The Château de Doué-la-Fontaine, also known as Motte de la Chapelle, is a

motte and bailey 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 (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortification ...

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 ...

Doué-la-Fontaine Doué-la-Fontaine () is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 30 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Doué-en-Anjou. It is located in the heart of Anjou, a few kilometres from the great châteaux of ...

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 ...

that was built upon the foundations of an older 9th century

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

aula, and the Château de Doué-la-Fontaine, having been built around the year 950, is widely believed to have been the oldest known castle built out of stone. Only the aula survives today, while the castle and most of the motte no longer survive.

History

On the site of the castle, an older Carolingian aula was built during the 9th century for the

Count 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 ...

and was owned at one point by King

Robert I of France The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

before his death in 923. The Carolingian building, which measured by , consisted of a large room of one level (an aula), with walls 1.80 meters thick, was set on fire around 930-940, probably during a war between the counts of Anjou and the counts of Blois, and was demolished shortly after. Around 950, the stone castle was built by the

Count of Blois Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

(probably

Robert, Count of Blois Robert (before 885-after November 902) was Count of Blois at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. The only other thing know about him is that he countersigned a charter in November 902, in which Warnegaud, Vicomte de Blois a ...

) and an annex cellar was also built using the remains of the older aula. The castle was also elevated around 950 and in the 10th century, the aula, which was converted into a

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

, was buried underneath a mound that was tall and the Château was built atop it, and then the Château was eventually fortified during the latter half of the 10th century (1050-1099), but none of these fortifications survive today. The keep was destroyed in 1026 by

Fulk Nerra Fulk III, the Black ( 987–1040; fro, Foulque Nerra), was an early count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles, along with abbeys throughout the Lo ...

and the aula was made into a completely blind cellar along with the kitchen of the keep (which no longer survives today; only the Carolingian aula survives today, which was built below the

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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

castle, and the motte upon which the castle was built), and the kitchen being turned into a cellar during the 10th century is supported by the fact that

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

was found dating to the 10th century written by an unknown man named Aimeri - all that is known about him is that he devoted this graffiti to King

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

. The site was refortified in both 1468 and 1472 (during the third quarter of the 15th century), but neither of these fortifications survive today either. The motte was then known as "Motte de la Chapelle" and in 1966, the motte was going to be levelled by

Michel de Boüard Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

, De l'aula au donjon. Les fouilles de la motte de La Chapelle, à Doué-la-Fontaine (Xe-XIe siècle). In:Archéologie médiévale, tome 3-4, 1973. pp. 5-110; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/arcme.1973.1260) but when a mechanical device gutted the mound and uncovered traces of masonry, the site was stopped and the ruins were excavated and it was made a historical monument on December 19, 1973.. Most of the motte was still eventually flattened to expose as much of the ruins of the aula as possible.

Gallery

Doué-la-Fontaine.Contre-coeur de cheminée.JPG,

Fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...

Doué-la-Fontaine (Maine-et-Loire) (24627165578).jpg, Inside view of the ruined aula Doué-la-Fontaine (Maine-et-Loire) (37784145054).jpg, Ruins of a well(?) Doué-la-Fontaine (Maine-et-Loire) (38467119922).jpg, Close-up view of the doorway

References

{{coord, 47.1879, -0.2804, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Castles in France Motte-and-bailey castles Ruined castles in France