The Château de Comper is a former castle located in Paimpont forest (formerly known as

Brocéliande Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly ...

), three kilometers to the east of the village of Concoret in the department of

Morbihan Morbihan ( , ; br, Mor-Bihan ) is a department in the administrative region of Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton), the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coast ...

in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

, France. It has been rebuilt as a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

. The name Comper, like

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography T ...

, probably comes from the Breton word ''kemper'', which means confluence. It is surrounded by several streams and lakes.

History and structure

The castle was originally square, with towers at each of the four corners, linked by strong curtain walls. At the main door was a

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable ...

. The first owner of Comper is sometimes said to have been

Salomon, King of Brittany Salomon ( br, Salaün) (died 874) was Count of Rennes and Nantes from 852 and Duke of Brittany from 857 until his death by assassination. He used the title King of Brittany intermittently after 868. In 867, he was granted the counties of Avranches ...

in the 9th century. The castle is first recorded history associated with the Baron Raoul de Gaël-Monfort ( Ralph de Gael), who was a companion of

William of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087 ...

during the 11th century Norman conquest of England. During the 13th century, Comper was considered one of the strongest castles in Brittany. For this reason, it has been the object of many battles and sieges. It has also changed owner several times in its history: *In 1370, it was devastated by

Bertrand du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin ( br, Beltram Gwesklin; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' W ...

. *In the beginning of the 15th century, it became the vassal of the Dukes of Laval. In 1467, the Duke

Guy XIV de Laval Guy XIV de Laval, François de Montfort-Laval, (28 January 1406 – 2 September 1486, Châteaubriant), comte de Laval, baron de Vitré and of La Roche-Bernard, seigneur of Gâvre, of Acquigny, of Tinténiac, of Montfort and Gaël, of Béche ...

drew up the ''charte des usements et coutumes de Brécilien'' (charter of the uses and customs of

), which was used to divide the forest into parcels and to define the rights and duties of everyone regarding each parcel. *During the 16th century, Comper went to the Rieux family, then to the Coligny family. *A famous episode in the history of Comper took place during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, between the Catholic League and partisans of the 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 monarch ...

. At the end of 1595, after a long resistance, the Duc de Mercœur's men failed to keep the castle. In reprisal, Henri IV dismantled the castle three years later. *After this, Comper went to the la Trémoille family. *During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, the revolutionary party burned half of the main building, on 28 January 1790. It was rebuilt during the 19th century by Armand de Charette, whose initials were left on numerous mantelpieces. Today, the castle is listed as a '' monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

. Now the

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

is dry, and the 19th-century mansion houses the exhibitions of the Centre de l'Imaginaire Arthurien about the

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Weste ...

Legend

The large pond of Comper is related to Viviane, the

Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...

. In the legend, she lives in a crystal palace, built by

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

and hidden under the waters of the lake.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Comper, Chateau de Castles in Brittany Châteaux in Morbihan Monuments historiques of Morbihan

History and structure

Legend

See also

References