Situated in the canton of Montfort l'Amaury,
Vicq is set in 443 hectares of farmland and numbers approximately
250 inhabitants. The earliest documentary evidence of its existance
is found in charter drawn up by Guillaume de la Ferté
Armand in 1116, where it figures under the name of " Vi ".
According to certain historians, its name is derived from the
Latin " vicus " which meant " village
of culture " during the Gallo-Roman period.
Further proof of that Vicq existed during
this era was unearthed by archeological excavations begun in
1851 by Auguste Moutié and completed in 1981 by the Yvelines
Historical Antiquities department. Several hundred Merovingian
and Medieval graves have been listed, including those dug up
by the locals in the course of ploughing fields, building houses,
planting gardens and gravedigging. Despite the inevitable plundering,
a large quantity of pottery, jewellery, beads, axe-heads, glassware,
coins and lances have been found in the 1600 excavated graves.
However the exact boundaries of the Merovingian burial ground
have not been established so far.
A two minute walk away from the International
Museum of Naïve Art stands the parish church of St Martin,
a veritable testimonial to the passage of time. Built during
the 17th century, the present building houses a bell inscibed
with the year 1550. Underneath the bell chamber are the remains
of successive structures built over four centuries, beginning
in the 1100s. The interior is decorated with listed oak panelling,
carved in the 18th century by Louis Drouère and specialist
woodworkers from Versailles. The vaulted plaster ceiling, roofing
timbers and slate covered roof were built in the last century.
The adjoining churchyard is situated over part of the ancient
necropolis.
Suggested
reading (in French) :
-JAQUESSON Michel, WEY Gérard et WEY Doris, Balade
de découverte du patrimoine : Vicq et ses environs,
éd.
A.R.H.G.T. (Association de Recherches Historiques et Généalogiques
de Tacoignières), 2002.
-MOUTIÉ, Auguste, Rapport sur les fouilles exécutées
par la S.H.A.R.Y.
(Société Archéologique de Rambouillet et
de l'Yveline) dans un ancien cimetière de la commune
de Vicq.
-Memories of the S.H.A.R.Y.
-SERVAT, M. E., La nécropole mérovingienne
de Vicq.
Make your visit part of a cultural
tour of the region !
