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Manoir de la Vigne (known as Agnes Sorel) au Mesnil-sous-Jumièges en Seine-Maritime

Patrimoine classé
Demeure seigneuriale
Manoir

Manoir de la Vigne (known as Agnes Sorel)

    540-554 Route du Manoir
    76480 Le Mesnil-sous-Jumièges
Private property; property of the municipality; owned by a private company
Crédit photo : Urban sur Wikipédia français - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1400
1500
1900
2000
1er quart XIVe siècle
Construction of the mansion
9 février 1450
Death of Agnes Sorel
16 juin 1993
Registration Historic Monument
17 décembre 1993
Historical Monument
2004
Scientific analyses
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Building and soil, including buried remains of plots A 258, 576, 775, 777: classification by order of 17 December 1993; Building and soil, as well as the old enclosure on plots A 778, 776, 774, 773, 462, 251: inscription by order of 16 June 1993

Key figures

Agnès Sorel - Favourite of Charles VII Died in this mansion in 1450.
Charles VII - King of France Lover of Agnes Sorel, sponsor of his tomb.
Jacques Cœur - Silver of the King Executor of Agnes Sorel.
Louis XI - Dauphin then king Suspected in the circumstances of his death.
Antoinette de Maignelais - Cousin d'Agnès Sorel Becoming a favorite after her death.
Philippe Charlier - Paleopathologist Analyzed his remains in 2004.

Origin and history

The manor house of La Vigne, located in Mesnil-sous-Jumièges in Normandy, dates from the first quarter of the 14th century. This place is best known for being the residence where Agnès Sorel, the favourite of King Charles VII, died on 9 Feb. 1450, shortly after giving birth to a premature daughter. The mansion then belonged to the Abbey of Jumièges, which had incorporated it into its domain.

Agnès Sorel, born around 1422, became the official favourite of Charles VII in 1443, marking a break with the discreet traditions of royal mistresses. She deeply influenced the court, both in her dress style and in her political role, favoring figures like Jacques Coeur. His brutal death at 28 years of age, officially due to a puerperal infection, aroused suspicions of poisoning, especially towards the dolphin Louis (future Louis XI) or his cousin Antoinette de Maignelais.

The manor house, now partially in ruins, preserves remains of its medieval past. After Agnes' death, his heart was laid at Jumièges Abbey, while his body was buried in Loches. The site, classified as Historic Monument in 1993, remains a testimony of the turbulent history of this emblematic figure of the French Renaissance.

Modern analyses of the remnants of Agnes Sorel, carried out in 2004, revealed a massive intoxication of mercury, reactivating assumptions about the circumstances of his death. The mansion, although private property, still symbolizes today the tragic destiny of this woman who marked the history of the French monarchy.

The building, with its protected elements (building and ground, buried remains), offers an overview of medieval domestic architecture. Its history is inseparable from that of Agnes Sorel, whose life and death continue to fascinate historians and the public.

Today, the manor house of La Vigne, although closed to the visit, remains a place full of memory. Its classification in 1993 preserved the traces of this past, between legend and historical reality.

External links