Last modified: 2025-09-06 by olivier touzeau
Keywords: mortagne-au-perche | orne |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-61-mp.gif)
Flag of Mortagne-au-Perche - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 3 June 2025
See also:
Mortagne-au-Perche (3,857 inhabitants, 860 ha) is a commune in the Orne department.
Mortagne-au-Perche, along with Bellême and Nogent-le-Rotrou, was one of the capitals of the Perche region. Its history is closely linked to that of the Counts of Perche and the constant feuds between the lords of Mortagne and those of Bellême. Very early on, the Counts built a fortress there, which was burned down in 997 by the Frankish king, Robert II the Pious, son of Hugh Capet. The fortress was rebuilt in the 12th century at the summit of the plateau and, at the beginning of the 13th century, took the name Fort Toussaint. Along with the citadel keep of Argentan, it formed a defensive shield against France.
In 1090, the town of Mortagne and the surrounding area were infected with leprosy. Geoffrey II of Perche had a leper colony built at the site called Chartrage. In 1111, Rotrou III of Perche was taken prisoner by Robert II, Count of Bellême, who burned and pillaged the town of Mortagne in retaliation for Rotrou's participation in Henry I of England's coalition against King Louis VI of France. The stronghold, along with those of Argentan, Alençon, and Domfront, was part of Henry I Beauclerc's stone belt. Saint Louis (1215-1270) visited the town several times. It fell to the English during the Hundred Years' War. It was during this time that Fort Toussaint was restored and the city walls were enlarged. Around 1411, John I, Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche, had the town fortified.
During the Wars of Religion, the town changed hands 22 times. The Protestants seized the town by surprise in 1562 and committed numerous misdeeds. Mortagne fell the following year to the Huguenots, commanded by Coligny. Captured a third time by the Protestants in 1558, its houses were partially destroyed by fire. During the unrest of the League, Mortagne was, over the course of three and a half years, captured, recaptured, and pillaged by supporters of both sides. On July 12, 1593, the Perche town was attacked by Jacques Desmoutis de La Morandière, appointed governor of Perche for the League by the Duke of Mayenne, Charles de Mayenne.
In 1634, under the leadership of Robert Giffard, several hundred Perche residents, including Mortagne residents, emigrated to New France. One of the most illustrious, Pierre Boucher, left Mortagne in 1635 with his parents and founded the town of Boucherville, the sixth-oldest Canadian city, in 1667. Towards the end of the Ancien Régime, Mortagne was an important town. Beginning in the 17th century, Mortagne-au-Perche was enriched with private mansions and historic residences built by the administrative nobility (noblesse de robe) and wealthy merchants established in the town.
On August 12, 1944, in the last days before the end of the Battle of Normandy, the town of Mortage-au-Perche was liberated by the US 5th Armored Division.
Olivier Touzeau, 3 June 2025
The flag of Mortagne-au-Perche was observed with several other city flags in 2019 in Eguisheim (Haut-Rhin) when for the 59th Eguisheim Winegrowers' Festival, Mayor Claude Centlivre wanted to fly the flags of the "friendly" towns around the renovated old wine press (source: this article in L'Alsace newspaper).
The flag of Mortagne-au-Perche is
white with the coat of arms.
The arms of Mortagne-au-Perche are blazoned : Or, 3 fern fronds Vert.
Olivier Touzeau, 3 June 2025