Marlinspike Hall (french: Le château de Moulinsart ) is

Captain Haddock Captain Archibald Haddock (french: Capitaine Archibald Haddock, link=no, ) is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is one of Tintin's best friends, a seafaring pipe-smoking ...

's country house and family estate in ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

. The original French name of the hall, ''Moulinsart'', is derived from Sart-Moulin, a village near

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (includ ...

Walloon Brabant Walloon Brabant (french: Brabant wallon ; nl, Waals-Brabant ; wa, Roman Payis) is a province located in Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region) and ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In an allusion to the Haddock family's maritime history, the hall's English name refers to the

marlinspike A marlinspike (, sometimes spelled marlin spike, marlinespike, or rchaicmarlingspike) is a tool used in marine ropework. Shaped in the form of a polished metal cone tapered to a rounded or flattened point, it is used in such tasks as unlaying ...

, a tool used in seamanship to splice ropes. The Belgian corporation managing Hergé's work (principally ''Tintin'') is also called Moulinsart S.A., now TintinImaginatio.

History

Marlinspike Hall first appears in ''

The Secret of the Unicorn ''The Secret of the Unicorn'' (french: link=no, Le Secret de La Licorne) is the eleventh volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophon ...

'' (1943) as the home of the story's villains, the

Bird brothers This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...

. By the end of the sequel ''

Red Rackham's Treasure ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' (french: link=no, Le Trésor de Rackham le Rouge) is the twelfth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The story was serialised daily in , Belgium's leading francophon ...

'' (1944), the manor is found to have been built by Haddock's illustrious ancestor

Sir Francis Haddock This is the list of fictional characters in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. ...

. It is purchased by

Professor Calculus Professor Cuthbert Calculus (french: Professeur Tryphon Tournesol , meaning "Professor Tryphon Sunflower") is a fictional character in ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. He is Tintin's friend, an abse ...

on behalf of the Captain, and the fabled treasure itself is found hidden in the manor's old chapel, in the cellars. In the following years, Marlinspike provides a home base for Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, and Snowy in between their various adventures. In ''

The Castafiore Emerald ''The Castafiore Emerald'' (french: link=no, Les Bijoux de la Castafiore) is the twenty-first volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly from July 1961 to September 1962 in ...

'' (1963), virtually all of the action takes place in the Hall, its grounds, or the surrounding countryside.

Description

Cheverny Château de Cheverny Südfassade 2

Marlinspike Hall is presented as a large and luxurious dwelling adorned with numerous works of art, antique furniture, and a gallery of the Haddock family's historic treasures. The grounds comprise a park with extensive woodlands, wide lawns, a rose garden, a high surrounding wall, at least two gates, a neighbouring meadow, and at least one adjacent building (used by Professor Calculus as a laboratory in ''

The Calculus Affair ''The Calculus Affair'' (french: link=no, L'Affaire Tournesol) is the eighteenth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It was serialised weekly in Belgium's ''Tintin'' magazine from Decemb ...

'', 1956). The size of the house and park would appear to require a number of domestic and gardening staff, but only one—the faithful Nestor, serving as butler to the Hall—is ever seen. The hall is modelled after the central section of the

Château de Cheverny The Château de Cheverny () is located in Cheverny, Loir-et-Cher, France. It is one of the châteaux of the Loire Valley. History Henry Le Mareschau was the owner of Cheverny in 1315, held under the Count of Blois(F1). It was sold to Jean H ...

, a manor in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Hergé purposely left out the wings at the extremity of the original building, saying that it would be one thing for Captain Haddock to inherit a beautiful residence, but quite another thing for him to inherit a stately home.

Location

Marlinspike Hall is located in Belgium. The original English language translators of the ''Tintin'' books caused some confusion to English speaking readers by giving the address of Marlinspike Hall as "Marlinshire, England" in ''The Secret of the Unicorn''. However, details such as car number plates, traffic travelling on the right hand side of the road, and the appearance of the Marlinspike police (who wear the black and red uniforms of the

Belgian Gendarmerie The Gendarmerie (French) or Rijkswacht (Dutch) was the former national Gendarmerie force of the Kingdom of Belgium. It became a civilian police organisation in 1992, a status it retained until 1 January 2001, when it was, together with the o ...

) confirm that Hergé's intention was to locate the Hall in his native Belgium. Moreover, it is explained in ''Red Rackham's Treasure'' that the Manor was built by an ancestor of Captain Haddock, the Chevalier François de Hadoque, a ship-of-the-line captain in the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

under King

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

. In the Golden Press editions, the name Marlinspike Hall is Americanized to ''Hudson Manor'', suggesting a location along the Hudson River in the state of New York.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* * {{Tintin and Hergé Fictional elements introduced in 1942 Tintin locations Fictional fortifications Fictional houses 1942 in comics Fictional buildings and structures originating in comic books