The Château de Puilaurens (Puilaurens Castle, also ''Puylaurens''; in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; ...

: ''lo Castèl de Puèg-Laurenç'') is one of the so-called

Cathar castle Cathar castles (in French ''Châteaux cathares'') are a group of medieval castles located in the Languedoc region. Some had a Cathar connection in that they offered refuge to dispossessed Cathars in the thirteenth century. Many of these sites wer ...

s in the '' commune'' of Lapradelle-Puilaurens in the

Aude Aude (; ) is a department in Southern France, located in the Occitanie region and named after the river Aude. The departmental council also calls it " Cathar Country" (French: ''Pays cathare'') after a group of religious dissidents active i ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

''. The castle is located above the Boulzane Valley and the villages of Lapradelle and Puilaurens. There is a path from Axat to the castle.

History

Origins

The castle is located on ''Mont Ardu''. This name appears for the first time in 958 in a charter where Lothair confirms the donation of

Sunifred II, Count of Urgell Sunifred II (''c''. 898–948) was Count of Urgell. He was the son of Wilfred the Hairy of Urgell Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (c ...

, lord of

Fenouillèdes Fenouillèdes (; oc, Fenolhedés/Fenolheda; ca, Fenolledès/Fenolleda) is a French comarca and a traditional Occitan-speaking area in the ''département'' of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (''Sant ...

, at the

Abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa The abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa () is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales '' département'', in southwestern France. It was founded initially in 840, and then refounded at its p ...

of the provostship of Puilaurens which is composed of the Boulzane valley or Sainte-Croix valley. The document also mentions the presence of a Saint-Laurent church serving as a fortified and hilltop refuge from the

Carolingian period 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 Pi ...

. The first known

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

of Puilaurens is Pierre Catala who appears as a witness in the acts of Guillaume de Peyrepertuse in 1217. In 1229, Guillaume de Peyrepertuse commanded the castle of Puilaurens and, in 1242, it was held by Roger Catala, son of Pierre. In addition to the castle, a village was built all around it, which made Puilaurens a

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 ...

The Cathar presence

It is known only for the role of refuge of the castle during the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crow ...

. In 1242, the Cathar deacon of Fenouillèdes, Pierre Paraire stayed there. Several perfects were housed there from 1245 to 1246. A certain Saurine Rigaud, inhabitant of Fanjeaux and Cathar believer, found refuge in Puilaurens in 1240 where she met twelve monks including eight women.

The annexation of the castle

Around 1250, the castle passed into the hands of the

crown of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...

. By a letter dated August 1255, Louis IX of France ordered the seneschal of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

to fortify the castle. It is these works which inaugurate the appearance of the castle as we know it today. Saint Louis had it reinforced to defend the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximatel ...

against Aragonese incursions. The Treaty of Corbeil of 1258 made the castle one of the fortresses on the border of the kingdom facing the

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to so ...

. It then becomes one of the "Five sons of Carcassonne" with the castles of Quéribus,

Peyrepertuse Peyrepertuse (Languedocien: ''Castèl de Pèirapertusa'') is a ruined fortress and one of the so-called Cathar castles located high in the French Pyrénées in the commune of Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, in the Aude ''département'', and has been a ...

Château de Termes The Château de Termes ( Languedocien: ''Castèl de Tèrme'') is a ruined castle near the village of Termes in the Aude '' département'' of France. It is one of the so-called Cathar castles. History Built on a promontory, defended on three ...

and

Château d'Aguilar The Château d'Aguilar ( Languedocien: ''Castèl d’Aguilar'') is a 12th-century castle, one of the so-called Cathar castles, located in the '' commune'' of Tuchan in the Aude '' département'' of France. Architecture The design of the castle ...

, all located at the top of “impregnable” rocky peaks. After the work campaign under Louis IX, it was occupied in 1260 by the largest garrison on the entire border, under the orders of a Châtelaine, Odon de Monteuil, with a chaplain and 25 sergeants at arms In 1263 there is a record of the following taken to the Chateau, ten salted pigs, two

bushel A bushel (abbreviation: bsh. or bu.) is an imperial and US customary unit of volume based upon an earlier measure of dry capacity. The old bushel is equal to 2 kennings (obsolete), 4 pecks, or 8 dry gallons, and was used mostly for agri ...

s of wheat, six

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

s of good flour, as well as

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fir ...

s measuring two feet, four of horn and two of wood, crossbow bolts, eighteen shields, five helmets. Consolidation and fortification work continued under the leadership of

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II was ...

from 1270 to 1285. The castle would resist several Aragonese attacks and will remain as the southernmost fortress in France. It resisted two

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

s but was taken in 1636 by default, as half of the garrison was at Port Leucate and 800 Aragonese came from Prades and managed to seize it.

The abandonment of the castle

Like the other sons of Carcassonne, the castle of Puilaurens was gradually abandoned following the

Treaty of the Pyrenees The Treaty of the Pyrenees (french: Traité des Pyrénées; es, Tratado de los Pirineos; ca, Tractat dels Pirineus) was signed on 7 November 1659 on Pheasant Island, and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635. Negotiations were ...

ratified in 1659 which fixed the French-Spanish border at the level of the Pyrenees ridges. A weak garrison occupied the citadel for some time. Then, poorly defended and poorly maintained from the end of the 17th century, it was definitively abandoned during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

since 1902.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau de Puilaurens Castles in Aude Ruined castles in Occitania (administrative region) Monuments historiques of Aude Catharism