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Boutigny-sur-Essonne (Municipality, Essonne, France)

by Pascal Vagnat

Presentation of Boutigny-sur-Essonne
Municipal flag of Boutigny-sur-Essonne

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Presentation of Boutigny-sur-Essonne

The small city of Boutigny-sur-Essonne (3,000 inhabitants; 1,620 hectares) is located in the green valley of the river Essonne, 50 km south of Paris. The city is surrounded with woods, which are local remains of the old forest of Yveline between the main forests of Rambouillet and Fontainebleau.

Several remains of the Prehistoric times have been found in Boutigny, especially in the rocky areas that dominate the river Essonne. In 1953, a mural painting made of ochre was found in the cave of Justice; the painting represents a bovine with a flecked fur or a horse. Before the Roman conquest, most of the region was inhabited by the Senones, whose capital city was Sens, whereas the Parisii, whose capital city was Lutèce, later Paris, lived in the north of the region. A Roman fortified camp might have existed above the hamlet of Audigers, in the southern part of the municipality of Boutigny. The name of Boutigny comes from the ancient names Botegnacio, Boutigniacum and Botigniacum, probably built on the Roman anthroponym Botegnacus.

The domain of Boutigny was mentioned for the first time around 1200. Guillaume Le Chambellan, son of Adam II Le Chambellan, was Lord of Beaumont-du-Gâtinais, Mondeville, Boutigny and Fontenay-le-Vicomte. Boutigny seems to have been originally part of the domain of Château-Gaillard, named after a castle which is said to have existed in the south of the municipal territory of Boutigny, and then part of the domain of Marchais. During the Middle Ages, the domains of Boutigny and Marchais had several successive lords. In the XIVth century, Anceau de Villiers was Lord of Boutigny; then the domain was ruled by the Soignes family; on 12 November 1459, Denis de Traisnel purchased the domains of Boutigny and Marchais. His aveu (a kind of title deed) includes the description of the lands, mills, farms and houses that formed the domain; dated 12 May 1481, the aveu of Jacques de Renty, Knight, Lord of Montigny-le-Ganelon and Boutigny, includes several lands and buildings.

In the second half of the XVIth century, Michel de l'Hospital retired in the castle of Belesbat, located in Boutigny, where he died in 1573. Michel de l'Hospital (c. 1504-1573) studied law and classics in the famous Italian university of Padua, where he was later appointed Professor of Civil Law. Due to his long stay in Italy and his appointment to the Rote court in Rome, he was considered as one of the most knowledgeable men of his times.
Back to France, he served the Grands Jours de Justice, a royal court that moved from place to place, in Moulins (1540), Riom (1542) and Tours (1546). L'Hospital was then elected First President of the Accounting Chamber in Paris.
In 1560, Regent of France Catherine de Medicis (1