château
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, 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 re ...
that is located across the communes of
Bonnétable
Bonnétable () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire, northwestern France. In February 1965, it absorbed the former commune Aulaines.Briosne-lès-Sables
Briosne-lès-Sables () is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays de la Loire in north-western France.
See also
*Communes of the Sarthe department
The following is a list of the 352 communes of the Sarthe department of Fra ...
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
in the
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
region.
History
A fortified castle has existed in
Malétable
Malétable () is a former commune in the Orne department in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Longny les Villages.Rotrou family. While the appearance is unknown, in 1406, a keep with walls and moats surrounded by a thousand-acre forest, on which hunting rights were exercised was mentioned. At the end of the 13th century, the name Malétable changed to Bonnétable.
Occupied by the English from 1420 to 1422, the château was ruined during 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 ...
.
Harcourt, Coesmes, Bourbon-Soissons
In July 1472, King
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
authorized Jean d'Harcourt to have his château at Bonnétable reestablished. Construction of the new residence began in 1476 with Mathurin Delandelle as the project manager. When Jean d'Harcourt died in 1487, the unfinished building was completed by his successors.
Bonnétable passed through marriage from the d'Harcourts to the Coesmes, then the Bourbon-Soissons. In 1621, King
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
Charles Philippe d'Albert, 4th Duke of Luynes
Charles Philippe d'Albert, 4th Duke of Luynes (30 July 1695 – 2 November 1758) held the title Duke of Luynes from 1712 to 1758. He wrote an important memoir of life at the court of Louis XV.
Early life
Charles-Philippe was a grandson of C ...
through his marriage to Louise-Léontine de Bourbon, a granddaughter of Louis de Bourbon, Count of Soissons), after which it was rarely used and lost its moat.
d'Albert de Luynes
During the
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
, the château was the property of
Louis Joseph Charles Amable d'Albert de Luynes
Louis Joseph Charles Amable d'Albert, 6th Duke of Luynes (4 November 1748 – 13 May 1807) was a French politician, nobleman and member of the House of Albert. He was the sixth Duke of Luynes as well as Duke of Chevreuse.
Early life
Luynes was b ...
, 6th
Duke of Luynes
The Duke of Luynes ( ) is a territorial name belonging to the noble France, French house d'Albert. Luynes, Indre-et-Loire, Luynes is, today, a commune in France, commune of the Indre-et-Loire ''département in France, département'' in France. The ...
. After his death in 1807, the Bonnétable estate passed on to his daughter, Pauline Hortense d'Albert de Luynes, the wife of the
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
Mathieu de Montmorency
Mathieu Jean Felicité de Montmorency, 1st Duke of Montmorency-Laval (10 July 1767 – 24 March 1826) was a French statesman during the French Revolution and Bourbon Restoration. He was elected as the youngest deputy to the Estates-General of ...
, 1st
Duke of Montmorency-Laval
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...
. The Duchess of Montmorency died at Bonnétable in 1858.
Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville
In , the château fell to their grandson,
Sosthène II de La Rochefoucauld
Charles Gabriel Marie ''Sosthène'' II de La Rochefoucauld (1 September 1825 – 27 August 1908), 4th Duke of Doudeauville, 1st Duke of Bisaccia, Grandee of Spain, was a French politician during the Third Republic who served as Deputy for Sarthe f ...
, 4th
Duke of Doudeauville
The House of La Rochefoucauld is one of France's ancient noble families, with origins dating back to the 10th century. The family's lineage begins with (973–1047), the first Lord of La Roche, later known as La Rochefoucauld (''Roche'' + ''Fouc ...
, (a son of Élisabeth-Hélène de Montmorency-Laval and Sosthène I de La Rochefoucauld), and his wife, Princess Marie of Ligne, who commissioned architect
Henri Parent
Aubert Henri Joseph Parent (; 12 April 1819 – 1895) was a French architect.
Biography
Aubert Henri Joseph Parent was born on 12 April 1819 in Valenciennes, Nord, Hauts-de-France. His brother, Clément Parent, Clément was the son in-law of Jos ...
to undertake major renovations (as he did for La Rochefoucauld's
Château d'Esclimont
The Château d'Esclimont is a historic château that is located in the commune of Auneau-Bleury-Saint-Symphorien (formerly Saint-Symphorien-le-Château), in the French departments of France, department of Eure-et-Loir in the Centre-Val de Loire re ...
neo-Gothic style
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
, by drilling of numerous openings, the addition of turrets, bow windows and stoops. For the interiors, the architect hired artisans and painters from
Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
who created and installed numerous symbols linking to the La Rochefoucauld family history, particularly
Melusine
Mélusine () or Melusine or Melusina is a figure of European folklore, a nixie (folklore), female spirit of fresh water in a holy well or river. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a Serpent symbolism, serpent or Fish in culture, fish fr ...
, who was called "protector fairy of the castle". In the dining room, the fireplace surround highlighted the motto of the
House of La Rochefoucauld
The House of La Rochefoucauld is one of France's ancient French nobility, noble families, with origins dating back to the 10th century. The family's lineage begins with (973–1047), the first Lord of La Roche, later known as La Rochefoucauld (' ...
, "It's my pleasure", as well as that of the
House of Ligne
The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495–500. . The family's name comes from t ...
: "Always straight".
In 1908, the dining room was again redecorated with its walls covered with tapestries from the
Beauvais Manufactory
The Beauvais Manufactory () is a historic tapestry factory in Beauvais, France. It was second in importance, after the Gobelins Manufactory, of French tapestry workshops that were established under the general direction of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, t ...
, while the chapel adjoining the château, decorated in the "Haute Epoque" style, received eleven religious medallions which evoked the eleven patron saints of each of the children of the Duke and Duchess of Doudeauville. Their descendants owned the Château de Bonnetable until the end of the 20th century.
Monument historique
The Château de Bonnétable was designated a ''
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 collection of buildings, ...
'' by ministerial decree on 29 November 1991.
See also
*
List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...