Ermitage et fontaine Saint-Clair

Saint-Clair-sur-Epte

William, a young English patrician born in 845, fled his island to escape an arranged marriage and live as a hermit. Now called Clair — "the luminous one" — he made his way to Neustria with his disciple Cyrin and settled around 884 on the banks of the Epte, in the Vexin. The two solitaries evangelised the countryside and Clair worked cures that drew the crowds. According to tradition, a powerful woman whose advances he had rejected sent henchmen after him: one of them beheaded him. Then came the prodigy on which the pilgrimage is founded: the cephalophore martyr picked up his head, plunged it into the nearby spring and went to lie down in the church, close to the altar. Ever since, the fountain in the pré du Paradis is said to cure diseases of the eyes — Saint Clair, whose very name evokes clear sight, is invoked by the blind and the visually impaired, who still come to pray before the little shrine housing his statue. Every 16 July, a procession links the village to the hermitage, restored in 1722 and 1884. The priory church, a listed monument, holds the tombs of Saint Clair and Saint Cyrin; a stained-glass window there recalls the other glory of the place: it was at Saint-Clair-sur-Epte that in 911 Charles the Simple and the Norse chieftain Rollo concluded the agreement that gave birth to Normandy, of which the Epte became the frontier.

Getting there : Entrance to the village, in the pré du Paradis, below the main road through the village (D14) on the left bank of the Epte; the fountain is accessible, and the hermitage chapel is open during the pilgrimage of 16 July; complete the visit with the priory church in the village centre. Approximate coordinates, pointed to the entrance of the village.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound