The Château de Langeais is a 15th-century Flamboyant Gothic

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Loire Valley. Founded in 992 by

Fulk Nerra Fulk III, the Black ( 987–1040; fro, Foulque Nerra), was an early count of Anjou celebrated as one of the first great builders of medieval castles. It is estimated Fulk constructed approximately 100 castles, along with abbeys throughout the Lo ...

, Count of Anjou, the castle was soon attacked by Odo I, Count of Blois. After the unsuccessful attack, the now-ruined stone

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

was built; it is one of the earliest datable stone examples of a keep. Between 994 and 996 the castle was besieged unsuccessfully twice more. During the conflict between the counts of Anjou and Blois, the castle changed hands several times, and in 1038 Fulk captured the castle again. After it was destroyed during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, King Louis XI (1461–1483) rebuilt Château de Langeais into what today is one of the best known examples of late medieval architecture. It is especially noted for its monumental and highly decorated chimneypieces. Restored in the late 19th century, Château de Langeais came under the control of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institut ...

, who own the site today. It is listed as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a col ...

'' by the French Ministry of Culture and is open to the public.

History

The 10th century saw the emergence of the castle, which is generally thought to be the second-earliest known, the earliest being Château de Doué-la-Fontaine built by the Count of Blois around 900. The counts of Anjou and Blois had bordering territories and the powerful lords were rivals; as a result the border area is home to some of the earliest-known castles. When it was founded in 992 by

, Count of

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duke ...

, Château de Langeais was made from wood and took the form of a motte-and-bailey. A contemporary chronicler noted that it was built because " ulkhad no resting place between Bourgueil and

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about away ...

along the Loire river". It also had the advantage of being from

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...

, a town under the control of Odo I, Count of Blois. While the land belonged to Fulk, the area was under the control of Odo. When news of the fortification reached Odo he despatched a force to destroy it. The attack was unsuccessful and Fulk reinforced the site, building the stone keep that stands in ruins today. To distract Odo from the construction work, which was complete by 994, Fulk carried out intermittent raids on his lands. It has been suggested that the keep's shallow foundations and thin walls, at their thickest and on average , demonstrate that it was built in haste. Though he was unsuccessful in 992, Odo again tried to capture the castle two years later. This time he called on his Norman, Flemish and Aquitanian allies and the siege of Château de Langeais began in the spring of 994. Fulk led the garrison himself and sent a message to Hugh Capet, King of the Franks, asking for help; and, though Hugh was ill, he promised reinforcements. In the meantime Odo's numbers grew as his allies continued to flock to him. The siege continued into the summer and Fulk began negotiating with Odo. Richer, a contemporary chronicler favourable to Odo, asserted that Fulk agreed to surrender but later reneged, claiming the agreement was not binding, though it is uncertain whether this was the case. However, the Capetian forces arrived before Fulk was forced to surrender. Faced with the king's army, Odo agreed to leave Fulk in peace. Loire Indre Langeais tango7174

After the siege ended and Odo retreated, Fulk had to deal with hostilities along the western frontier of his lands. Despite Odo's agreement with Hugh, the Count of Blois exploited Fulk's divided attention to install a force at

Château de Châteaudun The Château de Châteaudun is a castle located in the town of Châteaudun in the French department of Eure-et-Loir. History The castle was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. The Count of Blois Thibaut V had the keep built around 1 ...

from which he could move to capture Langeais should the opportunity arise. Odo besieged Château de Langeais in 995. The siege continued into the next year, but in March 996 Odo fell ill and died. With their leader dead, the besieging force left Langeais. With his most troublesome enemy dead, Fulk captured Tours, which had previously been held by the Count of Blois. After

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, King of the Franks, had taken control of Tours, Fulk turned to the castles of Langeais,

Montsoreau Montsoreau () is a commune of the Loire Valley in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast and from Paris. The village is listed among '' The Most Beautiful Villages of France'' (french: Les Plus Be ...

, Montrésor and Montbazon to defend the Loire Valley. Hostilities between the counts of Anjou and Blois were renewed in 1016. During the course of the conflict, Fulk lost control of three castles: Passavant was destroyed and Montbazon and Langeais were probably captured. By 1032 Château de Langeais was back under Fulk's control. However it was again taken by the forces of Odo II, Count of Blois. Odo II died in battle in 1037 and was succeeded by his son, Theobald; on receiving the news of his rival's demise, Fulk set about recapturing Château de Langeais. The siege began in the winter of 1037 and in the spring of the following year, with no relief forthcoming, the garrison surrendered. Fulk set his sights on further territorial gains and successfully captured Château de Chinon away. Château de Langeais, north-east end, 2003

Château de Langeais, north-east end, 2003

Under the

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet () was a royal house which originated from the lands of Anjou in France. The family held the English throne from 1154 (with the accession of Henry II at the end of the Anarchy) to 1485, when Richard III died in b ...

kings the château was fortified and expanded by

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Co ...

(Richard the Lionheart). However King Philippe II of France recaptured the château in 1206. Eventually though, during the

, the English destroyed it. The château was rebuilt about 1465 during the reign of King Louis XI. The great hall of the château was the scene of the marriage of Anne of Brittany to King Charles VIII on 6 December 1491, which permanently united

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

and France. In 1886 Jacques Siegfried bought Château Langeais and began a restoration programme. He installed an outstanding collection of tapestries and furnishings and bequeathed the château to the

, which still owns it today. The château is open to the public. It is listed as a ''

'' by the French Ministry of Culture.

Layout

La puerta levadiza del Castillo de Langeais

According to contemporaneous chronicler Richer, the castle built by Fulk Nerra in the 990s consisted of a tower and a surrounding enclosure. The 10th-century keep still stands, albeit in a ruinous state. It is the earliest example of

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

in the region. It is uncertain where the stone used in construction was quarried. A detailed study has been done on the cost of construction of the tower. It is high, 17.5m wide and 10m long with walls averaging 1.5m thick. The walls contain of stone and have a total surface area (both inside and out) of . The tower is estimated to have taken 83,000 average working days to complete, most of which was unskilled labour. The wall enclosing the keep stretched for some . The interior rooms are richly decorated.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * * * *

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langeais, Chateau De Castles in Centre-Val de Loire Châteaux in Indre-et-Loire Monuments historiques of Indre-et-Loire Historic house museums in Centre-Val de Loire Museums in Indre-et-Loire

History

Layout

See also

References

Further reading

External links