The region of Aunis, being heavily wooded, was cleared very late, from only the 11th to the 12th centuries and this was a measure of the population increase and the prosperity of the vineyards. A witness to this evolution was the Saint-Étienne church, which was built in the middle of the 12th century in the heart of the original village but rebuilt several times in the Middle Ages, particularly in 1360 and especially the 15th century, when it was restored and strengthened after the Hundred Years' War.