Château de Doué-la-Fontaine

Château de Doué-la-Fontaine
Surviving ruins of the aula, which later became a prison and then a cellar
Map
General information
CountryFrance
Construction startedc. 950
Demolished1026

The Château de Doué-la-Fontaine, also known as Motte de la Chapelle and Doué-la-Fontaine Castle, is a motte and bailey castle in Doué-la-Fontaine, France that was built upon the foundations of an older 9th century Carolingian aula (hall). The later castle, built around the year 950, is widely believed to have been the oldest known castle built out of stone. Only the aula survives today,[1] while the castle and most of the motte no longer survive.[2]

History

[edit]

On the site of the castle, an older Carolingian aula was built during the 9th or early 10th century for the Count of Anjou[3] and was owned at one point by King Robert I of France before his death in 923. The Carolingian building, which measured 23 metres (75 ft) by 17 metres (56 ft), consisted of a large room of one level (an aula), with walls 1.80 metres thick,[4] was set on fire around 930–40, probably during a war between the counts of Anjou and the counts of Blois.

Around 950, the building was fortified by the Theobald I, Count of Blois by adding an upper floor with external entrance above the old aula,[5] which was converted to a cellar.[1] Evidence for the conversion during the 10th century is graffiti of that time written by an unknown man named Aimeri - all that is known about him is that he devoted this graffiti to King Louis the Pious.[6]

Around 1000, the entire structure was buried within a motte (an earth mound) that was 5 metres (16 ft) tall and a donjon (keep) was built atop it. The buried building was partly used as a prison.[5] The keep was burnt and destroyed in 1026 by Fulk Nerra.

The site was refortified in both 1468 and 1472, with no traces of these later fortifications surviving today.[1]

Excavation

[edit]

The motte was then known as "Motte de la Chapelle" and in 1966, the motte was going to be leveled by Michel de Boüard,[2] but when a mechanical device gutted the mound and uncovered traces of masonry, the site was stopped and the ruins were excavated and it was made a historical monument on 19 December 1973.[1] Most of the motte was still eventually flattened to expose as much of the ruins of the aula as possible.[2]

[edit]
  • Fireplace
    Fireplace
  • Inside view of the ruined aula
    Inside view of the ruined aula
  • Ruins of a well(?)
    Ruins of a well(?)
  • Close-up view of the doorway
    Close-up view of the doorway

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Base Mérimée: Motte féodale et donjon (restes), Ministère français de la Culture. (in French).
  2. ^ a b c de Boüard, Michel (1973), "De l'aula au donjon. Les fouilles de la motte de La Chapelle, à Doué-la-Fontaine (Xe-XIe siècle)", Archéologie médiévale, 3–4: 5–110, doi:10.3406/arcme.1973.1260
  3. ^ History of Doué-la-Fontaine and a collection of photos including a Carolingian residence and an ancient stone amphitheater. (in English)
  4. ^ André Châtelain (2003), Châteaux forts - Images de pierre des guerres médiévales, Paris, Rempart, (ISBN 2-904-365-001), p. 16.
  5. ^ a b Barthélemy, Dominique (1987). "Civilising the Fortress: Eleventh to Thirteenth Century". In Duby, Georges (ed.). A History of Private Life. Cambridge (MA): Belknap. pp. 400–401.
  6. ^ "The Carolingian aula of Doué-la-Fontaine". Histoire Pour Tous De France Et Du Monde. Retrieved 20 June 2021.

47°11′16″N 0°16′49″W / 47.1879°N 0.2804°W / 47.1879; -0.2804

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