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Last modified: 2021-06-13 by ivan sache
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Flag of Nort-sur-Erdre - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 20 September 2005
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The municipality of Nort-sur-Erdre (in Breton, Enorzh; 8,925 inhabitants in 2018; 6,656 ha; municipal website) is located on the river Erdre, 30 km north of Nantes and 40 km south of Châteaubriant.
The name of Nort, written in the past Henord and Honort, might come
from the old French onor, "a fief".
In the 6th century, St. Félix, Bishop of Nantes, built a embankment in
order to enlarge the Erdre by flooding the neighbouring marshy areas.
Accordingly, navigation on the river was made possible from Nantes to
Nort. The canal linking Nantes to Brest also crosses the territory of Nort, with the six locks of Quiheix, La Tindière, La Rabinière, La Haie Pacoret, Cramezeul and Le Pas d'Héric. Nort was an important commerce
port until the end of the 19th century.
In the Middle Ages, Guihénoc of Ancenis, suzereign of Nort, ceded a "castle" to the powerful abbey of Marmoutiers, near Tours. This castle was most probably the Aron tower, located near the Erdre and depending on the feudal castle of Nort. The monks founded a priory in
1073, which was later dedicated to St. George by Quiriac, Bishop of
Nantes. The parish priest of Nort did not enjoy the competition exerted
by the monks: he wanted to be allowed to celebrate the mass in the
priory chapel and, most important, to perceive church taxes. In 1277,
the Bishop of Nantes and the Prior of Marmoutiers came to an agreement:
the monks were no longer allowed to confess and christen but the priest
ceded them some of the church taxes.
In the 14th century, the village was divided into two domains,
Grand-Nort (Great Nort), owned by the familiy of La Lucinière, also
owner of the Barony of Châteaubriand, and Bas-Nort (Low Nort), owned by
the family of Pont-Hus. The castle of Nort was purchased by Pierre
Landais, treasurer of Duke of Brittany Francis II and transferred at the end of the 16th century to the Cornulier family. In 1651, King
Louis XIV granted by Letters Patented the set up of fairs and a Friday market. Nort was already a big village since it was divided into two
parishes, separated by the Erdre which had to be crossed on a ford.
There were 106 feux (households) in the 16th century, 3,200 inhabitants
in the 17th century, 3,800 in 1801 and 5,560 in 1830.
The bridge on the Erdre was built in 1753-1775 by the architects Felix
and Garbay de Dambois.
On 27 June 1793, 400-500 Republican volunteers commanded by the
tinsmith Meuris waited the 4,000 men of the Royalist Vendean corps
commanded by Cathelineau and d'Elbée. The Republicans hold the bridge
all the night long and forced the Royalists to withdraw. The Royalists
crossed the Erdre the next day at the L'Onglée ford. It is believed
that the episode of Nort delayed the attack of Nantes by the Royalists
and gave more time to prepare the town's defense, contributing to
the victory of the Republicans on 29 June 1793.
There were in the past coal mines in Languin, in the west of the municipal territory. The first mine was dug in 1738 by Jary, who was allowed to exploit coal by Letters Patented in 1746. Coal extraction ceased in 1820 and resumed a few years later; the Anglo-French consortium which operated the mine disappeared in 1842. The mines, acquired in 1850 by the Compagnie de Mouzeil, were eventually closed in 1863.
The cedar of Nort, whose trunk circumference is 6 m, was planted in 1723; it is said to be one of the oldest cedars still alive in France.
Ivan Sache, 20 September 2005
The flag of Nort-sur-Erdre, as seen there, is diagonally divided, per bend, white on red. The white triangle is charged with 16 black ermine spots placed 4 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1; the red triangle is charged with a barge.
The flag is derived from the municipal arms, designed by Georges
Buisson and adopted by the Municipal Council on 27 April 1970 as "Gules a barge contourned proper on a base azur a chief hermine".
The charges recall that Nort-sur-Erdre was an important river port in
Brittany. The barge is called in French a chaland. This word appeared
as caland in the Chanson de Roland (1080), derived from Greek
khelandion. A chaland is a light barge mostly used on rivers for
the transportation of goods. Transportation with a chaland is called
chalandage.
Arnaud Leroy & Ivan Sache, 20 September 2005
