I risk repeating myself a little with today’s post for Thursday Doors, as I’m posting another tower, but this time the tower is quite small and the door that leads into it is very small and must surely have been built for a race of fairy people.
The tower and the building it is attached to are known locally as La Dimerie. Built at the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century, the building sadly has no magical fairy connection but stands on the site of the medieval ‘dimerie’, the place where ‘taxes’, paid in kind rather than money, were rendered to the local liege lord and the church. The tax demanded one tenth – une dixième, hence ‘une dîsme’ – of the year’s harvest from all serfs and dependants, a system open to untold abuse and corruption apparently, with both church and liege lord vying to find the most effective way of procuring the entire ‘dîsme’ for themselves.
This medieval word disme, from the latin decima pars or a tenth, is the origin of the American word dime.
Nowadays la Dimerie is sadly in a rather sorry state of disrepair ………..
Thanks as always to Norm for hosting the excellent Thursday Doors challenge!
ALL PHOTOS © JANE MORLEY
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View from a French Hillside 
These are lovely 🙂
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Thank you Alex!
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Nice one with some interesting historical significance. Excellent choice ☺
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Thanks Norm! There is such a lot of history around here it’s difficult to find something contemporary!
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Love the doors! Your photos of doors, that is. I was never a big fan of the Doors! 😉
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HaHa! I knew what you meant Timothy, not a huge ‘Doors’ fan either! Glad you like the photo versions though!
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Every time you post photos of doors, it reminds me that I need to go back through my France photos and do a door series. But it will probably never happen. My wife gets after me because I rarely go back to archives and post old photos. She asks me when I’m going to post photos from X, Y and Z? I’ve come to answer “Probably never!” In reality there are always too many interesting things happening in the now to go back even a week for the most part.
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I do understand what you mean Timothy! I get focussed on the next project and rarely go backwards. But sometimes I forget to edit things I’ve taken and you occasionally have nice surprises by finding things you’d forgotten about!
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Oh yes! I find nice surprises all the time, but then I still don’t post them.
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😀
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Really beautiful tower and post!!
I live it!
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Cheers Cosme!
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This is a beautiful door. I also appreciate learning of the history of this tower.
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Thankyou Dan!
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Intriguing Jane, so interesting to know where the Americans got their word dime from. I had never even wondered so thanks that is so interesting and the door just magical as is most of Frances old architecture. 🙂
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Thanks Kaz! The village where this is situated has a very long history and quite a lot of it associated with the English, the 100 years war etc it s quite fascinating!
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A Tenth rings a loud bell with me because that is what my parents asked me to save all my childhood and give to the church, and as an adult they still ask the same. The door reminds of a tower and door I saw while in Normandy. The door was enormous and allowed horses and carriages in and up the stairs. I don’t think we have anything like that where I am!
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How interesting that these traditions obviously still continue in some form or another! I don’t think anything larger than a short person could pass through this door though!
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La Dimerie may be in a sorry state of repair but your photos make it look enchanting, which is appropriate considering, as you say, that it could only allow fairies to pass through. 🙂
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Thankyou Sarah! I keep saying to our French friends, that if it was in England it would be being looked after and preserved – they really do not look after their ‘patrimoine’ the way they should!
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Interesting door – small and no hardware. Makes you think. And, thank you for the history behind the tower door. 🙂
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Glad you liked it Judy 🙂
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Great photos with a nice bit of history attached. Paying taxes in kind – I would love to see a list of what was offered.
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Hi Jean, I think it would have been mainly crops but the ‘seigneurs’ – liege lords – had power over everything and everyone so heaven only knows what else they obtained 😦
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Love the textures, Jane
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Cheers Sue!
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You are most welcome!
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Hi Jane, thank you for the quick yet comprehensive & very informative background explanation of this old building. A great post.
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Thankyou very much idlehomemaker !
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So beautiful!
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Thankyou! It’s a very interesting building for sure!
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