Pays de la Loire, was built in the 2nd quarter of the 13th century by the chapter of the collegiate Saint-Martin de Tours. This building combined the functions of house and warehouse to store the tithe, a tax levied in kind (cereals, agricultural products). The chapter, which held the rights of justice on the fief de la Merrie, appointed a mayor to do justice and collect tax.

In the 14th century, the canons transferred their rights to the fief to the provost of Anjou, which perpetuated the system of perception. The barn remained a central place for local government until the French Revolution, where it was sold as a national property. The building, a witness to the medieval seigneurial and religious organization, was classified as a historic monument on 18 October 1993 for its heritage value.

Architecturally, the barn illustrates the duality of tidal barns: storage space for crops and place of power for representatives of the chapter or the provost. Its history reflects the political changes between the Middle Ages and the modern era, marked by the transition from ecclesiastical structures to the revolutionary state. Today, it belongs to the municipality of Chenu and retains a place in the local Sardinian heritage.

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