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Origin and history

The church of Notre-Dame de Malmy, located in the disappeared village of Malmy (now attached to Chemery-Chehéry in the Ardennes), is a rare example of Romanesque architecture preserved in this region. Built between the 12th and 13th centuries, it is distinguished by its massive square tower overtaking the cross of the transept, typical of the transition between Roman and Gothic. The western portal, adorned with a tympanum depicting a Latin cross and eroded figures (perhaps the Virgin and Saint John), as well as the historical capitals illustrating biblical or animal scenes, testify to its rich sculptural decor. The chevron-shaped modillons and the bell tower's groined bays highlight its late Romanesque style, while the basilical nave and the flowered vault keys of the choir probably date from the thirteenth century.

The nave, built around 1100-1150, precedes the transept, the flat bedside and the bell tower (circa 1200), reflecting a two-phase construction. Inside, a 16th century Virgin with the Child, from Mount God, overcomes a transplanted altar. The three arcades on the side walls reveal the ancient existence of missing sides, the oldest part of the building. In 1958, the church was listed as historical monuments, and excavations in 2009 revealed fragments of a statue of St Sebastian (circa 1520), attributed to the influence of the Troyan school of Jacques Bachot.

Isolated west of Chemery-sur-Bar, near the Ardennes Canal and the Bar River, the church was once the spiritual center of Malmy village, mentioned for the first time in 1249 in the archives of the Reims chapter. Her 1312 foal designates her as "Parrochia de Malemi funddata is in honour B. Marie", confirming her Marian dedication. Among the thirty or so Romanesque churches of the Ardennes, it is singularized by its flat bedside characteristic of the "remois" style, and its dedicated cemetery, surrounded by a stone wall. The mutilations of sculptures (including tympanum) could date back to the French Revolution, when many religious buildings suffered degradation.

The building also illustrates the artistic exchanges of the time: the statue of Saint Sebastian discovered in 2009, of Troyan influence, evokes the links between the Ardennes and the neighbouring Champagne. The monks represented in mascaron near a window of the bell tower remind of the role of religious communities in the construction and beautification of rural churches. Today, a communal property, the Church of Notre-Dame de Malmy remains a major testimony of medieval religious architecture in the Great East, despite its remote location compared to the current dwellings.

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