Corbeny et les reliques de saint Marcoul

Corbeny

Around 898-900, monks from Nanteuil, in Normandy, fled the Norse raids carrying off the bones of their founder, Abbot Marcoul, who died about 558. Charles the Simple settled them here and had a priory built for them, which would pass to the abbey of Saint-Remi at Reims. Marcoul was held to cure scrofula, those swellings of the neck that grow and suppurate: a play on his name may have helped. The connection with the king anointed at Reims, reputed to cure the same complaint, came about of itself. Saint Louis came on pilgrimage in 1229; after him, kings took to making, the day after their coronation, the thirty kilometres between the cathedral and the tomb, spending a night there and touching the sick who came in their hundreds. Charles VII was there on 20 and 21 July 1429, three days after being crowned in the presence of Joan of Arc. Louis XIII, in October 1610, was the last to make the journey: after that it was the relics that were carried to Reims. The priory disappeared after the Revolution, but the reliquary came through the troubles, hidden by a man of the country, and the relics are still at Corbeny, in the village church.

Wikipédia — Corbeny ↗

Getting there : Beside the D 1044 between Reims and Laon; park on the village square. The church of Saint-Quentin, which holds the reliquary of Saint Marcoul, is open at service times and during the heritage days; otherwise apply to the town hall. The chapel of Saint-Marcoul, away from the village, marks the site of the former priory and can be seen from the path.

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

Ambient sound