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Origin and history

The Xugney Commanderie, also known as Sugny, is a former Templar Commanderie founded in the 2nd half of the 12th century on the current territory of Rugney, in the department of Vosges (Great East region). This site, close to Charmes, illustrates the establishment of the Templars in Lorraine before their dissolution in 1312. Originally, the chapel, now enclosed between agricultural buildings, was probably isolated. A 2011 dendrochronological analysis on an oak beam revealed a date of 1138, suggesting early construction for the period.

Following the trial of the Order of the Temple (1312-1314), the Commandory was transferred in 1314 to the Hospitallers of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. She sometimes shared a joint commanding officer with the nearby command office of Libdeau. In 1630 Commander Charles de Lorraine hired Xugney, Libdeau and Robecourt (except Norroy's income) for a six-year lease. These changes reflect the reorganizations of military orders after the fall of the Templars.

The church of the commandory, the only vestige classified as a historic monument in 1926, has a beautiful stoneware Romanesque architecture. It consists of a nave of three spans without bottoms and a five-paned apse, initially arched in cross-dogives (today collapsed). The western facade, reworked, retains a door decorated with colonnades and a arch in the middle of the hanger. The windows of the abside, surrounded by blind arches, bear witness to a sober and functional style, typical of the Templar buildings.

Historical sources, such as the Mémoires de la société d'archéologie Lorraine (XIXth century) or the work of Michel Henry, underline the importance of Xugney in the network of Lorraines commanderies. The site, though partially altered, offers a rare testimony of religious and military architecture of the 12th-17th centuries in Lorraine. Today, there is still a place to study for archaeologists, as Cédric Moulis' 2011 research on the remains of the chapel attests.

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