The Château de Taillebourg is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

from the medieval era. It is built on a rocky outcrop, overlooking the village of Taillebourg and the valley of the river

Charente Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...

, in the

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

department of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It commanded a very strategic position and was therefore the focus of much conflict throughout the medieval era. It featured in several episodes of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

and the

Saintonge War The Saintonge War was a feudal dynastic conflict that occurred between 1242 and 1243. It opposed House of Capet, Capetian forces supportive of Louis IX of France, King Louis IX's brother Alphonse, Count of Poitiers and those of Hugh X of Lusign ...

before that.

Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine

The previous castle on the site was shelter for

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger or the Young () to differentiate him from his father Louis VI, was King of France from 1137 to 1180. His first marriage was to Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and ...

and

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...

on the day after their wedding, in July 1137.

Richard the Lionheart

Richard the Lionheart Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

conquered this castle in 1179. It belonged at that time to Geoffrey de Rancon, who later participated alongside Richard in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

and appears as a witness to Richard's peace treaty with

King Tancred of Sicily Tancred (; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce, an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of Lecce. H ...

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

on October 6, 1190. In 1173, Richard had rebelled against his father King Henry II in alliance with his brothers

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and Geoffrey and the King of France, Louis VII. After their rebellion failed, Henry II assigned Richard to bring the rebellious lords of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

to heel. At the time the castle of Taillebourg, situated on an outcropping of rock over the Charente, was regarded as impregnable: three sides were set above sheer rock faces and the fourth was protected by a triple wall. Nevertheless, Richard invested the castle on May 1, 1179, and bombarded it with trebuchets. On May 8, Richard burned the surrounding fields and vineyards in order to bait the burghers defending the town walls into sallying out. Richard defeated them, pursued them as they retreated back through the gate, and laid waste to the town. The garrison, which had relied upon the supplies in the town, soon surrendered. The overthrow of Taillebourg so demoralized Geoffrey de Rancon that he surrendered his other great castle,

Pons The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other mammals, lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of ...

, to Richard, ending Geoffrey's rebellion.

Louis IX

The castle was later the base for

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

(Saint Louis), as a guest of Geoffrey IV of Rancon, before the Battle of Taillebourg in 1242.

Public garden

The Château de Taillebourg ruins have today been converted to a public garden where visitors can admire the 18th-century battlements and the underground rooms of the old castle. The site's geographical position affords a view of the Charente valley."Castle of Taillebourg." The World of Castles. Accessed January 8, 2024. https://www.castlesworld.com/castles/castle-of-taillebourg.php.

References

External links