Middle Ages In the
Middle Ages Attigny had some importance as it had a royal residence there since
Clovis II built a palace there in 647. It was also the
Carolingian imperial residence, and
Charlemagne is said to have attended many Christmas and Easter festivals there.
Charles the Bald stayed many times at the palace. The first council of Attigny was convened in 765 by
Pepin the Short. It was a general assembly of the
Frankish nation that was continued as a synodal council. The council made a decree, , which was signed by twenty-seven bishops (including the bishops:
Remigius of Rouen, Jacob de Toul (24th Bishop of Toul),
Chrodegang of Metz, Magdalvé of Verdun,
Fulcaire or Tungrensis of
Liège,
Maurinus of Évreux, Willicaire of Vienne) and seventeen abbots (such as Abbot Godobert of
Rebais). It involved a form of alliance in the event of death. Each of the bishops and abbots who signed this document, on the death of a member of the alliance, committed to sing 100 psalms and the priests to celebrate 100 Masses. Each of the bishops himself was to celebrate thirty masses and if he was prevented by illness or some other cause, he should appoint another bishop care to celebrate for him. Similarly, the abbots who were not bishops should appoint a bishop to say these thirty masses. Finally the monks who were priests were to celebrate 100 Masses and the monks who were not should sing 100 psalms. In 785,
Charlemagne held a council at Attigny where Saxon Duke
Widukind, main enemy of Charlemagne during his wars against the
Saxons (772-805), and Aboin received baptism from Charlemagne. In 822,
Pope Paschal I was present at a council of Attigny, convened for the reconciliation of the emperor
Louis the Pious with his three younger brothers,
Hugo,
Drogo and Theodoric, whom he had caused to be violently tortured and whom he had intended to put to death. In the council he confessed publicly his wrongdoing; also the violence practiced by him on his nephew,
Bernard, King of Italy, and his brother, the Abbot, Adelard Wala, and proposed to perform public penance in imitation of the emperor
Theodosius I. He also exhibited an earnest desire to correct abuses arising from the negligence of the bishops and the nobles and confirmed the rule (
Aquensis Regula) that the
Council of Aachen had drawn up in 816 for canons and monks. In 870, thirty bishops and six archbishops met at Attigny to pass judgement on
Carloman, the king's son, who was made an ecclesiastic at an early age and accused by his father of conspiring against his life and throne. He was deprived of his abbeys and imprisoned at
Senlis. In the council of 875
Hincmar, Bishop of Laon, appealed to the pope for his uncle,
Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims. In 880 the Battle of Attigny was fought between a Carolingian coalition against an army of
Boso, the self-proclaimed King of
Provence. In 916
Charles the Simple transported relics of
Saint Walpurga to Attigny and founded a chapel served by twelve canons and his intention was that this chapel would be subject to the at
Compiègne. The
Carolingians abandoned the residence before 931 and the palace disappeared after the 10th century. Attigny was also a
royal domain and remained so when it ceased to be a royal residence of the Carolingians. At the beginning of the 10th century, it encompassed at least 3,500 hectares. Donations of land to the Church remained limited. The domain passed almost intact to the smaller Capetian royal domain. It formed the dowry of the daughter of
Philip I,
Constance, on her marriage to
Hugh, Count of Champagne, in 1093. The domain was split apart by the prince, especially for the benefit of
Reims Cathedral, and is the origin of the ecclesiastical lordships of Attigny and
Sainte-Vaubourg. A
leper colony was documented in the 14th century.
Contemporary era The town was badly damaged in
World War I and
World War II. From 14 May to 10 June 1940 the 18th Infantry Regiment of
Pau fought at Attigny. For 25 consecutive days it repelled successive attacks by an enemy superior in numbers and resources. They left their position in order, their flanks being threatened by the German advance. The town was destroyed in 1914 and 1940. Attigny holds two
Croix de Guerre, one from each world war. A monument to the 18th Infantry Regiment was inaugurated on 20 September 1947 near the canal bridge. A plaque celebrating Franco-German reconciliation was later affixed by the Fellowship of the French 18th regiment and the German
20th Infantry Regiment of
Ratisbonne. This regiment was part of the attacking German forces at Attigny. The commune has been awarded one flower by the
Conseil national des villes et villages fleuris in the
Concours des villes et villages fleuris.
Heraldry Decorations Croix de guerre 1914-1918 : 4 September 1920
Croix de guerre 1939-1945 : 12 February 1949 ==Administration==