Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais () is a

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 ...

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.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, ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The commune was once an important stronghold reigning over the whole natural and historic province of

Thymerais Thymerais (or ''Thimerais'', ) is a natural region of Eure-et-Loir, in France, where history and geography meet. Open to influences from Normandy, Drouais, Beauce and Perche, it is a transition zone like the Drouais. A former country of Perche und ...

. Born of the fierce determination of its first lords to face the threat brought by the

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...

upon the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

, and devastated and much fought over through the ages, the

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 ...

that rose out of it was eventually demolished, but the city remained. It gradually lost its importance and a dynastic feud was the center of which it was dismembered, so that it became a barony in the eighteenth century, although it was far from having the same extent that it did in the thirteenth century. The city known since the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

subsequently went through a fragile revival by taking advantage of its location due to its proximity to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and the employment areas of

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

and

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Granvi ...

. It managed to attract some industrial enterprises to retain part of its business while achieving a low but steady demographic development. Already a head of its Canton, belonging to the Drouais region, the city became in 2003 the center of the Community of communes of Thymerais.

Geography

Former capital of

having taken over this status from its neighbor Thimert, Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais is located south of

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

and Drouais, west and north of the Beauce and Chartrain and east of the Perche . The city was built following the vicissitudes of history in a forested area called, around 600 or even at a much earlier period, the Perche. This designation did not yet apply at the early eleventh century to the political or administrative divisions. However, the woodland region of the Perche was divided between the County of Corbon (Mortagne), the Barony of Châteauneuf, the county and bishopric of Chartres, the Viscounty of Châteaudun and County of Vendôme. Progressive clearing of this forest caused the retreat of the Perche, giving place to the Thymerais. A crossroads, the town is now the headquarters of the canton and the center of the community of communes of the Thymerais.

History

In 1058, Albert Ribaud, lord of

, took a stand against

William the Conqueror 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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

and future king of England, the latter seized Thimert and left there a governor, but the following year, Henry I King of France, took the castle and razed it. It was reconstructed by Gaston, brother of Albert Ribaud built a short distance in a clearing in the woods, a fort named Chastel-neuf. It was formed around a village of the same name, which soon became the capital of Thymerais. From a feudal standpoint, in 1200 the

formed one great fief whose center was Châteauneuf-en-thymerais. The Châtellerie of Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais covered an area roughly bounded by the north by the river

Avre Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE), also known as Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers is the title given to a series of armoured military engineering vehicles operated by the Royal Engineers (RE) for the purpose of protecting engineers during ...

and by the river

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Châtellainie covered more than 80 villages within these limits but also villages in

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Roger de Montgomery Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...

and Mabile de Bellême, gave asylum to Robert Courteheuse, who had rebelled against his father after a quarrel with his brothers and the failure to take the Castle of Rouen.

responded in 1078, besieging the stronghold of Regmalard, which eventually surrendered. He was accompanied by

Rotrou III, Count of Perche Rotrou III (bef. 1080 – 8 May 1144), called the Great (''le Grand''), was the Count of Perche and Mortagne from 1099. He was the son of Geoffrey II, Count of Perche, and Beatrix de Ramerupt, daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier. He was a ...

, Count of Mortagne, lord of Regmalard. The castle was sacked in 1169 by King

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

, following the destruction of Chennebrun, located on the left bank of the Avre the previous year by the King of France. The castle was again attacked by

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

, who burned the fortress, but it was rebuilt in 1189 by Hughes III du Chatel, lord of

. Hughes III received the castle from King

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

on the occasion of the inauguration of the fair of Saint-Jacques Boutaincourt. St. Thomas Chapel was built at that time in the suburbs of the town (now St. Thomas Road between Chartres and Nogent-le-Roi). Closed for worship since the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, it was built in honor of St.

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. In 1269, King

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...

or St. Louis, came to Thimert and went to the castle of Châteauneuf. At that time, a major exhibition was held under the patronage of Saint-Arnoult, held in July in a suburb of the city, near Grande Noé. Châteauneuf was elevated in 1314 to the peerage as a barony-vassal of the

, directly under the authority of the Tower of the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

. The barony was then composed of four castellanies: Châteauneuf, Brezolles, Senonches and Champrond en Gâtine. The lordship of Champrond en Gastine was acquired in June 1310 by Charles I, Count of Alençon and Perche, through an exchange with

Enguerrand de Marigny Enguerrand de Marigny, Baron Le Portier (126030 April 1315) was a French chamberlain and minister of Philip IV. Early life He was born at Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy, of an old Norman family of the smaller baronage called Le Portier, which to ...

, the king's chamberlain, and Havis de Mons, his wife, who held it for Gaucher de Chatillon, Comte de Ponthieu. The barony of Châteauneuf-en-Thimerais stayed a part of the County and later Duchy of

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

until its extinction in 1525 with

Charles IV of Alençon Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

. During the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, the Bourguignons, under the command of Maréchal de Longny took the city. Recovering thereafter, it was again captured by

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

in 1418, and

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

installed there one of his lieutenants. The city was finally taken back by

Jean II, Duke of Alençon Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

after the battle of Verdun in 1424. Later,

Henry IV of France 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 ...

would establish a

bailliage A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on t ...

in the early seventeenth century. In August 1449, King

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

came to Châteauneuf and stayed three days at the castle. On the death of

in 1525, the king seized their land, most of which had been given to its prerogative and ancestors had, for lack of male descendants, returned to the Crown under the law of appendages. But the barony of Châteauneuf was not part of the prerogative of the Duc d'Alençon. Count

Charles II of Alençon Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

had inherited one third of the barony from his brother Louis, Count of Chartres, by sharing it in 1335. Pierre II of Alençon later acquired the other two thirds in 1370. Champrond finally was acquired by Charles, in 1310. Later the two sisters of the Duke Charles,

Françoise of Alençon Françoise () is a French feminine given name (equivalent to the Italian Francesca) and may refer to: * Anne Françoise Elizabeth Lange (1772–1816), French actress * Claudine Françoise Mignot (1624–1711), French adventuress * Françoise Adn ...

, wife of

Charles IV de Bourbon Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

, duke of Vendome, and

Anne of Alençon Anne d'Alençon (Italian: Anna d'Alençon) (30 October 1492 – 18 October 1562), Lady of La Guerche, was a French noblewoman and a Marquise of Montferrat as the wife of William IX, Marquis of Montferrat. She acted as Regent of the Marquisate of ...

, Marquise of

Montferrat Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...

, opposed the seizure by the king of the assets of their brother. There followed a trial that was not completed until 1563 by a double transaction between King

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the ...

and the descendants of Anne and Françoise d'Alençon, which ended with the king accepting their claims and restoring the barony of Châteauneuf-in-Thimerais. This was divided among the heirs of Françoise d'Alençon, who took Champrond and Châteauneuf and Louis de Gonzague, grandson of Anne of Alençon, Marquise of Montferrat (now the same year by the Duke of Nivernais marriage with

Henriette of Cleves Henriette de La Marck (31 October 1542 – 24 June 1601), also known as Henriette of Cleves, was a French noblewoman and courtier. She was the 4th Duchess of Nevers, ''suo jure'' Countess of Rethel, and Princess of Mantua by her marriage with Lo ...

) received the cities, towns and castellanies Senonches and Brezolles en Thimerais which were detached from the barony of Châteauneuf. In February 1500 King Charles IX had erected the lordships of Brezolles Senonches, sold in his name to the principality of Mantua, in favor of Louis de Gonzague, father of CharlesDictionnaire topographique du département d'Eure-et-Loir and were erected into a principality under the name of Mantua. In 1591, the Comte de Soissons, plundered the castle along with those of Arpentigny and La Ferte-Vidame. The castle was never rebuilt and returned to the

royal domain Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

. Châteauneuf was annexed and the lords resided at Maillebois until about the second half of the eighteenth century. The stronghold of Thymerais meanwhile gradually was dismantled so that by the late eighteenth century the barony of Châteauneuf-en-Thymerais was nowhere near the same extent as it was in the thirteenth century. In the late eighteenth century Châteauneuf was dependent on the election of Verneuil-sur-Avre and

generality Generality may be: *The assumption of Generality, a concept in psychology A generality or generalty is a word used during the Ancien Régime in France and other Western European countries to indicate a specific territory under direct rule of centr ...

of Alençon. It was the chief town of the district from 1790 to 1795, and took the name of Puy-la-Montagne to the revolutionary era. The last traces of the castle moat, were gradually filled during the nineteenth century. The last traces of them were erased in the first half of the twentieth century to make way for new roads (including the streets of Pont Tabarin, Petite Friche, and Dulorens). In the twentieth century the city suffered through bombardment in 1940 during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

. When the war was over, Châteauneuf saw the arrival of families of U.S. soldiers housed in a subdivision south of the city and many people worked on the U.S. air base south of Crucey Brezolles. They left in 1966 upon the withdrawal of French forces from the NATO Command, as decided by

De Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

, in effect expelling all U.S. bases from the country.

Population

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateauneufenthymerais Communes of Eure-et-Loir Perche

Geography

History

Population

See also

References