Château de Langeais
Around the year 1000, Touraine was coveted by two powerful local lords: the Count of Anjou, Foulque Nerra, and the Count of Blois, Eudes I. At the end of the 10th century, Foulque Nerra conquered the site of Langeais, not far from Tours, and established a castle on the promontory. All that remains of it now are a few traces of the keep. For the next four decades, Langeais went through troubled times, occupied turn and turn about by the successive Counts of Blois and Anjou. Finally, in 1044, along with the rest of Touraine, it fell into the hands of the Plantagenets and then of their descendants who were the Kings of England. It was not until 1206 that Langeais became part of the French realm, after the victories of Philippe Auguste (King Philippe II) over England’s King John. Thereafter, its possession was conferred on various great lords close to the French court.
During the Hundred Years War, Langeais was the temporary lair of lawless armed bands. The future Charles VII * realised the danger that this posed and, when he came to the throne in 1422, he repossessed the domain. All its fortifications were then destroyed, except for the “Great Tower”. (* Charles VII was the “Dauphin” for whom Joan of Arc fought against the English.).
During the second half of the 15th century, Langeais remained a strategic site. Charles VII’s son, Louis XI, therefore decided to build a castle there in face of hostilities from a group known as the League for the Public Weal, formed by dissidents from the high aristocracy. (Active members of the group included the Duke of Brittany, then still independent from France.) Work on the new château, situated at the eastern end of the rock spur, was at its height in 1465 and 1467. The task was supervised by Jean Bourré, one of the king’s faithful councillors, in collaboration with Jean Briçonnet, another royal servant, who was then the first Mayor of Tours.
Meanwhile, in July 1466, the castle was granted to one of the king’s cousins, the Count of Dunois, son of the military commander who captured Orleans with Joan of Arc. Troubles with the League for the Public Weal died down. From 1468, however, Charles VII had to combat a far more dangerous enemy: the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. The building work came to a halt.
A generation later, on 6th December 1491, the Dunois-owned château was the scene of the dawn wedding between Charles VIII (Louis XI’s son) and Duchess Anne of Brittany. The marriage put an end to the strife between France and Anne’s independent duchy and paved the way for Brittany eventually being incorporated formally into the French kingdom (in 1532). Only a small number of people attended the wedding ceremony, held in one of the château’s great halls. The marriage contract stipulated that the couple gave each other mutually their rights over the duchy; in addition, Anne promised that, if the king were to die without a male descendant, she would marry the new sovereign. That is what actually happened. The children born to the royal couple were either born dead or died at a very young age. After Charles VIII died in 1498, at the Château d’Amboise, Anne of Brittany married his cousin, Louis d’Orléans, who reigned as Louis XII.
After the 15th century, the Château de Langeais had a variety of owners, who took hardly any care of it. Only Christophe Baron, its proprietor from April 1839, undertook restoration work and bought a collection of furniture for the premises. Unfortunately, his son later sold a large part of this collection to pay off heavy debts. After the son died, the château was acquired by an influential businessman named Jacques Siegfried.Born at Mulhouse in 1840, Jacques Siegfried was not only a banker but was also charged by the French government with finding the best means of developing France’s export trade.He had a passion for medieval art and, having bought château on 28th July 1886, devoted almost 20 years of his life to restoring and refurnishing it. The aim he set himself was to reconstitute the living quarters of the nobility at the end of the Middle Ages. In 1904, he donated the château and its rich collection to the Institut de France, which still owns the property.
During the Hundred Years War, Langeais was the temporary lair of lawless armed bands. The future Charles VII * realised the danger that this posed and, when he came to the throne in 1422, he repossessed the domain. All its fortifications were then destroyed, except for the “Great Tower”. (* Charles VII was the “Dauphin” for whom Joan of Arc fought against the English.).
During the second half of the 15th century, Langeais remained a strategic site. Charles VII’s son, Louis XI, therefore decided to build a castle there in face of hostilities from a group known as the League for the Public Weal, formed by dissidents from the high aristocracy. (Active members of the group included the Duke of Brittany, then still independent from France.) Work on the new château, situated at the eastern end of the rock spur, was at its height in 1465 and 1467. The task was supervised by Jean Bourré, one of the king’s faithful councillors, in collaboration with Jean Briçonnet, another royal servant, who was then the first Mayor of Tours.
Meanwhile, in July 1466, the castle was granted to one of the king’s cousins, the Count of Dunois, son of the military commander who captured Orleans with Joan of Arc. Troubles with the League for the Public Weal died down. From 1468, however, Charles VII had to combat a far more dangerous enemy: the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold. The building work came to a halt.
A generation later, on 6th December 1491, the Dunois-owned château was the scene of the dawn wedding between Charles VIII (Louis XI’s son) and Duchess Anne of Brittany. The marriage put an end to the strife between France and Anne’s independent duchy and paved the way for Brittany eventually being incorporated formally into the French kingdom (in 1532). Only a small number of people attended the wedding ceremony, held in one of the château’s great halls. The marriage contract stipulated that the couple gave each other mutually their rights over the duchy; in addition, Anne promised that, if the king were to die without a male descendant, she would marry the new sovereign. That is what actually happened. The children born to the royal couple were either born dead or died at a very young age. After Charles VIII died in 1498, at the Château d’Amboise, Anne of Brittany married his cousin, Louis d’Orléans, who reigned as Louis XII.
After the 15th century, the Château de Langeais had a variety of owners, who took hardly any care of it. Only Christophe Baron, its proprietor from April 1839, undertook restoration work and bought a collection of furniture for the premises. Unfortunately, his son later sold a large part of this collection to pay off heavy debts. After the son died, the château was acquired by an influential businessman named Jacques Siegfried.Born at Mulhouse in 1840, Jacques Siegfried was not only a banker but was also charged by the French government with finding the best means of developing France’s export trade.He had a passion for medieval art and, having bought château on 28th July 1886, devoted almost 20 years of his life to restoring and refurnishing it. The aim he set himself was to reconstitute the living quarters of the nobility at the end of the Middle Ages. In 1904, he donated the château and its rich collection to the Institut de France, which still owns the property.
posted by titzu at 2:56 AM
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