Chinon
The site above the
current town of Chinon was fortified early in history, and by the fifth
century a Gallo-Roman castrum had been established, although in what
form is unknown. Count Theobald of Blois (d.975) is thought
to have built the earliest known castle and certainly one existed at
Chinon in 994. After Count Odo of Blois died in battle in
1037, Count Fulk of Anjou (d.1040) marched into Touraine to capture
Langeais and then Chinon, where the castle's garrison immediately
sought terms and surrendered. In 1044, Count Geoffrey of
Anjou (d.1060) captured Count Theobald of Blois (d.1089). In
exchange for his release, Theobald agreed to recognise Geoffrey's
ownership of Chinon, Langeais, and Tours. In 1156 Henry II
of
England took the castle from his brother Count Geoffrey of Nantes
(d.1158) after
a long siege. Henry favoured Chinon and made it his main
arsenal of his empire. In late November 1166 he summoned his
Aquitainian barons there to end the Poitevin disturbances. In
December they moved to Poitiers and then Henry made war on them as they
could not agree. Finally he sent Queen Eleanor to rule them
and end the war. Chinon was used by King Henry, Queen
Eleanor, Richard and Geoffrey for their Christmas celebrations in 1172,
before they went to war with each other then next year. It
was probably at this time that Henry made a grant to Fontevraud abbey
of land
for granaries in Saumur and Angers which was witnessed by his queen and
several barons. Early in the new year of 1173, Eleanor was
still at Chinon when she witnessed her husband's charter confirming
Fontevraud's rights in Angers and Saumur. She then moved with
her husband into the Auverge. On Henry's return he brought
his son, the Young King with him as he feared his loyalty as they
‘could not even converse... on any subject in a peaceable
manner'. While at Chinon in mid-March the young King slipped
out of the bedroom he was sharing with his father and fled Chinon
castle
to Paris. Towards the end of April 1173 the great revolt began
and a letter was sent which shows King Henry's side of the
argument.
To Queen Eleanor of England. From
[Rotrou] the Archbishop of Rouen & his Suffragens: Greetings in the search for peace --
Marriage
is a firm and indissoluble union. This is public knowledge and no
Christian can take the liberty to ignore it. From the beginning
biblical truth has verified that marriage once entered into cannot be
separated. Truth cannot deceive: it says, "What God has joined let us
not put asunder [Matt 19]." Truly, whoever separates a married couple
becomes a transgressor of the divine commandment.
So the
woman is at fault who leaves her husband and fails to keep the trust of
this social bond. When a married couple becomes one flesh, it is
necessary that the union of bodies be accompanied by a unity and
equality of spirit through mutual consent. A woman who is not under the
headship of the husband violates the condition of nature, the mandate
of the Apostle, and the law of Scripture: "The head of the woman is the
man [Ephes 5]." She is created from him, she is united to him, and she
is subject to his power.
We
deplore publicly and regretfully that, while you are a most prudent
woman, you have left your husband. The body tears at itself. The body
did not sever itself from the head, but what is worse, you have opened
the way for the lord king's, and your own, children to rise up against
the father. Deservedly the prophet says, "The sons I have nurtured and
raised, they now have spurned me [Isaiah 1]." As another prophet calls
to mind, "If only the final hour of our life would come and the earth's
surface crack open so that we might not see this evil"!
We know
that unless you return to your husband, you will be the cause of
widespread disaster. While you alone are now the delinquent one, your
actions will result in ruin for everyone in the kingdom. Therefore,
illustrious queen, return to your husband and our king. In your
reconciliation, peace will be restored from distress, and in your
return, joy may return to all. If our pleadings do not move you to
this, at least let the affliction of the people, the imminent pressure
of the church and the desolation of the kingdom stir you. For either
truth deceives, or "every kingdom divided against itself will be
destroyed [Luke 11]." Truly, this desolation cannot be stopped by the
lord king but by his sons and their allies.
Against
all women and out of childish counsel, you provoke disaster for the
lord king, to whom powerful kings bow the neck. And so, before this
matter reaches a bad end, you should return with your sons to your
husband, whom you have promised to obey and live with. Turn back so
that neither you nor your sons become suspect. We are certain that he
will show you every possible kindness and the surest guarantee of
safety.
I beg
you, advise your sons to be obedient and respectful to their father. He
has suffered many anxieties, offenses and grievances. Yet, so that
imprudence might not demolish and scatter good will (which is acquired
at such toil!), we say these things to you, most pious queen, in the
zeal of God and the disposition of sincere love.
Truly,
you are our parishioner as much as your husband. We cannot fall short
in justice: Either you will return to your husband, or we must call
upon canon law and use ecclesiastical censures against you. We say this
reluctantly, but unless you come back to your senses, with sorrow and
tears, we will do so.
In Autumn 1173 Henry struck from Chinon, marching south to Poitiers forcing
Eleanor to flee to Faye-la-Vineuse, where she found her uncle had
already fled to Paris. Consequently she continued her flight towards
Chartres, but was intercepted and taken back to her husband in Chinon
castle as a prisoner. Of her escort it is said some were condemned to foul
death, others blinded and others forced to flee. The chronicler Gervase
of Canterbury recorded that:
having changed from her woman's clothes she
was apprehended and detained in strict custody, for it was said that
all these happenings were prepared through her scheming and advice, for
she was an extremely astute woman, of noble descent, but
flighty.
Eleanor left her prison at Chinon and Joan and John
their school at Fontevraud when the king took them across the Channel
on 7 July 1174, the king for London and his wife for prison in Old
Sarum castle. Forced to accept the old king's victory, the
Young King found himself transformed from a king to a knight.
The 8 year old Prince John in consequence went up in the world, receiving Nottingham and Marlborough in
England as well as the great 4 unnamed castles in France.
At the Le Mans Christmas court of 1182, King Henry asked Geoffrey and Richard to perform
homage to the Young King for their lands. Geoffrey consented,
but Richard refused on the grounds that he had already paid homage to
King Philip of France. Henry was still with his sons Richard
and Geoffrey that September at Chinon, presumably when the Young King
had already left for Paris and war. The full scale war came
early in 1183, with Henry II and Richard versus Henry III and
Geoffrey. As ever the Young King outspent himself and
plundered the lands he had come to ‘protect' from
Richard. The Young King then died of dysentery. Of
him the chronicler William Newburgh wrote that his popularity was only explained by the
fact that ‘the number of fools is infinite'. On 25
January 1185, Count Richard was back at Chinon when he gave 1,000s
Poitou to Fontevraud for the redemption of his soul and also those of
his parents and ancestors, which he did with the assent and by the
will of his father and mother.
In 1187 Count Richard, allied with
King Philip of France, but feigning loyalty to his father, entered Chinon
castle, pillaged the money and arms there and prepared Poitou for war
against his father, although he later repented. Henry often
used the castle as a residence and struggled south from Le Mans against
hostile French forces and set himself up in the castle in June
1189. After surrendering to King Philip at Ballan near Tours
on 4 July - his last words to his son were alleged by the highly dishonest Giraldus to be
‘May the Lord spare me until I have taken vengeance upon
you'. When Richard allegedly immediately related this to the
French barons it caused great amusement. With that King Henry II
retreated again to Chinon and died there in the castle chapel after
having confession on 6 July 1189. After hearing from the
Marshall of the intended burial of the king at Fontevraud, Richard
joined the funeral procession between Chinon and the abbey.
This of course ruins Giraldus' well known fable of Henry's nostrils
bleeding when Richard entered the king's chamber to see his
body.
King Richard was at Chinon with Queen Eleanor in June 1190 making
his dispositions for his lands before departing for the Holy
Land. Eleanor herself went on to Saumur to rule on a dispute
between the town mayor and the abbess of Fontevraud. Richard
was back in Chinon on 24 June 1190 when made a further grant of
£35 yearly to the abbey from his London exchequer.
However, by 1197-99, Richard wrote to the counts of Auvergne that
‘you know that there is not a penny at Chinon'.
Thus Richard's reign ended with him stoney broke, having emptied the
reserves of the Angevin ‘empire'.
King John, like his father, used Chinon
as a main base. His first duty was to remove the unreliable
Aimery Thouars from custody of the castle and pass it to William
Roches. John was making charters at Chinon in June
1200 before his marriage to Isabella of Angouleme on 24 August at
Bordeaux. Isabelle and John came to Normandy in May 1201,
visited King Philip in Paris in July and then Isabelle joined John's
sister-in-law, Queen Berengaria at Chinon, before spending Christmas
1202 in Caen. When war broke out later that year the
insurgents besieged Isabelle at Chinon. King John got word of
this in January 1203 and set off to break the siege but after a
supporter defected to King Philip, he instead sent a detachment of
mercenaries led by Peter Préaux to break the
siege. After this Isabella spent more time with her mother
before returning to England in December of 1203. In 1204 the
castle was attacked by William Roches, who went on to take
Loches. It was only in 1205 King Philip Augustus (d.1223) finally
captured Chinon after a siege that had lasted several months.
At the end of the siege, the emaciated garrison decided on a last ditch
sortee rather than a meek surrender. In the ensuing fighting the
castle captain, Hubert Burgh, was so badly wounded it was thought that
he would die. He did live and went on to defend Dover castle against Prince Louis (d.1228) in 1216 and build the Trilateral castles in Wales. When King Philip IV accused the Knights Templar of heresy during the
first decade of the fourteenth century, several leading members of the order were
imprisoned in Chinon
The castle was used by Charles VII (d.1461) and the count of Richmond was
installed
here by the king in 1424 as constable of France and lord of
Anjou. After his rebellion Charles moved back and met Joan
withing the fortress when she was housed in the Coudray tower and
interrogated as to
her virginity, honesty and visions. Chinon became a prison in
the second half of the sixteenth century but then fell out of use and
was left to
decay, though briefly occupied by the rebels during the Vendee war of
1793.
Description
Chinon castle consists of 3 main parts, extending over 1,600' along the
ridge. The heart of the fortress is a highly irregular
rectangular ward, flanked to the east by the Fort St Georges and to the
west by the main castle or Fort du Coudray, both lying at lower levels
from the middle ward, which itself has its highest point towards the
east. The main ward seems to be of several builds and was always
entered along the ridge from the east.
The Clock Tower and entrance is supposed to have been built towards the
end of the twelfth century, when it was the main gateway to the main
ward or as it is now known, the Middle Castle. The tower's name
came from the clock installed in it at a much later date. The
current remains show what may be the remnants of either a thick curtain
wall entrance or more likely a small rectangular tower like that seen
at Hay on Wye. This is most clearly seen from the west, internal
face, where the entrance has been lowered in height. The original
gateway may have been similar to those at Gisors and Chepstow north gate, both attributed to Henry II.
The masonry of the early work is larger and less well formed than the
fifteenth century work, when the tower was raised to 115' and 5 storeys
high. If it was a simple hole in the wall gate then it was
covered by the nearby tower of the great gate. Before the tower
to the SE was a small rectangular barbican with matching turrets at the
front. The battlements were reached via a flight of steps, from
which a drawbridge may also have been operated. The bridge led to
a large round tower opposite. This controlled access to the main
ward from the Fort St Georges. Behind the clock tower a thick
internal wall ran parallel to the south wall of the main enceinte
making a long inturned entrance or barbican. This ends at a rocky
knoll on which are the remains of what appears to be the south side of
a large rectangular tower. Possibly this is the site of the
original gatehouse and the current Clock Tower is the old barbican of
the early castle. Only the lower portions of the outer faces of
the rectangular tower now remain. Internally steps rise up to the
rear of the tower.
The main ward is approximately 575' E-W by 230' N-S at its maximum
extent. Within this ward were a multitude of buildings of which
only fragments remain around the enceinte. It is suggested that
there was once a great tower at the summit of the site, roughly north
of where the main entrance is. No trace of this has ever been
uncovered, but then again no excavation has taken place here. The
walling of the enceinte definitely dates to several phases and it is
difficult to judge to which eras especially in the early phases.
It would appear to the NW that the entire interior of the curtain was
built at ground level and the interior has been raised in height by 20'
or more making the curtain appear move of a revetment than an
enceinte. The same may well be true of the south side.
Possibly the site was once hog-backed and the sides of the ridge were
then filled in at some point to make a level interior. Certainly
the great rock cut ditch at the west end of the middle ward cuts
through the ridge which would suggest this, although the original sides
of the cut rock cannot be seen as this is now covered by the enceintes
of the middle and Coudray wards.
In enceinte of the middle ward are many towers. Running west from
the purported rectangular gatehouse there are two projecting
rectangular buttresses before the rectangular Treasury Tower (Tour du
Tresor) is reached. This has been cut down at inner ward level,
although some older features can be made out lower down. Only the
part projecting south beyond the curtain wall remains and this has 2
sloping buttresses on the south face corners and a more central
pilaster buttress. The tower seems to have been infilled,
although the basement lights are still visible to the exterior.
Possibly originally this was a rectangular keep. Moving west from
here was another small rectangular buttress and then a deeply splayed
plinth of a D shaped tower, now part of the hall complex or
logis. Beyond this is the much rebuilt SW corner of the
enceinte. The only projection on the west front is a rectangular
turret at the south end, part of the later logis. This may be on
the site of the early hall block. These building ran from at
least here to the Treasury Tower.
At the north end of the west curtain is the fifteenth century Argenton
Tower. This was built soon after 1477 when King Louis XI (d.1483)
put the fortress under the control of his biographer Lord Philip
Commynes of Argenton. He immediately set about building the new
and more robust 3 storey tower. The walls are 16' thick and at
the lowest level there are embrasures for cannons. Around the
summit were fine fifteenth century machicolations, of which traces
still remain. These spread east onto the older curtain. In
all probability the entire site was probably topped in these during
that century. To take the tower the west front of the middle ward
has been pushed westwards into the great ditch.
The north enceinte of the castle is clearly of several ages and in
places still stands up to 50' high. Just east of the Argenton
tower is an unusually boldly projecting round tower. This is
totally beyond the curtain, but attached to it. Then comes another
large tower, the Dog Tower. This is a large D shaped structure of
3 storeys said to be one of those built during the reign of Philip
Augustus (1180-1223). However, unlike other towers attributed to
him, viz the Coudray Tower here or the round keep at Gisors,
this is not circular and the rounded side is in fact demi-hexagonal
rather than rounded. It owes its unusual name to the nearby
fifteenth century royal kennels. The tower has three vaulted
levels surmounted by now destroyed battlements. Access was gained
from the raised level of the middle ward on its middle floor.
This indicates that the curtains must predate it, assuming as
conjectured above that the curtains original stood at ground level and
the interior of the castle was then raised some 20-30' in height.
The tower loopholes are offset from one level to another providing
effective defence and in order not to unduly weaken the wall
structure. Between the first and second floors are latrines,
while a bread oven was inserted into the middle floor probably in the
fifteenth century.
Running east from the Dog Tower is an apparently solid D shaped
tower. This has boldly projecting spur buttresses which make the
base rectangular. After this, some 80' west of the Watch Tower
or Echauguette Tower in the NE corner of the middle ward, the old
original curtain ends where there is a rectangular turret with a
slightly projecting buttress to the NE. This turret is not
aligned with the curtains on either side of it. The section of
curtain from here to the east end of the site has been heavily rebuilt
and butts at an unnatural angle with the heavily ruined round Watch
Tower. The outer face of this tower has gone but there are
remains of a mural stair in the remaining internal portion. The
stub of the early east curtain can still be seen projecting from the
badly damaged centre of the tower. Presumably the original north
curtain similarly left from the centre of this tower. This would
certainly match with the line of the curtain running east from the Dog
Tower. Why the curtain was advanced some 6' to the north in this
section is currently unknown.
The east face of the middle ward was the shortest of the 4 sides, being
only some 130' from the Watch Tower to the curve of the curtain above
the Clock Tower, which, being a barbican, was outside the original
middle ward enceinte. Despite the shortness of the front there
were 2 towers at this end of the castle. Roughly central in the
front, if the Clock Tower is included, was the Tower of the Great
Gate. This was a D shaped tower similar to the Dog Tower, but it
is now mostly gone. The entire rounded front has fallen and only
part of the rectangular rear remains. Presumably the front of the
tower was cut away in the fourteenth century when the new finely
plinthed east wall was added. This contained ground level
crossbow loops to better cover the entrance and barbican to the Clock
Tower
At the west end of the middle ward is a rock cut ditch that separated
it from the inner castle now known as Fort Coudray. This ward
seems to have been D shaped and probably originally consisted of two
round towers at the NE and SW extremes with three open backed D shaped
turrets and a rectangular turret between the two round towers. What
existed on the S&E fronts is less certain. The 3 turrets and
the NE tower are all now merely revetments to the ward, though their
external walls still stand some 30' high. They should have stood
at least another 10' higher. Allegedly the medieval name comes
from the hazelnut trees (coudres) that grew in the Fort.
In the SW corner of the enceinte is the Moulin Tower, called this
as it supported a windmill in the late Middle Ages. The tower is
26' in diameter and 65' high. It was allegedly built in the
twelfth century and has an unusual segmented domed roof. The
Romanesque doorway at ground floor entrance and the similar one that
once led onto the north wallwalk might suggest that it is older, the
idea that all round towers must be thirteenth century or later having
been shown to be foundationless, viz the round towers in Britain at Bronllys, Buckenham and Longtown and those in France at Freteval and Chateau-Renault.
The Moulin Tower is set on a projecting rectangular stone plinth and is
of 3 storeys above the fort ground level, including its odd
battlements. The tower is entered at ground level from Fort
Coudray, but there is no access to the first floor except via the north
wallwalk. The modified summit has six large windows and is
accessed via a staircase built into the thick wall. Immediately
east of the Moulin Tower is a small projecting rectangular
postern/latrine tower. Running from the south side of the rock
base of the tower is a curtain wall that runs down to a small
rectangular turret. Beyond this is what appears to be the town
wall which runs down to the river. From the rectangular turret a
revetment wall runs around the Moulin tower to the SW corner of a
strong projecting square tower north of the Moulin. The purpose
of this enclosure is unknown, but it still retains battlements to the
south. The square tower was not quite solid, having a small
square chamber within its thick walls. Probably this, and the
thick curtain behind it running back to the Moulin tower, are additions
to the original Fort Coudray. This is discerned as the level
behind the tower drops away sharply to the Moulin Tower which logically
should also be an addition to the original fort. However the fact
that the tower is not bounded to the curtain at first floor level where
the Romanesque doorway onto the north curtain stands, may suggest that
the tower is actually older than the fort.
In the SE corner of the fort is the Boissy Tower. This is an
irregular D shaped structure commanding the south face of the Middle
Ward, the great ditch and the royal logis. It has a rectangular
buttressed base that morphs upwards into the semi-circular tower.
The tower may have been constructed during the thirteenth century,
possibly during the time of Saint Louis (Louis IX, 1226-1270) and
stands 100' high, although it is named after the lords of Boissy,
governors of the castle in the sixteenth century. The first floor
seems to have been a chapel judging by the elegantly sculpted
arches. The basement has loops covering the valley and the great
ditch, while a stairway allows access to the roof and a postern to the
base of the ditch. During the early fifteenth century the tower
was made to connect to the logis via a walkway on a curtain over the
ditch. South of the Boissy tower the curtain seems to have been
destroyed and replaced by a modern wall which leads to the turrets
before the Moulin tower at the SW corner of the site.
Moving north from the square tower north of the Moulin tower are two D
shaped towers in a gently curving section of curtain revetment.
Both have strong spur buttresses and appear solid up to interior ground
level where the south one appears backless. The north one has an
entrance in its back towards its north side. On its SW side,
against the curtain, the circular wall has been cut back to make a flat
surface. Probably this is the base of a drop from an overhanging
garderobe in the destroyed section of the tower above. From here
the curtain makes a single gentle turn near the remains of the circular
NE tower. Presumably this was once like the Moulin Tower.
From here the revetment curtain runs back to the Boissy tower along the
edge of the great ditch.
Roughly centrally in the east front of the fort is the Coudray
Tower. This is said to have been built by Philip Augustus after
he captured the fortress in 1205. It is 40' in diameter and 80'
high, containing 3 floors. The tower commands the modern bridge
over to the fort which was entered via a simple hole in the wall gate
which was protected by a drawbridge and portcullis. The first 2
levels of the tower are covered by Gothic vaults, while access to the
roof was gained via a mural stair, rather than a vice. The
embrasures at ground floor level are shoulder headed
(ie.1250-1350). Entrance is gained via steps up to the south
curtain wallwalk. In the basement a rock cut passage leads
towards the gatehouse beneath the Moulin Tower. The tower was
used as a prison for various Templars in 1308 and Joan of Arc stayed
here in 1429. Immediately north of the keep are the remains of
what appears to be a rectangular gate tower, similar to the one at
Chateau sur Epte with two boldly projecting corner buttresses on its
remaining east face.
At the opposite end of the ridge to Fort Coudray is the enigmatic Fort
Saint George. It is claimed that around the year 1160, King Henry II
decided to add new buildings to the east of the old fortress, although
for what purpose is unknown. This rectangular ward probably takes
its name from the rectangular chapel of St George towards the SE corner
of the site. The ward is again a revetment with 2 surviving
rectangular solid turrets to N&S. There is also a D
shaped tower, with buildings behind it to the east. Entrance to
the middle ward was gained via a bridge from a projecting round tower
to the SW. This led to the barbican in front of the current clock
tower. Today the west end of Fort St George houses the new
reception hall for the fortress. This probably covers the
original entrance to this ward as no gatehouse is discernable on the
other 3 sides.
Why not join me here and at other French
castles? Information on this and other tours can be found at Scholarly
Sojourns.
Copyright©2019
Paul Martin Remfry