A-Z of the Communes in the Deux-Sèvres Scillé
by Sue Burgess
All photographs by Sue Burgess
Sunset over Scillé
A
t the western edge of the Gâtine, to the North of Coulonges sur l’Autize, the commune of Scillé stretches over an area of 1102 hectares and overlooks the département of the Vendée.
actually cross Scillé but goes past it just to the North), following roughly what is now the L’Absie – le Beugnon road, and then went through Bourgneuf towards Chantemerle and Saint-Pierre-Du-Chemin
The highest point of the commune is to be found at la Cantine, at 256 m above sea-level.
It seems that the road from Saintes to Angers went around the southern side of the hill of la Cantine, perhaps in order to avoid the hills and slopes. Traces of the road are found at the crossroads of the road of les Fougères and la Crétinière. The Roman road followed la route de la Crétinière for several hundred metres and then went towards le Petit Paris then la Foye, parallel to the road to l’Absie. Because of the new Roman road, the forest was exploited, and clearings were made and people came to live there. “La Foye” comes from the Latin word “fagus” meaning beech tree.
The area of the commune is limited by two streams. The Saumort, also called «la rivière de La bourse» to the north and to the east, marks the boundary with Vernoux-en-Gâtine over by Les Jinchères. The Saumort flows into the Autize at Ardin. To the west there is the stream of la Crétinière which becomes la Réorthière and finally La Fougère and which separates the communes of Scillé and le Busseau. To the north-east is Vernoux-en-Gâtine, l’Absie is in the north, to the west Le Busseau, and to the south, La Chapelle Thireuil. A legend says that by sitting on a huge stone in the bed of the Saumort, the four mayors of Vernoux, le Beugnon, la Chapelle Thireuil and Scillé could play cards together whilst still remaining in their own commune. The tribes who settled in Poitou were called Pictons. They were brave, fighters and very superstitious. They loved the sun and the moon and worshipped the hills, springs, rivers and trees . In the Gâtine, some Gallic villages have left traces of these superstitions in their names. Vernoux from «verno», in Latin «dawn» and still found in vergne; le breuil from “bois (wood). One name in particular attracts our attention - that of the hamlet of la Folie. There are 27 hamlets called La Folie in Deux-Sèvres. They are probably places where pagan rites and ceremonies were performed. Perhaps at the winter solstice, the druids picked mistletoe from the large oak trees in the forest. In Scillé, the hamlet of La Folie, on the top of the hill, is exposed to the rising sun and makes us think about those far away times. The map of the Deux-Sèvres shows the Roman roads that crossed the area. Two roads ran quite close to Scillé. The road from Périgueux to Nantes through Rom (which doesn’t 10 | The Deux-Sèvres Monthly, December 2021
Scillé was founded during the Gallo-roman period. It is likely that the domain was given to a senior official from the army or administration. A man called SCILLIACUS or SCILIACUS or perhaps SILIUS or CILLIUS would probably have been given a domain near the Roman road in an area where water from the springs was plentiful all year round. In the field opposite the entrance to the Cour du Prieuré (courtyard of the priory), lots of stones have been brought to light during agricultural labouring and there could well have been a building here. The inhabitants were given the charge of surveying the traffic going along the Saintes-Angers road. The lieu-dit : les plis, is a local deformation of PLESSIS which originally described a fortress made of interlaced spiny branches. Gold in Scillé. Legend or truth ? In the fields of Gouffre, there was, a very long time ago, a hole which was so deep it was called « Le Gouffre ». (the abyss). Local legends say that one day a farmer and his plough and animals fell into it and disappeared forever into the dark waters. The reality is different. Research around the area has shown that there was probably a gold mine there about 2000 years ago. Although the seam was not very rich and there was only a small quantity of gold in the rocks.
