[Archive]. [Normandie]. [Rare and important manuscript archi - Lot 12

[Archive]. [Normandie]. [Rare and important manuscript archive on parchment from Rônai (Orne), 16th century. Presented in a scroll, an uncommon but locally attested practice in Normandy, the document measures approximately 20 cm. wide and 9.15 meters long. It consists of 15 sheets sewn together, and concerns a dispute between the monks of Saint-Martin de Sées abbey and local parishioners. It is a transumptum, or first true copy of the original acts relating to the investigation conducted at the time. It was drawn up in 1537, in Rônai (Orne), in the presence of a certain Jean Morel, and a large number of parishioners, whose testimonies are collected and transcribed here. Mention is made at the beginning of the document of an earlier act, dated 1453 and drawn up in the presence of Jean Morand, archdeacon. It is highly likely that this document is the result of a previous agreement that was not respected by one or other of the parties. In some passages, mention is made of the rent owed by the parishioners to the abbey, in the form of grain, and of the poor upkeep of the tithe barn intended to receive the grain. As you read on, you come across the names of numerous witnesses: Hilaire Plaignel, parish priest of Rônai, Pierre Onffray, Morel, Bonvoisin, Marguerite, and their parishes of origin concentrated in a limited area: Rônai, Commeaux, Montabard, Pierrefitte, Habloville.