Fort-la-Latte
Fort la Latte | |
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Castle of the Roche Goyon | |
Plévenon in France | |
Coordinates | 48°40′06″N 2°17′05″W / 48.66833°N 2.28472°W |
Site information | |
Owner | Joüon Des Longrais |
Site history | |
Built | 1340 |
Built by | Siméon Garengeau |
Garrison information | |
Occupants | Étienne III Goyon |
Fort la Latte, or the Castle of the Rock Goyon (French: La Roche-Goyon, Breton: Roc'h-Goueon), is a castle in the northeast of Brittany, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southeast of Cap Fréhel and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Saint-Malo, in the commune of Plévenon, Côtes-d'Armor.
It is a famous tourist attraction of the bay of
Historical
The castle of the Roche Goyon has been classified as a
The castle was built in the 14th century by the Lord of Matignon, Etienne III Gouÿon. The construction of the castle began in the 1340s, its keep dates from the years 1365–1370.
In 1379, following the return from exile of the Duke of Brittany Jean IV, the castle was besieged by
It was in service until the end of the First Empire when the evolution of military techniques led to its unsuitability. From 1892, it was sold to various private owners before being bought by the historian Frédéric Joüon Des Longrais in 1931 who, having a lifelong passion for archeology, undertook heavy restoration work which took more than twenty years.
Electricity only arrived at the castle in 2015.
Location
The fort can be found on a rocky cape, near Cap Fréhel, in the town of Plévenon.
This site was chosen because of its favorable location - being difficult for an enemy to attack due to the lack of easy access and, in addition to it offering clear views of the English Channel the
Construction materials were easily accessible: with granite coming from the heart of Brittany, sandstone being directly recovered from the surrounding cliffs there are traces of old quarries on the coast, whose connection to the castle is revealed by toponyms such as "Port Taillé" which can be found on the cadastre and wood was in plentiful supply from the many forests which existed nearby in medieval times.
The fort was an important strategic point since it was not far from the trade routes connecting Saint-Malo, Normandy and the Channel Islands.
Events
Albert II, Prince of Monaco made a private visit to the castle, July 5, 2012, in the footsteps of his ancestors the Goyon Matignon.
Festival
Since the castle opened to the public, the owners, the Joüon Des Longrais family have shared the area with visitors through various events:
- The Celtic nights of castle from 2006 to 2007 (storytelling evening with music)
- 'Les Médiévales du Fort La Latte' - a medieval festival organized in August every year since 2008, which includes mediaeval stallholders, jousting tournaments and falconry displays as well as a smaller medieval event every two years.
Description
The castle is provided with two gatehouses, one opening onto the barbican, the other onto the courtyard of the castle; each has its own drawbridge. In the courtyard, there is a water tank, a chapel, various defensive features and installations (in particular the locations of the gun batteries) and of course the keep.
On the way to the castle, there is a small menhir which, according to legend, is "the tooth" or "the finger" of Gargantua.
Barbican
The Barbican is protected by a portcullis and stout wooden door. The first gatehouse of the barbican is provided with a drawbridge which has been restored to working order. At the time of its construction in the fourteenth century, it was also protected by a portcullis and a double-leaf door. Completely destroyed by cannon shot during the second capture of the castle, it was subsequently rebuilt.
In front of this first gatehouse a battering ram and a pillory can be found. Within the barbican is a small medieval garden, a "Bricole" (a kind of
The courtyard
The courtyard contains several installations, such as the water
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the oven to blush the balls
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a cannon
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a cannon
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Exterior view
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Interior courtyard of Barbican
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The cistern
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Interior of the chapel.
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Path of the rolling.
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The cistern.
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Drawbridge blocking system
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Interior of the stately home
The cistern
The water cistern, with a capacity of 20,000 L, was expected to have been sufficient to serve the entire garrison (about forty men) although given the maximum retention volume seems limited. A rainwater recovery system was put in place. On the same level of the tank, a dummy drawbridge was intended to deceive any maritime attackers who would be deceived into sailing onwards an area of strong currents where their ship would then be at risk of smashing against the rocks. This dummy drawbridge was, however, ineffective.
The cannons
Eight cannons were installed during the reign of Louis XIV, the largest being eight metres long. Today, only "medium" copies are present on the site, but which could still shoot a ball up to a kilometre. Ballistic adjustments were made by use of the runway - a granite circle on which the cannon were placed and guided the wheels of the gun as it was manoeuvered into position.
According to military records, one shot could be fired every three minutes.
Oven to 'Blush' the balls
The Chateau of the Roche Goyon also has a ball oven for heating
- the oven consumed a lot of wood;
- for this to be effective, it had to heat for eight hours, which gave the enemies plenty of time to flee;
- loading the cannon proved much more dangerous as the hot ball could cause to pre-ignite the black powderbefore the cannon could be properly fired.
The use of ball ovens resulted in the coining of the expression "Tirer à boulets rouges" ("To shoot with red balls") meaning a particularly vehement attack on, or criticism of, an opponent.
The keep
The
Four sculptures representing the tetramorph according to Ezekiel are found at the level of the yellow granite circle which surrounds the keep. Here, facing the castle, can be found the angel of Saint Matthew, then the lion of Saint Mark, the eagle of Saint John (severely eroded) and finally the bull of Saint Luke to the right of the entrance to the keep .
The entrance to the keep reveals the presence of a third drawbridge, now replaced by a staircase. The emblem of the Goyon-Matignon family, a siren, crowns the passage. The entrance to the keep was protected by a portcullis and a defensive entrapment perhaps best described as a kind of 'mousetrap'. In the keep there is an exhibition on the restoration works of the castle and the roof is supported by a cross vault of ogives dating from 1340.
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The keep.
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Enter of the keep.
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The roof of the keep.
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interior arched ogive roof
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The angel of st Mathieu
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The lion of st Marc.
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The eagle of st Jean.
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the beef of st Luc.
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the first floor
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reconstituted powder scene
The menhir of La Latte
On the path leading to the castle stands the
bibliography
- La Châtelaine aux deux visages, by Simone Roger-Vercel, 1957
- Le Jeu du Roi, by Jean Raspail, 1976
- Le Fantôme de Fort La Latte, comics strip from "Aventures de Vick et Vicky" by Bruno Bertin by Éditions P'tit Louis, 2007
- Le Fort La Latte, by Isabelle Joüon Des Longrais by éditions Ouest-France, juin 2009
- Le Chemin de Malefosse, comics strip by Daniel Bardet and Brice Goepfert, by éditions Glénat, 2015
- Christophe Amiot, Le fort La Latte, anciennement Roche Goyon, in French Archaeological congress. 173rd session. Monuments of Côtes-d'Armor. « Le Beau Moyen Âge ». 2015, French Archaeological Society, 2017, p. 97-110, (ISBN 978-2-901837-70-1)
- Sekijô No Shi, Le Château de la Roche Goyon dit Fort la Latte, imprimerie de la Manutention, 1973, (ISBN 2-9501512-0-5)
- Le secret de Fort La Latte, by Valérie Thiébaut published by Héros d'Armor, 1er décembre 2017.
Filmography
This castle served as a setting for several scenes from the following films, television films, television series and clips :
- The perfume of the lady in black, 1931
- The Three Musketeers, 1948
- The Vikings (Vikings) 1958, with Kirk Douglas, whose final fight took place on the keep.
- Metzengerstein one of the sketches from the film Extraordinary Stories, 1967.
- Lancelot du Lac, 1970.
- The Dance of Death, 1983.
- Chouans!, French film 1987.
- The King's Game, 1988.
- Ridiculous, 1996.
- The heart and the Sword (Il cuore e la spada, Heart and Sword) 1998.
- La Tribu de Dana, clip from the French band Manau, 1998.
- TV advertising for the search engine "Lycos" 2000
- Une vieille maîtresse, French film 2007.
- L'Épervier, the series for France Télévision with Aurélien Wiik, Martin Lamotte 2011.
- Avril and the extraordinary world, animated film, 2015.
- Ma Reine, clip from the French band Manau, 2018.
- Tasnif-e magali Kurdi, clip from the French medieval band Soñj, 2018.
See also
References
- ^ Base Mérimée: Fort de la Latte, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
External links
- Fort La Latte - Official site
- Fort la Latte and Fréhal
- Base Mérimée: Fort de la Latte, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- Dinan Cap-Fréhel tourism