The Château de Montpensier is a former
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
Montpensier in the
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme (; or ''lo Puèi Domat'') is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the centre of France. In 2021, it had a population of 662,285.[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
From the 11th century, Château de Montpensier was known as the fortress of ''Mons Pancherii'' (literally, ''Mont de la Panse'', by reason of the shape of its
motte
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 (fortificati ...
). On 8 November 1226, King
Louis VIII died there following a violent fever during his return from the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
.
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 ...
, the castle was still a strategic site that necessitated it being taken tower by tower by the English.
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
ordered the destruction of the castle in 1633.
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 ...
Sources
* ''Chronique de Guillaume de Nangis/Règne de Louis VIII'' (Édition J.-L.-J. Brière, Paris, 1825)
* Louis Bréhier: ''L'Auvergne'' (1912)
*
Orientation table at the butte de Montpensier.
Ruined castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Buildings and structures in Puy-de-Dôme
{{France-castle-stub