Saint-Python

Saint-Python (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃.pitɔ̃]; officially spelt Sainct-Pieton and St-Piton during different periods preceding 1800) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France named after Piatus of Tournai. Its inhabitants are called Saint-Piatiens or Piatonnais.

Saint-Python
Commune
Aerial shot of Saint-Python in 1984.
Coat of arms
Location of Saint-Python
Saint-Python
Saint-Python
Coordinates: 50°11′26″N 3°28′57″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentNord
ArrondissementCambrai
CantonCaudry
IntercommunalityCommunauté de communes du Pays solesmois
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Georges Flamengt
Area
1
7.43 km2 (2.87 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
1,016
 • Density140/km2 (350/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
59541 /59730
Elevation58–117 m (190–384 ft)
(avg. 85 m or 279 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Toponymy
  • In 1176, a Leprosarium Title of Cambrai first mentions 'Santus Piatus'.
  • 'Sancto Piato' is found in a letter by Roger de Wavrin, évêque de Cambrai in 1182 and in the Communal Charter of Solesmes in 1202.
  • 'Python' is a deformation of 'Piatus or Piat'. The church of the commune is also under the name of Saint-Piat also named Piat de Seclin or Piatus of Tournai, thus confirming the origin of the name of the village.[2]

Heraldry
Arms of Saint-Python
 The arms of Saint-Python are blazoned :
Ermine, 3 lozenges gules.

History

Chronology

The following chronologically-ordered dates mark the historical events which had the most impact on Saint-Python:

Battle of Rocroi (1643) by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.

Government

Until 1790 many different lords owned Saint-Python's lands and properties and had administrative power over the town. Notable lords included Claude Lamoral De Ligne, a nobleman, soldier, and diplomat from the Spanish Netherlands in the service of Philip IV of Spain and Charles II of Spain, who controlled Saint-Python from 1641 to 1679.[11]

Saint-Python's Church and Townhall.

On February 3, 1790, voters elected Mr. Duplessy, vicar of St-Python, as public prosecutor, but he refused. On February 23, Etienne Dambrinne was elected prosecutor but already held another office, so the function was given to Mr. Lernou, priest of St-Python. This first municipal act was recorded on a sheet of paper from St-Python's Marlier paper mill, decorated with a drawing of three fleurs-de-lis inside a circle.[12]

Georges Flamengt has been mayor of Saint-Python since election in March 2001.[13]

In the 2017 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen came in first place in the 2nd (final) round with 59.41% of the votes in Saint-Python, ahead of Emmanuel Macron (En Marche!) who received 40.59% of the votes. 7.21% of voters returned a blank ballot paper. The participation rate was 77.73% for the 2nd round, a decline in turnout of 1.68 points from the first round of the election.[14]

Saint-Python: Rue de Solesmes (1905)

Geography

The town of Saint-Python is located in the department of Nord part of the Hauts-de-France region. It belongs to the 'district of Cambrai' (19 km) and the 'Canton of Caudry' (11 km). The town is a member of the 'Communauté de communes du Pays Solesmois', which brings together 15 municipalities (Beaurain, Bermerain, Capelle, Escarmain, Haussy, Montrécourt, Romeries, Saint-Martin-sur-Écaillon, Saint-Python, Saulzoir, Solesmes, Sommaing, Vendegies-sur-Écaillon, Vertain and Viesly) for a total population of just under 15,000.

Saint-Python Rue de Vertain (1910)

Population and society

In 2015, the municipality had 995 inhabitants, an increase of 0.4% compared to 2010.[15] In January 2019, mayor Georges Flamengt announced two major social projects: a renovation of Haussy Street and the rehabilitation of a former company building into social housing units.[16]

Education

The town has one public primary school: the École maternelle et élémentaire de Saint-Python. It is contractually regulated by the Academy of Lille. Secondary schools include the public Collège Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and the private Catholic Institution Saint-Michel, both located in Solesmes.

Places and monuments

One of the paths of Camino de Santiago the via septentriones templi passes through the village coming from Haussy. It goes through the municipal park, then the church, before leaving by meandering in the streets towards Saint-Vaast-en Cambrésis by hiking trails. Several tags are in fact embedded in the tar, plus two labels on the way.[17]

The smaller Leterme Castle (1908).

Saint-Python has two castles: the Cardon Castle, referred to as "Saint-Python's Castle", and the smaller Leterme Castle. In 1185, Saint-Python's Castle was set on fire by Philip I, Count of Flanders. On September 28, 2007 the castle, which now belongs to the Pavot family, endured another fire devastating the floors and roofs. It was once again restored the following year.

Religion
Saint-Python’s Church indoors (1905).

As of 2019, Saint-Piatiens have always been almost exclusively Christians with a minority of atheists. Few Muslim families arrived and settled in the late 2000s and 2010s in Saint-Python and its neighbouring villages.

Culture

Saint-Python’s ‘Culs de Caudron’ celebrations taking place in September and involving the Géants du Nord has been inscribed by UNESCO on the lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008, originally proclaimed in November 2005 as it is included in the set of folkloric manifestations representing the processional giants and dragons (French: Géants et dragons processionnels) of Belgium and France. Those gigantic figures, incarnating fictitious or real beings, are inherited from medieval rites and are carried or rolled around to dance in the streets during processions or festivals. The ‘Culs de Caudron’ often coincide with a ducasse.[18]

Conspicuous people affiliated to the commune
  • Raymond Poirette (1928–1944): He was born March 16, 1928 in Solesmes and died September 2, 1944 in Saint-Python. He was a French Resistant and was arrested and shot dead at close range at 16 years old while he was handing out leaflets near ‘N° 61 of the Rue d’Haussy’. Solesmes' resistance network was headed by Victor Poirette, Raymond's older brother, and Georges Mailloux. Teenagers then served as liaison agents: Raymond Poirette is among them. Their role was to transport documents, weapons, to transmit orders from one point to another. In addition to his role as liaison officer, Raymond participated in some sabotage operations with the aim of hindering the German retreat. As a tribute to the young resistance fighter, several places bear his name, a street in Solesmes and a school restaurant in Saint-Python.[19]

Bibliography
  • Louis Boniface, Etude sur la signification des noms topographiques de l'arrondissement de Cambrai, Valenciennes, Impr. Louis Henry, 1866.

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. Mannier, Eugène (1861). Eugène Mannier, Études étymologiques, historiques et comparatives sur les noms des villes, bourgs et villages du département du Nord. Paris: Auguste Aubry, Libraire-Éditeur.
  3. Turquin, Pierre (1955). "The Battle of the Sabis (La Bataille de la Selle – du Sabis)". Les Études Classiques. 23/2: 111–157.
  4. Duvivier, C. (1865). Recherches Sur Le Hainaut Ancien (Pagus Hainoensis) Du Viie Au Xiie Siecles. Paris: HACHETTE LIVRE. ISBN 9782012621978.
  5. Hossart, Philippe (1792). Histoire Ecclésiastique Et Profane Du Hainaut. bibliothèque de l'État de Bavière: Lelong.
  6. Meresse, Abbe (2004). History of Cateau-Cambresis. Lorisse. ISBN 9782877607728.
  7. Deloffre, Guy (1985). Guerres et brigandages au XVe siècle en Hainaut, Pays d'Avesnes, Thiérache et Ardennes. Paris: Mémoire de la Société archéologique et historique d'Avesnes.
  8. Contamine, Philippe (2004). Guerre, État et société à la fin du Moyen Âge. Études sur les armées des rois de France (1337–1494). Paris: Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS). pp. 450, 334.
  9. de Combles, Waroquier (1785). État de la France, ou les vrais marquis, comtes, vicomtes et barons. National Library of the Netherlands: Clousier.
  10. Peter; Poulet, chanoine J. (1930). Religious History of the Department of the North during the Revolution (1789–1802) [Histoire religieuse du département du Nord pendant la Révolution (1789–1802)]. Lille: Publivations des Facultés Catholiques (Volume I. From the end of the Ancien Régime to 9 Thermidor year II – July 28, 1794).CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. Blas, Michel (9 November 2018). "Lords of St. Python (Seigneurs à Saint-Python)". St-PYTHON. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  12. Blas, Michel (9 November 2018). "Election de 1790". Saint-Python. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  13. "Mairie de Saint-Python". Mairie.net. 1 January 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  14. "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle 2017 Saint-Python (59730), Nord". L'Express. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  15. "Évolution et structure de la population à Saint-Python en 2007". Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
  16. "Saint-Python La Friche SASA et la rue d'Haussy, deux chantiers menés de front". La Voix Du Nord. 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  17. "Saint-Python via septentriones templi". Caudry Tourism Office. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  18. "Saint-Python: A very long week-end of celebrations with the Culs de Caudrons". La Voix Du Nord. 31 August 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  19. Rédaction La Voix (21 September 2008). "The Raymond-Poirette school restaurant will be inaugurated on October 4 (Le restaurant scolaire Raymond-Poirette sera inauguré le 4 octobre)". La Voix Du Nord. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
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