Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; ) is a commune in the Vienne department in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is located in the northeast of the former province

Poitou Poitou ( , , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe. Geography The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical ...

, and the residents are called ''Châtelleraudais''.

Geography

Châtellerault lies on the river Vienne, a few km downstream from its confluence with the

Clain The Clain (; ) is a long river in western France, a left tributary of the river Vienne. Its source is near Hiesse, Charente. The Clain flows generally north, through the following departments and towns: *Charente * Vienne: Pressac, Vivon ...

in Cenon-sur-Vienne.

History

Châtellerault was an important stronghold on the northern march of Poitou, established by the

Count of Poitiers Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (, ; or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon *Saint Warinus, Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon *Hatton (735-778) Car ...

to secure his borders in the early 10th century. The count's local representative, the Vicomte de Châtellerault was established as a hereditary appointment by the time of Airaud who was probably a kinsman of the

counts of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne (province), Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom ...

and

dukes of Aquitaine The duke of Aquitaine (, , ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings. As successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom (4 ...

; his heirs were ''

vicomte A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is s ...

s'' (viscounts) until the mid-11th century. The daughter of Aymeric I, Ænor of Châtellerault (c. 1103 – c. 1130), whose mother had been the "mistress" in the new courtly love poetry of the

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

lord

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, sixth

and ninth Duke of Aquitaine, who lodged in his tower the " Dangereuse de Châtellerault", married his son,

William X of Aquitaine William X (Occitan: ''Guillém X''; 1099 – 9 April 1137), called the Saint, was Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, and Count of Poitou (as William VIII) from 1126 to 1137. Early life William was the son of William IX by his second wife P ...

, and was mother of

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...

. The title, ''Vicomte de Châtellerault,'' passed in turn to each of three great French noble families: La Rochefoucauld,

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries du ...

and, from the thirteenth century until the French Revolution, to the family of Harcourt. However, in return for services offered to the Crowns of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

, the title of Duc de Châtellerault (1548) was presented to James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Arran, Chief of the Name, and regent of Scotland during the infancy of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, and of

. This title, though now without any benefices, remains in contention between the heir male and the heir general of Arran, respectively the Duke of Abercorn and the

Duke of Hamilton Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that peerage (except for the Duke of Rothesay, Dukedom of Rothesay held by the sovereign's eldest son), and as such its holder is the pr ...

. (See Chatelherault Country Park, Lanarkshire.)

Population

Economy

From medieval times, Châtellerault was known for its cutlery and swordmaking industry, and in 1816 the commune became a center for arms manufacture for the French government. The

Manufacture d'armes de Châtellerault The ''Manufacture d'Armes de Châtellerault'' (, "Châtellerault Weapons Factory", abbr. MAC) was a French state-owned weapons manufacturer in the town of Châtellerault, Vienne. It was created by a royal decree of 14 July 1819 to manufact ...

was one of France's four principal state-owned arms manufacturers, providing most of the infantry small arms used by the French Army and Navy. ''MAC'' was created in 1819, and operated continually until it was closed as a weapon manufacturing facility in 1968. It saw the creation in 1886, and later the mass production, of the

Lebel rifle The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: ''Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel"'') also known as the ''"Fusil Mle 1886 M93"'', after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French A ...

which was the main French infantry weapon used during the First World War (1914–1918). It also was the source of the first 500,000 production Model 1891

Mosin–Nagant The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, Bolt action, bolt-action, Magazine (firearms), internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891, in Russia and the former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle (, ISO 9: ) and inform ...

rifles, as the Russian armament industry could not tool up quickly enough to produce them for the rearmament of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. The facility has now been transformed into the central repository ( Centre des Archives de l'Armement et du Personnel) of all the French military archives related to armament matters. Archived and declassified MAC records are open to

bona fide In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which is ...

scholars and researchers upon written request.

Personalities

Births

Châtellerault was the birthplace of: * Aénor de Châtellerault (1103–1130), Duchess of Aquitaine * Clément Janequin (c. 1485–1558), composer of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

* Jean Daillé (1594–1670), French Huguenot and Calvinist theologian * Charles Sabourin (1849–1920), pulmonologist * Gilbert Chinard (1881–1972), author, historian * Rodolphe Salis (1851–1897), creator, host and owner of

Le Chat Noir (; French for "The Black Cat") was a 19th century entertainment establishment in the Montmartre district of Paris. It was opened on 18 November 1881 at 84 Boulevard de Rochechouart by impresario Rodolphe Salis, and closed in 1897 not long ...

("The Black Cat") * Marie-Louise Carven (1909–2015), Fashion Designer, Recipient of the Highest French Civilion Honor, Commander of the Legion of Honor * Bernard Panafieu (born 1931), archbishop of Marseille and

Cardinal Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

* Benoît Cauet (born 1969), former footballer * Sylvain Chavanel (born 1979) and

Sébastien Chavanel Sébastien Chavanel (born 21 March 1981) is a French former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He is a younger brother, by just under 2 years, to fellow professional cyclist Sylvain Chavanel. After three seasons wi ...

(born 1981), professional cyclists

Notable residents

Édith Cresson Édith Jeanne Thérèse Cresson (; Campion; born 27 January 1934) is a French politician of the Socialist Party. She served as Prime Minister of France from 1991 to 1992, the first woman to do so and only woman until Élisabeth Borne's appoint ...

(born 1934),

French politician The politics of France take place within the framework of a semi-presidential systems, semi-presidential system determined by the Constitution of France, French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "in ...

Jean-Pierre Thiollet Jean-Pierre Thiollet (; born 9 December 1956) is a French writer and journalist. He is also affiliated with the European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, a European trade union. Career Thiollet attended a school in Châtelleraul ...

(born 1956), writer

Twin towns – sister cities

Châtellerault is twinned with: *

Velbert Velbert (, Low Rhenish: ''Vèlbed'') is a town in the district of Mettmann (district), Mettmann, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The town is renowned worldwide for the production of locks and fittings. Geography Velbert is located ...

, Germany, since 1965 *

Kaya, Burkina Faso Kaya is the fifth largest city in Burkina Faso, lying northeast of Ouagadougou, to which it is connected by railway. It is a centre for weaving and tanning. Kaya is the capital of Sanmatenga Province. It is located from Ouagadougou, the capital ...

, since 1976 *

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

, England, United Kingdom, since 1979 * Bouctouche, Kent County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada, since 1984 *

Castellón de la Plana Castellón de la Plana (in ), or simply Castellón (), is the capital city of the province of Castellón, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is located in the east of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Costa del Azahar by the Mediterranean Sea. Th ...

, Spain, since 1987 *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom, since 1993 * Piła, Poland, since 1994