The Château de Montbron, known locally as the Vieux Château (old château) is the remains of a
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 ...
in the ''
commune'' of
Montbron
Montbron (; Limousin: ''Montberol'') is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France on the Tardoire river.
François Victor Alphonse Aulard (1849–1928) was born in Montbron. He was the first professional French historian of t ...
in the
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 ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' of France.
History
The ancient castle of Montbron (the name is derived "''Mons Berulphi''"), is known from before the 12th century.
The castle was mentioned in a diploma of
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during t ...
in 852.
[
In the 15th century, it was razed, with its simple rectangular ]keep
A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...
, as a sign of infamy, by order of King Charles VII. Marguerite de Rohan, Countess of Angoulême (wife of John, Count of Angoulême
John of Orléans (, 26 June 1399 – 30 April 1467), Count of Angoulême and Périgord, was a younger son of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, and Valentina Visconti, and a grandson of Charles V of France. He was the younger brother of the noted ...
), rebuilt the castle, of which parts still remain including the Romanesque-style keep.
Jacquette de Montberon
Jacquette de Montberon e Montbron(1542 – June 28, 1598) was a 16th century humanist, architect, and lady-in-waiting to Queens Catherine de' Medici and Louise de Lorraine. She is the only woman in France known to have held the title of Architec ...
, last representative of the elder branch of the Montberon family, married André de Bourdeille in 1558 and brought him the lordship, which then passed to Louise de Savoie
Louise of Savoy (11 September 1476 – 22 September 1531) was a French noble and regent, Duchess ''suo jure'' of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours and the mother of King Francis I and Marguerite of Navarre. She was politically active and ...
( Countess of Angoulême and mother of François I).
In 1624, the heirs of Henri de Luxembourg had to sell the Montbron title to the Loménie family, who kept Montbron as well as the county of Brienne until the end of the 17th century.
In 1699, Étienne Chérade acquired the title. His grandson, Adrien-Alexandre-Étienne Chérade de Montbron, obtained by letters patent in December 1766 the title of Montbron, but he was dispossessed during the French Revolution.[Jean-Paul Gaillard, ''Châteaux, logis et demeures anciennes de la Charente'', Paris, librairie Bruno Sepulchre, 1993 (reprinted. 2005), p. 477]
Architecture
All that remains is the polygonal turret. Drawings show a single pitched roof building. The dungeon was pierced with rectangular windows in the 17th century.
The two painted chimneys dating from the 17th century and situated on the first floor were classified as '' monuments historiguqes'' by the French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
in 1985.
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 ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montbron (Charente), Chateau de
Monuments historiques of Charente
Castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine