The Château de Lavardin is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the village and ''

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 Lavardin in the

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Its name is originated from two rivers which cross it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part. Its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La P ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

'' of France. The property of the ''commune'', it has been classified since 1945 as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' 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, ...

. The remains of the Château de Lavardin stand on a rocky promontory, above the village and the

Loir The Loir () is a long river in western France. It is a left tributary of the Sarthe. Its source is in the Eure-et-Loir department, north of Illiers-Combray. It joins the river Sarthe in Briollay, north of the city of Angers. It is indirectly a ...

. Built starting from the beginning of the 11th century by the first lords of Lavardin, the castle was sold to the count of Vendôme around 1130, becoming his principal fortress at the end of the 12th century. Completely altered in the 14th and 15th centuries, it was taken by the members of the Catholic League in 1589, then dismantled the following year on the orders of

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 ...

, duke of Vendôme and king of France.

Description

The first castle, that of Solomon de Lavardin, constructed at the beginning of the 11th century, appears to have consisted of a wooden

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

on a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

, protecting a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

on the summit of the promontory. The fortress of the counts de Vendôme from the 12th to the 15th century was composed of three or four enclosures surrounding a quadrangular

, the whole built on three rock platforms excavated in the

Middle Ages 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 a ...

to increase the height. At the foot of the castle, between the promontory and the Loir, a further enclosure protected the priory of Saint Martin (Saint-Gildéric), founded about 1040 by the first lord of Lavardin in an external bailey. During the Early Middle Ages, the castle promontory was occupied by a cemetery, of which several ditches cut in the rock have been found. Of the first enclosure there remains a large

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

or "châtelet" (12th, 14th and 15th centuries), with

machicolation A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...

s and

embrasure An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a space hollowed out ...

s for cannons (about 1400). This gateway gave access to the first level of the promontory, dedicated to the activities of the garrison and the servants. Opposite this door is the entry to the galleries and a large underground storeroom; to the north of the level is a troglodytic kitchen built into the rockface with a baker's oven. On the second level, accessible by a staircase whose ruins are opposite the Châtelet, were several residential buildings. File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau escalier 01.JPG File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau escalier 02.JPG In the east, is the residence (12th, 14th, 15th centuries) which was occupied by the lord of the manor; to the north, what could be the crypt of the castle chapel (15th century); in the centre, a large ceremonial building built in the last years of the 15th century, starting from an older structure (12th century). It still has remarkable vaults with the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of the Bourbon-Vendôme family and a niche for oil lamps decorated with three masks. A guard room (end 15th century) is installed under this staircase in order to control movement in the underground galleries. File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau 03.JPG File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau 05.JPG On the final level, protected by a strong curtain wall (around 1200 - 15th century) with cannon embrasures (15th century), stands an imposing rectangular keep built in the 12th century. This construction is partly founded on the walls of the residence, or "domicilium", built by the lord of Lavardin, probably in the 1070s. Reinforced by three strong towers between the end of the 12th century and the 13th century, it was rebuilt by the counts de Vendôme, between the end of the 14th and the middle of the 15th centuries. The bulk of this work is attributed to Louis I, count de Vendôme from 1393 to 1446. With a height of 26 metres (~85 feet), the keep dominates the village and the valley. File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau donjon 01.JPG File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau donjon 04.JPG File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau donjon 05.JPG Above the door can be seen the arms of Jean VII of Bourbon-La Marche, count de Vendôme from 1372 to 1393. Higher, one can still see the remains of the door giving access to the first floor of the keep from the top of the curtain wall. Inside, the overall picture is impressive. On the first floor are a chimney with the arms of Charles VII supported by two angels (about 1420) and a multi-bayed window (14th century). Especially noteworthy are the remains of the staircase, installed about 1400 in one of the keep's 12th-century corner towers and the vaulted arches of the second floor (about 1400-1415). File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau escalier 03.JPG File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau donjon 02.JPG File:France Loir-et-Cher Lavardin chateau donjon 03.JPG On the arch supports can be seen the armorial bearings of Louis II d'Anjou (1384–1417) and the countess of Vendôme, Alix de Bretagne (deceased in 1377). In the south-west tower is a narrow dungeon, accessible only by a well (15th century?). On the second and third levels of the promontory, a network of galleries and underground staircases was dug, allowing access to the castle and to reach the keep and its moat (14th - 15th centuries). In the west are remains of advanced defences and, probably, the motte protecting the home from the first lords up to the 11th century. However, excavations have shown that this part of the site was occupied since

protohistory Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...

, if not the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

era.

Bibliography

* Barthélémy, Daniel, ''La société dans le comté de Vendôme de l'an mil au XIVe'', Paris, Fayard, 1993. * Leymarios, Claude; Schweitz, Daniel; Lacroix, Michel, "Étude archéologique d'une crypte du haut Moyen Âge au château de Lavardin", ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Vendômois'', 1979, p. 41-54. * Métais, abbé Charles, "Procès en cours de Rome entre Vendôme et Lavardin", ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Vendômois'', 1912, p. 189-231. * Plat, Gabriel, "Lavardin", Congrès archéologique de France, 88e session, Blois, 1925, Paris, Picard, 1926, p. 315-368 [see p. 356-368th century. * Saint-Venant, Raoul Barré de, ''Dictionnaire topographique, historique, biographique, généalogique et héraldique du Vendômois et de l'arrondissement de Vendôme'', Blois-Vendôme, Migault, Rouilly et Chartier, 1912–1917, 4 t. [see especially : II, 1913–1914, p. 260-273rd century. * Salies, Alexandre de, ''Notice sur le château de Lavardin'', Tours, imp. Bouserez, 1865. * Salies, Alexandre de, " Rapport […] sur l'excursion faite aux Roches, à Montoire, Trôo et Lavardin", Congrès archéologique de France, 39e session, Vendôme, 1872, Paris, Derache, 1873, p. 459-525 [see p. 504-525th century. * Salies, Alexandre de, ''De Vendôme à la Bonnaventure, Les Roches, Lavardin, Montoire et Trôo'', Angers, impr. Lachèse �� 1873 (extr. of Congrès archéologique de France, Vendôme, 1872) [see p. 49-74th century. * Schweitz, Daniel and Arlette, "Contribution archéologique à l'étude du château de Lavardin: la cuisine troglodytique de la basse-cour et son four XIVe-XVe siècles", ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Vendômois'', 1976, p. 63-73. * Schweitz, Daniel, "Étude archéologique d'un dépotoir domestique du XIVe au château de Lavardin", ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Vendômois'', 1979, p. 55-70. * Schweitz, Daniel, "L'équipement domestique d'un châtelain du XIVe à Lavardin", in ''La céramique dans la région Centre de l'époque gallo-romaine au XXe'', catalogue de l'exposition organisée par l'Association des conservateurs de la région Centre, musées de la région Centre, octobre 1980-décembre 1982, s. l., s.n., 1980, p. 34-42. * Schweitz, Daniel and Arlette, "Château de Lavardin", in Congrès archéologique de France, 139e session, Blésois-Vendômois, Blois, 1981, Paris, Société française d'archéologie, 1986, p. 218-227. * Schweitz, Daniel, "Sur l'organisation de l'espace au château de Lavardin : galeries et escaliers souterrains (XIVe et XVe siècles)", ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Vendômois'', 2005, p. 69-82. * Schweitz, Daniel, "Sur l'émergence d'une identité patrimoniale en Vendômois : l'exemple des études sur le château de Lavardin (XIXe-XXe siècles)", ''Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Vendômois'', 2006, p. 72-93. *Schweitz, Daniel, ''Châteaux et forteresses du Moyen Âge en Val de Loire : Touraine, Anjou, Berry, Orléanais, Vendômois, marche bretonne'', Tours, CLD, 2006. * Schweit, Daniel, "Sur la perception de l'identité patrimoniale du Vendômois : l'exemple des ruines de Lavardin aux XIXe et XXe siècles", ''Mémoires de la Société des sciences et lettres de Loir-et-Cher'', 61, 2006. * Yvard, Jean-Claude, "Sur l'existence d'un domicilium (fin du XIe) au donjon de Lavardin", ''BSAV'', 1994, p. 27-31. * Yvard, Jean-Claude, ''Le donjon résidentiel de Lavardin vers l'an 1400'', Vendôme, éd. du Cherche-Lune, 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavardin, Chateau De Ruined castles in Centre-Val de Loire Buildings and structures in Loir-et-Cher Monuments historiques of Centre-Val de Loire

Description

Bibliography

See also

References