Genlis () is a French commune in the Côte-d'Or department. Male inhabitants are called Genlisiens and females are called Genlisiennes.
Geography The city of Genlis is located in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region and belongs to the Dijon arrondissement and Genlis canton. Genlis is situated southeast of Dijon. The closest villages are: Varanges at , Beire-le-Fort at , Labergement-Foigney at , Longeault at , Tart-le-Bas at . All villages are in Côte-d'Or. Genlis has an elevation of . Its area is , its population density is about , and the geographical coordinate are .
The Tille and Norges rivers are the main waterways crossing Genlis. There is also the Creux-Jacques stream.
Transportation The commune has a railway station, , on the Dijon–Vallorbe line.
History Etymology and toponymy of Genlis In 867, Genlis was written Gediacensis finis, a spelling which probably originates from the Gallo-Roman name Aegidius or Genelius, the ancestor of the French first name Gilles because the Greek "D" often turns into an "L" in Latin.Taverdet, Gérard. Les Noms de lieux de Bourgogne. La Côte-d'Or. Fontaine-les-Dijon: Centre Régional de Documentation Pédagogique de Dijon et l'Association Bourguignonne de Dialectologie et d'Onomastique (A.B.D.O.), 1976.
The city of Genlis was not historically referred to by its modern name. Cartularies, including those of the Saint-Bénigne abbeys (future cathedrals), Tart, Clairvaux, and Cîteaux; chronicles, such as those of Bèze and Saint-Bénigne; and departmental archives all give details on the name's evolution over time. During Carolingian times, Genlis was called Getliacus. It was then called Gediacnesis finis in 867, Gliniacensis finis (868), Janlint (~1060), Genliacensis finis (11th century), Genlé/Genleium (1132), Genleio (1180), Janlée (1191), Jamleium (1234), Genlliacum (1235), Janli (1236), Genllé (1238), Janleium (1248), Genlerum (1249), Janlé (1260), Janleyum (1297), Genleyum (1285), Janley (1290), Jenlleium (1297), Jamley (1360), Jamleyum (14th century), Janly (1498), Janlis (1637), Jenlis (1666), Janlys (1679), Jeanlis (1685), Jeanly (1728), and Genlis/Janly in 1783. The name Genlis seems to have disappeared by the end of the 18th century.Roserot, Alphonse. Dictionnaire topographique du département de la Côte-d'Or comprenant les noms de lieux anciens et modernes. Paris: Librairie Nationale, 1924. 181-82.
First written account The first written account mentioning Genlis dates back to approximately 866. The village is referred to as Finis Genliacensis (area of Genlis) in the chronicles of Saint Bénigne in an account of a public political assembly of prominent civil functionaries such as bishops, counts, and abbots, who were the King's advisors. These events were held in May or October.
The second oldest reference to Genlis was made around 1060. Berno of Genlis gives Saint-Pierre of Bèze some property he owns in the village of Coriant (which has since disappeared), reserving the income from it for his lifetime. St. Pierre has rights to the land but he will not be the owner until Berno dies, as emphasized in the Latin deed: Bougaud, E et Garnier, Joseph. Les Chroniques de l'abbaye de Saint-Bénigne de Dijon. Dijon : Darantière, 1875. 357.
Roman and Gallo-Roman eras
The Genlis site has been occupied since the time of the Romans. A fortified military outpost that was the starting point of a Roman road called Chemin des Romains or , proves the Romans had a military presence in the area.Liénard, Félix. Voies romaine du département de la Côte d'Or et Répertoire archéologique des Arrondissements de Dijon et de Beaune publiés par la commission des Antiquités du Département de la Côte d'Or. Dijon et Paris : Lamarche & Didron, 1872. 80 In 1973, a Gallo-Roman villa was found by aerial surveillance."Inside of the Gallo-Roman castrum, recognized thanks to its corner towers and its doubled perimeter walls, there were traces of simple buildings, most of them having only a single room, displaying the disorderly lines that date to modern times. Could these buildings be rural settlements close to the fortress?"David J. et Goguey René. "Les Villas gallo-romaines de la vallée de la Saône découvertes par prospection aérienne". Revue archéologique de l'Est et du Centre-Est. XXXIII. 2-3-4. (décembre 1982) : 161.The Chemin des Romains linked Genlis to Arceau. Several archaeological discoveries, such as at Izier, Cessey-sur-Tille, Bressey-sur-Tille and Arc-sur-Tille, were made at this part of the road.Foisset, xli. Arc-sur-Tille was where the Roman road coming from Genlis intersected with the road going from Besançon-Alise-Sainte-Reine to Alise. A bronze statuette of the early empire and two statuettes of Mercury were found during excavations. Bressey-sur-Tille was located on the road that extended to Arcelot to the north and Genlis to the south.Foisset, p. 57. Finally, the Chemin des Romains linked the nearby village of Arceau to Dijon and Mirebeau.Foisset, p. 114.
Archaeological digs of the Johannot and Voie Romaine areas, located between Genlis and Izier, unearthed artifacts dating from the late Iron Age.Catteddu, p. 42. The Gallo-Roman period is represented by remains of a cremation necropolis from 1
AD located on Johannot. Several vases and pieces of Gaulish currency were found at the edge of the Voie romaine. Gaulish ceramic and amphora shards from 1 AD were discovered in a ditch between the sites, and the remains of a Merovingian village were also found nearby.Catteddu, p. 43.
Merovingian Genlis In the early 1990s, construction work on the Highway A39 Dijon-Dole revealed the ruins of a Merovingian village at the localities of le Johannot and la Borde. These digs revealed the existence of twenty-nine wooden semi-buried rectangular structures called "hut foundations". Their sizes vary from in length, and in width with areas varying from approximately . They served a variety of purposes, including storehouses, storages tanks, shelters for small animals, and workshops for weaving, smelting, bronze work or bone work.This entry is mostly based on the article L'Habitat rural mérovingien de Genlis (Côte d'Or)
Other kinds of buildings were identified as houses by the remains of several post holes. These homes differed in shape and dimension. Additional small structures are thought to be granaries on stilts and silos that contained samples of rye, wheat, elderberries, pears, millet, cabbage, black nightshade, but also wild plants, reflecting pictures of cultivated areas and meadow forage grasses. These 7th-century Genlissians were farmers and breeders as evidenced by the presence of barns housing oxen, pigs, goats, poultry and horses. The last structures to appear are ditches, palisades and paths.
Three graves were found during the digs. The first contained the skeleton of a young adult male measuring approximately . The second held an elderly adult buried in the same position about from the first. Numerous degenerative osteoarthritis-type lesions were observed, particularly on the vertebrae. The subject was wearing an iron buckle plate on his belt dating from the first half of the 7th century. The third individual found was an adolescent male wearing a bronze buckle dated to the 6th century.
Among the objects excavated were ceramic shards from beakers, bowls, oules (pots), jugs and vases. Metal furnishings include nails, a bell, a twisted poker, knives and more.
Feudal period From the feudal period until the French Revolution Genlis was a fiefdom subservient to the seigneury, later marquisate, of Mirebeau whose lords paid direct homage to the Duke of Burgundy. Huchey, Athée and Magny near Auxonne came under Genlis. In the 18th century, Genlis had 80 households and 400 parishioners, including Huchey. There was a market on Thursdays and two fairs a year. In the 18th century the Abbot Courtépée, in his Description générale et particulière du Duché de Bourgogne, reports that under the ancien régime Genlis was also a parish of the diocese of Chalon-sur-Saône, archpriesthood of Mailly, associated with Saint Martin and patronage of the priory of Saint-Vivant.
Feudal perks included the fortified house – later the château – of Genlis, as well as the various rights and privileges enjoyed by the lords. The lords of Janly and others who owned property in Genlis enjoyed the following rights and privileges.
Homage Homage was required between suzerain and vassal to ensure stability and peace. Thus in 1340 the venerable Father Pouçard, abbot of Saint-Étienne de Dijon and landowner in Genlis, received homage from Symon in the presence of Raymond de Chailly and Jean Cultivier of the Dijon church and sworn notary, who acknowledged that he
Right of lodging Anyone who was abbot of Saint-Étienne de Dijon could exercise this right. For a single time an abbot could, when he fit, lodge at Janley for a natural day with companions related to his state duties at the expense of the men of Janley. Abbot Robert de Bautigny exercised this right at Genlis in the thirteenth year of his office, accompanied by Jean Joliot, bailiff of the said monastery, and Guiot de Marandeuil, treasurer of Saint-Étienne, on the Wednesday after Easter 1399. They were lodged with Perrenot de Nouhet, the postmaster of Genlis, and after dinner held the court of justice. The abbot dined at the expense of the said Perrenot and took lodging. In 1432, the right of lodging was exercised by abbot Alexandre de Pontailler. On November 26, 1455, abbot Thibaut de Viard exercised this right.
The royalties and the tax granted to the sovereign Elected members of Parliament would order inventories of households in order to assign and collect taxes, and Genlis and Huchey were assessed in 1375, 1431 and 1469. These household assessments also bring to light information on the taxes – royalties in this case – collected by the seigneurs in order to assign the taxes fairly. Note that a household subscribing to pay royalties paid a certain sum of money at a certain time of the year. This household escaped the seigneur's financial appetite and was no longer taxable or subject to limitless exploitation. A seigneur would agree to this arrangement in order to spare his sources of income at the risk of seeing his lands deserted.
From the 11th century until the French Revolution, the lordship was possessed by several families and was transmitted either by inheritance, dowry or sale. The first family that owned it was the eponymous family of Janly. The medieval lords of Genlis belonged to noble families. The men earned epithets of honor of 'knight', 'squire', 'noble man', 'messire' and 'noble lord' and their wives were described as 'damsels'. The various lords of Janly owned the lands of Genlis (formerly Janly), Saulon-la-Chapelle, Verchisy (a hamlet in Beurizot), Marcilly-les-Nonnains, Magny-la-Ville near Semur-en-Auxois, Montilles and Dracy-les-Vitteaux in allod.
House of Janly
The House of Janly was described as the 'old house of Burgundy'. The name of the lords appears in texts from the 12th century and perpetuated until the 17th century. The Janly allied themselves with the Burgundian nobility resulting from the sword and the robe: Estrabonne, Vaux (now part of Auxerre), Mâlain, Colombier, La Marche, Fyot, Le Fèvre, Mazille, Charrecey, Daubenton, Sennevoy, Balay and Thienes. The Janly entered the Estates of Burgundy in 1355, shortly after their creation. This house is a younger branch of the house of Mailly-Fauverney, itself descended from the former counts of Dijon. The descendancy starts from a lord named Gui, probable brother of Etienne II, lord of Fauverney. The House of Janly included:
Guy I (Gui) Mailly Fauverney, Lord of Janly (Genleio): He lived at the beginning of the 12th century. Gui was the husband of a lady called Eve, the mother of Maurice I, Lord of Janly and Roland Janly.