The Grand’ Rue, Poitiers’ “High Street,” dates back to Roman days. Until the Pont Neuf and its Boulevard were created in the 19th century, The Grand’ Rue was the main East-West axis of the city, heading down from central Poitiers on the plateau, across the river, back up the hill and off to the East, towards Bourges and then Italy. One of the region’s most picturesque bridges sits astride the Clain, at the bottom of the Grand’ Rue as it heads East, the Pont Joubert. This critical access point to the river, long the main entrance to the city, has variously been guarded by gates and fortified towers, yet despite its importance you will find no mention of any Jouberts in Poitiers’ history.
Joubert, it turns out, is an interesting example of how words evolve over time. When the first bridge was built here over the Clain, it was in the late 8th Century, and it was apparently named the Pont Saint Ingilbert or Angilbert. Neither are names you find frequently. Saint Angilbert (760-814) was a contemporary of the bridge’s creation, and was son-in-law and secretary to Charlemagne. Whether Ingilbert or Angilbert (and sometimes the same person shows both spellings of the name), the bridge over the Clain carried a good Merovingian or Carolingian name. Over time, as more and more illiterate Poitevins crossed the bridge, the Pont Saint-Angilbert became the Pont Saint-Angeobert, then Saint Enjouebert, and eventually the Pont Joubert. Back in its early Carolingian days, the Pont Joubert would have seen a great deal of important crossers. Poitiers was the site of one of the royal palaces of the Carolingians: back then monarchs tended to move often around different royal residences, as authority was essentially stated and reinforced personally, rather than through an impersonal administration. One of Charlemagne’s sons, Louis I, was born in a villa outside of Poitiers, at Chasseneuil, and in turn had a palace himself where the Palace of the Dukes of Aquitaine now stands. Louis’ son Pepin, King of Aquitaine, was also born at Chasseneuil, and buried in Poitiers (until he went missing). So members of the Carolingian Court and royal entourage, and imperial messengers, would have been crossing the Pont Saint-Angilbert frequently. While the bridge has often been damaged by floods, and rebuilt several times, parts of the Pont Joubert still date back to the 8th Century. One can stand on the Pont today, looking at the peaceful Clain passing underneath, with no fortified towers to bar your access, the main road West from the city now a mile down the river, and yet still imagine Carolingians passing you by.