Château de Langeais
Château de Langeais | |
---|---|
General information | |
Location | Langeais, France |
Construction started | 10th century |
Owner | Institut de France |
Website | |
chateau-de-langeais.com |
The Château de Langeais is a 15th-century
After it was destroyed during the
History
The 10th century saw the emergence of the castle, which is generally thought to be the second-earliest known, the earliest being
While the land belonged to Fulk, the area was under the control of Odo. When news of the fortification reached Odo he dispatched a force to destroy it. The attack was unsuccessful, and Fulk reinforced the site, building the stone keep in ruins today. To distract Odo from the construction work, which was complete by 994, Fulk carried out intermittent raids on his lands.[3] It has been suggested that the keep's shallow foundations and thin walls, 2 m (6 ft 7 in) at their thickest and on average 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), demonstrate that it was built in haste.[5]
Though unsuccessful in 992, Odo again tried to capture the castle two years later. This time he called on his Norman, Flemish and Aquitanian allies and the siege of Château de Langeais began in the spring of 994. Fulk led the garrison himself and sent a message to Hugh Capet, King of the Franks, asking for help, and, though Hugh was ill, he promised reinforcements. In the meantime, Odo's numbers grew as his allies continued to flock to him. The siege continued into the summer, and Fulk began negotiating with Odo. Richer, a contemporary chronicler favourable to Odo, asserted that Fulk agreed to surrender but later reneged, claiming the agreement was not binding, though it is uncertain whether this was the case. However, the Capetian forces arrived before Fulk was forced to surrender. Faced with the king's army, Odo agreed to leave Fulk in peace.[6]
After the siege ended and Odo retreated, Fulk had to deal with hostilities along the western frontier of his lands. Despite Odo's agreement with Hugh, the Count of Blois exploited Fulk's divided attention to install a force at Château de Châteaudun from which he could move to capture Langeais should the opportunity arise. Odo besieged Château de Langeais in 995. The siege continued into the next year, but in March 996, Odo fell ill and died. With their leader dead, the besieging force left Langeais. With his most troublesome enemy dead, Fulk captured Tours, which had previously been held by the Count of Blois.[7] After Robert, King of the Franks, had taken control of Tours, Fulk turned to the castles of Langeais, Montsoreau, Montrésor and Montbazon to defend the Loire Valley.[8]
Hostilities between the counts of Anjou and Blois were renewed in 1016.[9] During the course of the conflict, Fulk lost control of three castles: Passavant was destroyed, and Montbazon and Langeais were probably captured.[10] By 1032 Château de Langeais was back under Fulk's control. However, it was again taken by the forces of Odo II, Count of Blois. Odo II died in battle in 1037 and was succeeded by his son, Theobald; on receiving the news of his rival's demise, Fulk set about recapturing Château de Langeais. The siege began in the winter of 1037 and, with no relief forthcoming, the garrison surrendered in the spring of the following year. Fulk set his sights on further territorial gains and successfully captured Château de Chinon 22 km (14 mi) away.[11]
Under the
In 1886 Jacques Siegfried bought Château Langeais and began a restoration programme. He installed an outstanding collection of tapestries and furnishings and bequeathed the château to the
Layout
According to contemporaneous chronicler Richer, the castle built by Fulk Nerra in the 990s consisted of a tower and a surrounding enclosure. The 10th-century keep still stands, albeit in a ruinous state. It is the earliest example of Romanesque architecture in the region.[14] It is uncertain where the stone used in construction was quarried.[15] A detailed study has been done on the cost of construction of the tower. It is 16 metres (52 ft) high, 17.5m wide, and 10m long with walls averaging 1.5m thick. The walls contain 1,200 cubic metres (42,000 cu ft) of stone and have a total surface area (both inside and out) of 1,600 square metres (17,000 sq ft). The tower is estimated to have taken 83,000 average working days to complete, most of which was unskilled labour.[16] The wall enclosing the keep stretched for some 250 m (820 ft).[17] The interior rooms are richly decorated.
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ Bradbury 2007, pp. 49, 60–61
- ^ Kaufmann & Kaufmann 2004, p. 109
- ^ a b Bachrach 1993, pp. 48–49
- ^ Bradbury 2007, p. 61
- ^ Bachrach 1993, pp. 49–50
- ^ Bachrach 1993, pp. 52–55
- ^ Bachrach 1993, pp. 57–62
- ^ Bachrach 1993, pp. 68–70
- ^ Fanning 1988, pp. 54–55
- ^ Bachrach 1993, p. 119
- ^ Bachrach 1993, p. 239
- ^ cie, G. Massiot &. "Château de Langeais: Overall view, from the gardens". curate.nd.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
- ^ Knecht 2007, p. 114
- ^ Bachrach 1993, p. 49
- ^ Bachrach 1991, p. 51
- ^ Bachrach 1991, pp. 47–52
- ^ Bachrach 1993, p. 50
- Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-8166-2003-6
- Bachrach, Bernard S. (1993), Fulk Nerra, the neo-Roman consul, 987–1040: a political biography of the Angevin count, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-07996-0
- ISBN 978-1-85285-528-4
- Fanning, Steven (1988), A bishop and his world before the Gregorian reform: Hubert of Angers, 1006–1047, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. 78, American Philosophical Society, ISBN 978-0-87169-781-3
- Kaufmann, J. E.; Kaufmann, H. W. (2004), The Medieval Fortress: castles, forts and walled cities of the Middle Ages, Da Capo, ISBN 978-0-306-81358-0
- ISBN 978-1-85285-522-2
Further reading
- Mesqui, Jean (1997), Chateaux-forts et fortifications en France, Paris: Flammarion, pp. 493, ISBN 2-08-012271-1
- Thompson, Michael (1991), The Rise of the Castle, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-37544-3
External links
- Official website
- Base Mérimée: Château de Langeais, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)