Who is this 4 meter tall lady in the Aumale Butter Hall?

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In all the photos of the events taking place today in the Halle au Beurre d’Aumale (Seine-Maritime), she appears there, at the back of the room. She monitors the inhabitants of Aumale for almost thirty years.

This great lady arrived in the ducal city on the occasion of the Saint-Martin Fair of the year 1996for the Wedding of the Giants.

420 years later

In The Awakening of November 8, 1996, we find photos of this extraordinary wedding, between Charles I of LorraineDuke of Aumale, and Marie d’Elbeuf (her first cousin). A real marriage which took place 420 years ago, on November 10, 1576. The idea was born to celebrate the millennium of Aumale with great fanfare.

It all started from the very close link between the ducal city and the Belgian city Anderlecht. This city of 126,000 inhabitants is known for being the city where Charles I went into exile after being condemned by the Parliament of Paris ” for the crime of lèse-majesté” in 1595. He acquired a castle there and died there 30 years later. Today, although the castle no longer exists, a street and a metro station bear the name from Aumale to Anderlecht.

“The people of Aumale do not fail to be impressed by the great majesty of the Duke of Aumale, a giant made there by their Belgian friends which measures no less than 4.30 m high. », then wrote the journalist from Awakening.

Millennium of Aumale

“As early as 1987, the idea was born to make Marie d’Elbeuf identically and to give her in marriage to him,” continues the journalist. The challenge was launched by François Boutin, then municipal councilor and vice-president of the tourist office, and Georges Duquenne, president of the Bresle Valley Archaeological Group (GAVB).

The statue of Marie d’Elbeuf was assembled “in record time”: Aumaloise traders and businesses participated in its development, as did the bijouterie Schmidt who “adorns the giantess with a period tiara, a necklace, earrings and a bracelet”. His head and hands were made of fiberglassand the body is wicker.

This November 10, 1996, Charles 1st of Lorraine, who came specially from Belgium, gets married again with Marie d’Elbeuf under terrible rain in the courtyard of Aumale town hall. On this occasion, Marie d’Elbeuf also received her “baptism of entry into the world of Giants” from the hands of William the Conqueror, another giant who came for this occasion.

“Rainy marriage, happy marriage”, went the adage. Above all, a successful wedding with many curious people, despite the weather.

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