The Château Bayard is a

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 ...

in the '' commune'' of

Pontcharra Pontcharra (; frp, Pont-Charrâ) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Personalities Pontcharra is the birthplace of former Formula One driver René Arnoux. Chevalier de Bayard, the legendary "knight wi ...

in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...

'' of Isère (

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône a ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

), and dominates the valley of

Grésivaudan The Grésivaudan (sometimes Graisivaudan) is a valley of the French Alps, situated mostly in the Isère. Etymologically, ''Graisivaudan'' comes from roots meaning "Grenoble" (''Gratianopolis'') and "valley".''Robert des noms propres'' It compris ...

in the

Dauphiné Alps The Dauphiné Alps (french: Alpes du Dauphiné) are a group of mountain ranges in Southeastern France, west of the main chain of the Alps. Mountain ranges within the Dauphiné Alps include the Massif des Écrins in Écrins National Park, Belledon ...

. Château Bayard has been listed as a '' monument historique'' by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual ...

since 1915. Château de Bayard (ruines) The castle has housed the Bayard museum since 1975; it presents the life and the myth of

Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (c. 1476 – 30 April 1524) was a French knight and military leader at the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, generally known as the Chevalier de Bayard. Throughout the centuries since his ...

, the famous "knight without fear and without reproach" (french: le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche).

History

Originally, the Château Bayard was just a fortified

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals with ...

. In the feudal age, only a Lord could own a castle. Pierre Terrail, first of the name and great-grandfather of the renowned knight, was vice-lord of the lord of

Avallon Avallon () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in central-eastern France. Name Avallon, Latin ''Aballō'', ablative ''Aballone'', is ultimately derived from Gaulish ''*Aballū'', oblique ''*Aballon-'' meaning "App ...

. It has always been important since the castle has been built and restored, that it stay clean. Starting in 1404, Pierre Terrail undertook the construction of his residence in a place called Bayard, near Pontcharra. Even if it were only a strong house, the building he made was however far from being negligible: illustrations of the 19th century show a residence protected by four round towers, raised on three levels of mullioned windows. The terrace gives on the valley of Grévisaudan and its marvellous views, opening on vast territories:

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Fre ...

, those of

Vercors plateau The Vercors Massif is a range in France consisting of rugged plateaus and mountains straddling the '' départements'' of Isère and Drôme in the French Prealps. It lies west of the Dauphiné Alps, from which it is separated by the rivers ...

, massif of

Belledonne Belledonne (french: link=no, La chaine de Belledonne, ) is a mountain range (french: link=no, massif) in the Dauphiné Alps (part of the French Alps) in southeast France. The southern end of the range forms the eastern wall of the mountains th ...

and

Chartreuse mountains The Chartreuse Mountains (french: massif de la Chartreuse ) are a mountain range in southeastern France, stretching from the city of Grenoble in the south to the Lac du Bourget in the north. They are part of the French Prealps, which continue a ...

. Pierre II, Pierre Terrail's son, took the title of Lord of Bayard. Consequently, the strong house took officially the name of castle. Ever since it took that name, each lord to live their made it a point that there also be a second in command. After the death of Pierre II Terrail in 1465 in the

Battle of Montlhéry The Battle of Montlhéry was fought between Louis XI and the League of the Public Weal on 16 July 1465 in the vicinity of Longpont-sur-Orge. It had no clear winner and therefore did not decide the war. Insurgency of the Vassal countries Philip the ...

, his son Aymon (1420-1496) took the title of Lord of Bayard and dwelt in the castle. Like his father and his grandfather, he devoted a good part of his life to fight on behalf of the King of France, as that was what they believed was necessary to do. The castle went then to Pierre III Terrail, his son, the famous knight of Bayard. He was undoubtedly born and passed his childhood in the castle, and occupied it when he was not campaigning, and in particular when he was named Lieutenant-General of the

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

and managed the province. After the death of the knight, the castle passed to his brother Georges, then to Georges' daughter, Françoise Copier. She did not have any children and sold the castle and the titles in 1559 to the d’Avançon family. Then the property passed by marriage to the Simiane de Gordes (1581), then to the Simiane de la Coste, lords of Montbives (1677), and finally to the Noinvilles (1735). Louis-Alphonse de Noinville, emigrant under the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, was the last lord of Bayard. His assets were seized and sold in 1795. The castle was in ruins for a long time (probably since Françoise Copier). The stones were even used as building material for the houses of the neighbourhoods, in spite of the protests of some scholars from the Dauphiné. In 1865, Jean-Baptiste Bertrand, a priest of Grignon, arranged the remains of the castle as a residence for his retirement by repairing part of the masonry as well as possible, with the assistance of the legal owner.

Today

The castle now belongs to a local

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

. The Château Bayard castle had turned to ruins after the Revolution. Restored since 1890, always privately owned, since 1975 two of its rooms house a museum recounting the history of the hero. The museum is animated by the "Association of the Friends of Bayard"; since 1938, this association sticks by its regular publications and its annual meetings to restore the historical veracity. To the seigneurial home flanked with four towers was added a residence of three floors, of which only two remain and are currently occupied by the museum. The castle had suffered much damage during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

and the wars for the border between Dauphiné and

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. ...

, then because of its abandonment during the Revolution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayard, Chateau Châteaux in Isère Castles in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Monuments historiques of Isère

History

Today

See also

References