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Origin and history

La Croix de chemin de Maignelay-Montigny, also known as Calvary du Bouquet or Montigny Calvary, is a monumental stone monument located on the edge of the streets of Madeleine and Louis Henry. This calvary, probably erected at the end of the 16th century, is distinguished by its imposing size (more than 3 meters high) and its architecture in large apparatus, with niches adorned by archicvolts and carved decorations (masks, animals, interlaces). The engraved inscriptions, partially restored in the 19th century, evoke the Passion of Christ and confirm its use as a cross of paths, a spiritual and geographical landmark for passers-by.

The exact origin of its construction remains uncertain: some hypotheses suggest that it would have been erected as a thank-you by the masons who had worked on the local church (the term "bouquet" meaning a collective offering), or to mark the boundary between the parishes of Maignelay and Montigny. Another theory is associated with the memory of Claude-Marguerite de Gondi, son of the Marquise de Maignelay, who died accidentally at the age of seven in 1598. Damaged during the Revolution and the Second World War, the calvary was restored in 1878, with the addition of statues now missing. Ranked a historic monument in 1922, it now belongs to the commune.

Architecturally, the calvary is characterized by its rectangular structure and its four niches surmounted by archivolts, once home to statues. The inscriptions of the 19th century, partially replacing the originals, recall the collective reconstruction by the inhabitants of Montigny. A degraded inscription, "0 Your omnes (who transit) [...]", confirms his role as a cross of path, inviting passersby to meditate on the sufferings of Christ. This monument thus illustrates both late Renaissance religious art and local devotional practices.

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