Prosecutor's tower
Brunissard bell tower, also known as the Tour du procureur (Arvieux)
Tour du Procureur à Brunissard
When you walk through the streets of Brunissard, you're struck by this curious larch log construction, next to the evangelical chapel, which people call the campanile or the Prosecutor's Tower.
But who was this prosecutor and what was the purpose of this tower?
In 1882, M. Blanc, a schoolteacher in Brunissard, wrote:
"The four village procurators were appointed for a long time with powers of attorney approved by the court of Grenoble, titles that I declare to have seen with so many others in the case (1). This is probably where the name "procureur" comes from.
They enjoyed extensive rights as strict police, punishing the slightest contravention that was prejudicial to the commune, or fining anyone who took the liberty of fetching a load of wood from the main forests such as Sapeït, Clot Long and the Bois Noir, which had become sacred forests.
If the fine was not paid immediately, the procurators took the liberty of taking a cauldron, a cooking pot, etc. to guarantee payment of the fine.
Later on, these kinds of privileges were weakened in proportion to the extreme rigors imposed on freedoms.
What I am reporting here is no more than a century old. Certain abuses of these rights, according to tradition, were the subject of the reduction of the 4 procurators to 2 in turn, usually renewed on the day of the sharing of the water from the Pinua canal."
(1) La caisse dont il est ici question contenait toutes les archives de la communauté. Elle a brûlé, avec tout le village, dans l'incendie d'août 1882
Over time, the office evolved: from four prosecutors to two well before 1882.
The long term of office ("they were appointed for a long time") was reduced to one year. Later, they changed from Grenoble court procurators to village procurators. Each of the families upstream and downstream of the village "provides" a procurator in turn. Their mission is to ensure that the community takes the decisions necessary for village life: water sharing, departure of cows for alpine pastures, bread-baking day, road and canal maintenance, etc.
To call the village to assembly, or to sound the alarm in the event of fire, one of the procurators rings the bell of this campanile built of larch logs, hence its name, the Tour du Procureur (Procurator's Tower). Each family sends one of its members to represent it, and on his or her return he or she informs the family of the decisions taken.
This tradition has faded with the evolution of society and technology. However, it has not been forgotten, and is ready to be revived at any time. Today, we no longer maintain canals we no longer use, or bake bread in quantities sufficient for an entire winter, but the chore of maintaining the access road to the Clapeyto mountain chalets lives on. Every spring, each family owning such a chalet delegates one of its members to provide a day's work to repair damage caused by snow, frost and run-off water.
In 1998, during the renovation of the Tour du Procureur, in keeping with tradition, the carpenter stood on the roof to demonstrate the solidity of his work... and the quality of his balance.
The "TOUR du PROCUREUR"bell tower in Brunissard was renovated in 1998 and completely replaced on November 22, 2017
A similar bell tower can be found in the village of La Chalp d'Arvieux.
