Les Nonières - Le Percy

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Distance : 17.3km

Time : 6h30

Elevation uphill : + 1108m

Elevation downhill : - 1194m

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LES NONIÈRES

Among the Diois's mountains, between Châtillon-en-Diois and Clelles, lies the commune of Treschenu-Creyers with its five hamlets. With a population of approximately 100, Nonières is the principal hamlet and is located alongside the road that leads to the Menée pass (1457m). This pass is considered to be the limit between the Trièves plateau and the Diois.

In the local dialect, "Treschenu" means " three channels ", that is the three ravines dug by three torrents: Sareymond; Combeau, and Archiane. Their confluence is situated in Menée, geographical center of the municipality.

The first signs of human activity were observed in the caves of Pellebit, at the foot of the cliff which overhangs Mensac. This was an exploitation of flint, dating from the fifth millennium BC.

The Gallo-Roman period left few signs in the village.

In 610, an abbey of moniales was established somewhere in the valley of Combeau. In spite of its isolation, this convent prospered until its destruction in 735 by the Saracens. It is likely that this convent was in Nonières, village who’s name comes undoubtedly from these nuns. A stone container was recovered from the ruins to become the fountain of Nonières, as well as the stoup visible in the church.

In the feudal period, the counts reign over Diois, power that they quarrel over with the bishops of Die. The seigneury of Châtillon is the cause of many disputes, the first one of which is arbitrated in 1242 in the castle of Treschenu, whose ruins we can see between Menée and Mensac, in the valley of Archiane. Finally, a part of the barony of Châtillon, approximately the actual municipality of Treschenu, is joined to the pastoral of Esparron in Trièves and forms a separate domain, controlling the exchanges by the Pass of Menée.

At the Revolution, the division into departments separates the lands of both hillsides of the pass, and the municipality of Treschenu is created.

THE PASS OF MENÉE

This pass was always a main artery, probably equipped with a road from the Roman period.
The muleteers, in the Middle Ages, brought to Trièves wine from Die and on the way back, loaded their frames with cereals, textiles and nails produced by this industrious region. Sign of the importance of this passage, it was guarded by a Knight Templars' commanderie, a vestige of which is an arched cellar, close to the actual farm of the pass.

The business connections continued till the end of the 19th century, but they fall as a result of the opening of the road over the Pass of Grimone, preceding by fifteen years that of the Pass of Menée. Today the pass remains a direct communication route between Die and Grenoble, and a touristic road; but it has lost its commercial importance.

After 1685, approximately 3000 Protestants of the Drôme valley, crossed this pass to reach Geneva and other countries where, despite the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, the influence of Protestantism lived on during the 17th century. Every year, under the Menée pass cross, Protestants from the Trièves and Diois commemorate the flight of refuges across this pass.

The Menée pass is often mistakenly translated as the "midnight pass" due to the nocturnal movement by Huguenots, however the name is derived from the swiss term "menée" which means snowdrifts.

Sources: Municipal Website (http: //www.treschenu-creyers.com), Elements of history - Véronique Pitte, Un home, un village - A man, a village - Séverine Beaumier, Vallée de la Drôme et terres voisines - Valley of the Drôme and the lands neighbours, Patrick Ollivier- Elliott.