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Origin and history

The Saint-Martin church of Rumilly-lès-Vaudes, located in the Aube department in the Grand Est region, was built between 1527 and 1549 under the impulse of Jean Colet, canon and official of Troyes. The latter obtained funds thanks to a bubble of indulgences granted to Rome in 1493 to his brother James, pastor of the old church. The project was supported by Bishop Odard Hennequin and his architect from Senlis. The building, of late Gothic style, was erected after the displacement of the village, ruined by the Hundred Years War, towards a site close to the forest of the Hozain. Its façade is inspired by the cathedral of Senlis, with an open tympanum, a rosette (rebuilt in 1744), and equestrian statues of St Martin.

The church, classified as a historical monument in 1840, suffered several disasters: its campanile, destroyed by a storm in 1739, was rebuilt and destroyed by a fire in 1798 (year VI), which also ravaged the roof. Despite these hazards, it retains traces of these events, like gargoyles finely carved on two levels. Inside, twelve lateral altars and a main altar (XVIIIth century) stand alongside 16th century glass windows, including a window of the south transept dedicated to St John, compared to a medieval "mistery". The table of the Passion, made of polychrome stone, has 70 characters in round-bosse and is one of the main pieces of the building.

The paintings and coats of arms adorning the vaults pay tribute to the donors who supported Jean Colet, whose coats of arms were restored in 1867. A plaque commemorates the consecration of the church in 1549 by Louis de Lorraine, bishop of Troyes. Among the notable works are an Annunciation by William II Cossard (1736) and a 14th century wooden Virgin. The church, a communal property, also bears witness to links with the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela, via an engraved shell near the "door of baptism". Its furniture, side altars and altarpiece illustrate the religious art of the 16th and 18th centuries.

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