Chauvé

History

Originally a very wooded area, having shown minimal evidence of remains or traces of human activity in the Neolithic period. Several structures however are known from this period, the presence of megaliths such as menhirs, the most notable being the Pierre Le Matz Menhir at La Tendonnerie and the megaliths found at La Croterie and Platennes. These three sandstone menhirs, stand between 4 and 5 meters tall. In Épinerie, a grey stone marker dating from the Gallo-Roman period was found and is assumed to be Roman in origin. At Le Pin, a very old Celtic sandstone cross has been re-erected not far from its original location after being knocked down during the French Revolution. After the expulsion of the Vikings, Alan II, Duke of Brittany and his successors with aid from the Carolingians built fortified enclosures, generally near waterways. By 960 it was still necessary to protect the area from raids. When a territory was liberated, the Lord kept a portion and distributed the rest to supporters, who were subject to a fee, known as the chevage. With peace restored, the Church hierarchy started to retake control of all places of worship. One of the first known priests was documented as Rivallon, who controlled the churches of Frossay, Chauvé and Arthon. This priest may have been the son of Droaloi, the Viscount of Migron. Rivallon had a son, Urvoy who donated the communities to the monks of Saint Sauveur around the year 1100. In Urvoy’s time a water mill was also built (between 940 and 970) for grinding wheat, near the Mulon River, which owes its name to the mill. Apart from the mill, evidence has been found of metallurgical activities in the area with a slagheap found at Les Platennes, a sign of the presence of a forge. By the 13th or 14th century, the Viscounty of…