Jonquerets-de-Livet


Jonquerets-de-Livet, also Les Jonquerets-de-Livet, is a former commune in the Eure department in Normandy, France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mesnil-en-Ouche. It incorporates the village of Livet-en-Ouche, once known simply as Livet.

Etymology

Mentioned as Lived in the 11th century.
For "L'ivet" with article agglutination. French if and suffixe -etu > -ey / -oy /-ay > -aie, used to mean "collection of trees", so that Livet means "yew grove".
The qualificative of the former name -en-Ouche, means "in the Pays d'Ouche", a traditional region of Normandy, to make the difference with other Livets, like Livet-sur-Authou.
In 1845, the commune was incorporated in a new one, together with Les Jonquerets, called Les Jonquerets de Livet.

History

The de Livet family, feudal under-tenants of the barony of the de Ferrières family, originated in Livet-en-Ouche. Descendants of one branch of this family became the Marquises of Barville in France.
The Norman French branch of the de Livet family counts among its members early knights, church officials, Canon of Rouen Robert de Livet chevalier banneret Jean de Livet and early Crusaders. Many de Livet family members were associated with the Knights Hospitallers, a medieval chivalric order founded to protect pilgrims to the Holy Land.
The de Livets were among the ancient noble families of France. The family's name appears in the earliest records of Normandy. One branch of the family later became the Marquis de Livet de Barville. Another branch was named the hereditary controllers of the rivers and waterways of Normandy in the 13th century, reflected in the use of an anchor on that branch of the family's French coat of arms. The family traditionally bore as their coat of arms three molettes d'or on a blue background.
Another branch of the family settled at Arentot in Ourville. Georges de Livet, a member of this branch of the de Livet family, was killed at the battle of Agincourt in 1415. The last member of this branch of the family, who died without descendants, was comte Constantin Augustin Robert de Lyvet, mayor of Ourville, who died in 1924.
During the Norman Conquest of England, a branch of the de Livet family followed the de Ferrers to England, along with the Curzons and the Baskervilles, who were also under-tenants of the old Ferrieres fiefdom in Normandy. The name of this branch of the de Livet family was anglicized into the name Levett, Levet, Lyvet, Livett, Leavett and its variants.

Sights

  • Thousand year old yew-tree in the former Churchyard, near the destroyed Saint-Martin church in the hamlet Livet. Statue of Saint Martin near the old yew. The church was demolished around 1835.
  • 16th-century Gothic Notre-Dame church in Les Jonquerets. Chancel rebuilt in the 19th century
  • Half-timbered manor, 16th and 18th centuries.
  • Presshouse 17th century.