Les Pierres Jumelles (Mont-Saint-Éloi)
Les Pierres Jumelles ( German "the twin stones" - also called Pierres du Diable, les Demoiselles, les Pierres d'Acq or les Demoiselles d'Acq ) are two monoliths near the hamlet of Écoivres in Mont-Saint-Éloi in the Pas- de-Calais in France , with which several legends are associated. Les Pierres Jumelles have been listed as a Monument historique since 1889 .
Other stones with this designation are common in France (e.g. in Cambrai ). Similar in size, however, are only the approximately 6.0 m apart, over 4.0 m high Les Pierres Jumelles of Olonne-sur-Mer .
description
The twin stones consist of two stones made of coarse sandstone about 9.0 m apart , the smaller one measures about 3.0 meters, the largest is 3.3 meters high. They weigh about eight tons.
There are doubts as to when they were erected, either in the Neolithic , then it would be menhirs, or at the time of the Carolingians, then it would be steles. In 1820 the Count von Brandt-de-Galametz carried out excavations. Between the stones he discovered stone boxes made of raw sandstone with iron weapons. The origin of these graves seems to be from the Carolingian era and oral tradition supports this.
Legends
There are several legends about the origin of these stones from which the various appellations are derived.
The Devil's Stones
Two legends attribute the presence of the stones in this place to the devil.
The first tells the story of Queen Brunehaut ( German "Brunehilde" ) and the construction of the street of the same name. Brunehaut, who wants to build the road, makes a pact with the devil: if he can do the work one night before the rooster crows, the queen's soul will be his. But the queen wakes the rooster, to deceive the devil, before the hour to make him crow. Then the devil furiously throws the last two stones that he held in his hands. The story reminds us that the Brunehaut dam is actually not far from here (D 341). The old Roman road that connects Arras to Boulogne-sur-Mer via Thérouanne is a straight route and named after the legendary Queen.
The second version tells of a farmer who promised his soul to the devil who was supposed to build his farm in one night. Here the farmer's wife woke the rooster earlier. In his anger, the devil would have left the last two stones in his hand lying on the field.
The girls from Acq
Two girls from Acq who came late from a ball in Villers-au-Bois were punished and turned into sandstone statues on the way back. That is why the stones are also called les Demoiselles d'Acq .
Baldwin I. poor in iron
The chronicle of the Abbey of Mont-Saint-Éloi and oral traditions ascribe the stones to Baldwin I. Eisenarm , who is said to have erected the stones in 862 to commemorate a victory against Charles the Bald , King of France. Baldwin I, Count of Flanders from 863 to 879, had taken Judith, the king's daughter, as his wife and thus triggered the king's anger. Defeated in the battle of Baldwin, Charles grants him his daughter and founds the county of Flanders . The excavations of the Count von Brandt-de-Galametz seem to support the last hypothesis, apart from the fact that the battle never took place.
Web links
- Menhir dit les Pierres Jumelles in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- Description (French)
- Description (French)
Coordinates: 50 ° 20 ′ 51.5 " N , 2 ° 40 ′ 36.8" E