The Château d'Airvault is a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

castle situated in the French ''

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of

Airvault Airvault () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It is located on the River Thouet. The inhabitants of Airvault are the and the in French. On 1 January 2019, the former commune of ...

in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

'' of

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.

and the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

région France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...

''. Airvault stands in the

Thouet The Thouet () is a tributary of the Loire in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire regions of western France. The Thouet rises at Secondigny, close to the source of the Sèvre Nantaise, and joins the Loire just to the west of Saumur. It is ...

valley and includes the listed monuments of the Saint-Pierre Abbey and church. The town is dominated by the castle built on a hill. In the Middle Ages, this strategic position made it an important part of the powerful defensive system of the town.

History

The castle was constructed on an earlier ''

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

''. It was besieged and conquered in 1207 by

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

. On 22 September 1565, Jean Ysoré, Baron d’Airvault had the honour of welcoming Charles IX and the young Prince of Navarre, the future King

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

. On 3 October 1569, after the Battle of Moncontour which saw the victory of the

Duke of Anjou The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by Charles the Bald in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the title of Count of Anjou. The Robertians ...

(the future

Henri III Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of L ...

), Gaspard de Coligny who commanded the defeated

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

s the burning of the castle in revenge for René Ysoré (son of Jean Ysoré) who contributed to his defeat. Burned, the castle was abandoned by its owners. At the start of the 20th century, the owner constructed a house in the lower court and planned to destroy the castle to sell the materials. The remains of the former castle were inscribed as a '' monument historique'' on 3 October 1929 and classified on 4 September 2007 for the ''

enceinte Enceinte (from Latin incinctus: girdled, surrounded) is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the position. Fo ...

'' and its towers, the remains of the barbican and the grounds.

The castle

The Château d'Airvault is considered by the

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Henri Bodin as "one of the rare remaining specimens of

military architecture Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

of the 11th century".Quote: "''Un des rares spécimens qui reste de l’architecture militaire du XI^e siècle From this time, there remains the ''enceinte'' with its two uncrowned towers and its keep whose well-preserved silhouette marks the urban landscape. The 14th- and 15th-century buildings inside the ''enceinte'' replaced in the original buildings. According to Bodin, the castle was built on the site of the former Gallic

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...

and the builders of the castle were inspired by the square towers of this old oppidum and the way to put them on the ramparts. It is this peculiarity of construction which makes it possible to date the castle of Airvault at least to the 11th century. (Some think that it would be earlier than the beginning of the construction of the church). The castle has an ''enceinte'' whose

crenellation A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

was leveled in the 1940s. Two quadrangular towers added obliquely to the corners of the ''enceinte'' on the ramparts are dated to the 13th or 14th century. The rectangular ', defended by a ''

bretèche In medieval fortification, a bretèche or brattice is a small balcony with machicolations, usually built over a gate and sometimes in the corners of the fortress' wall, with the purpose of enabling defenders to shoot or throw objects at the attack ...

'' and

hoarding Hoarding is a behavior where people or animals accumulate food or other items. Animal behavior ''Hoarding'' and ''caching'' are common in many bird species as well as in rodents. Most animal caches are of food. However, some birds will a ...

s, is pierced by a door with a portcullis and murder hole giving access to the court. The main dwelling of the 15th century is located along the west curtain wall. Among the outbuildings are the prison with its two vaulted cells lit by an

arrowslit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interio ...

and a stable.

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airvault, chateau de Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine Buildings and structures in Deux-Sèvres Monuments historiques of Nouvelle-Aquitaine

History

The castle

See also

References

External links