Bligny-sur-Ouche (, literally ''Bligny on Ouche'') is a commune in the
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.department in eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
History
The history of Bligny is ancient. Its church is an interesting monument to visit (constructed within an old medieval castle) and is dedicated to
Saint Germain l'Auxerrois
The Church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois is a Roman Catholic church in the First Arrondissement of Paris, situated at 2 Place du Louvre, directly across from the Louvre Palace. It was named for Germanus of Auxerre, the Bishop of Auxerre (378-4 ...
.
The history of the rural community of Bligny is characterized by a specific political organisation to the extent it was under the dual jurisdiction of the Bishop of
Autun
Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...
and the
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...
. As a result, it was self-organised from the medieval times and ruled by a local mayor (the position was kept in the same family Le Maire).
Since the 12th century, the village was protected by a regiment of archers which was constituted by all the valid men of the community (the regiment remained faithful to the Duke of Burgundy and was therefore dissolved).
To a certain extent, this regiment still remains through the existence of the Confrérie Saint Sébastien which is a Catholic organisation running charities and involved in the local parish and the local hospital (the Confrérie is composed of around 300 members and has a "batonnier"). The coat of arms of Bligny is a bow by reference to this regiment and the Confrérie de la Saint Sébastien.
The famous writer
Michel Tournier
Michel Tournier (; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the ''Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française'' in 1967 for '' Friday, or, The Other Island'' and the Prix Goncourt for '' The Erl-King'' i ...
has spent much time in Bligny in his childhood (his grandfather held a chemistry) and has written about Bligny-sur-Ouche and Lusigny-sur-Ouche in his book Le vent Paraclet translated in English as The Wind Spirit (his most unsuccessful book!). He notably narrates the intrusion of the Prussians in the 1870s (more anecdotical) and the Germans in the 1940s (notably the dramatic events which occurred in Lusigny at the end of the war).
The history of Bligny-sur-Ouche was written in the early 20th century (well-written and complete book). A few monographs were also published and even a
detective story
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...
was published recently embarrassing all the various historical and geographical elements of Bligny. However, a real academic history of Bligny still needs to be written. All the references are published on the French version of the article Wikipedia.