The Château de Marthon is a ruined
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
in the ''
commune'' of
Marthon in the
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, and also the r ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
'' of France. Only the
keep
A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...
remains.
History
The Marthon family was descended from the Montbrons, grandchildren of the count of
Angoulême
Angoulême (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Engoulaeme''; ) is a small city in the southwestern French Departments of France, department of Charente, of which it is the Prefectures of France, prefecture.
Located on a plateau overlooking a meander of ...
,
Audouin II. This
seigneury
A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal system, feudal title in Ancien Régime, France before the French Revolution, Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owne ...
existed from the 10th century.
During the
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...
, the lords of Marthon remained loyal to the king of France. On the night of 5/6 May 1347, the English surprised the castle and set it on fire, ravaging all of the
castellan
A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
ery.
Architecture
The castle was built as a polygonal
enceinte
Enceinte (from Latin ''incinctus'' "girdled, surrounded") is a French term that refers to the "main defensive enclosure of a fortification". For a castle, this is the main defensive line of wall towers and curtain walls enclosing the positio ...
dominated by a square keep in the south-west corner.
[Jules Martin-Buchey, ''Géographie historique et communale de la Charente'', Châteauneuf, 1914-1917 (reprinted Bruno Sépulchre, Paris, 1984), p. 234] Its construction dates from the 12th or 13th century.
[ Living accommodation was built against the north face of the tower. A turret has disappeared.
The castle had a Gothic chapel with two floors - the lower served as a shelter for pilgrims and the upper was reserved for the lord.
In 1960, the keep was reduced in height by a metre.
It has been listed since 1928 as a '']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 collection of buildings, ...
'' by the French Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...
.[
]
See also
* List of castles in France
This is a list of castles in France, arranged by Regions of France, region and Departments of France, department.
;Notes:
# The French word ''château'' has a wider meaning than the English ''castle'': it includes architectural entities that are p ...
Gallery
Image:Marthon tour Breuil (6).JPG, View from the village
Image:marthon donjon3.JPG,
Image:marthon donjon2.JPG, View from south east
Image:Marthon_tour_Breuil.JPG, View from north
Image:marthon donjon6.JPG, Interior of the keep
Image:Marthon tour Breuil coupole.JPG, Cupola inside the keep
References
* ''Châteaux manoirs logis, la Charente'', éditions ''Patrimoines et médias'' 1993,
External links
*
Charente
Ruined castles in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
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