The Château du Plessis-Josso is a fortified 14th century

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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

in the

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The manor is located in the town of Theix, near

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

. The manor-house is open for tours during the summer, and offers its main hall for hosting events and marriages as well as a small country cottage outside the enclosing walls.

History

Well-preserved and partially inhabited, the manor-house stands next to a large pond. This

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

ensemble still has its fortified ''

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 ...

'' with towers and

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

walls that protected it from the armed gangs and pillagers who were operating in the region 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 ...

and later during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...

of the 16th century. Built around 1330 by Sylvestre Josso, squire of the Duke Jean III during the turbulent period of the

Breton War of Succession The War of the Breton Succession (, ) or Breton Civil War was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montforts of Brittany for control of the Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fought between 1341 and ...

in the 14th century, it passed next by a powerful alliance to the Rosmadec family and served as a residence for dignitaries such as a bishop, sénéchaux and the governors of various Breton towns. In the late 18th century it became the property of the Le Mintier de Léhélec family who still live there today. Plessis-Josso, like all 15th century manors in Brittany, had especially an agricultural function as the head of a ''domaine'' of 1,500 hectares spread over several parishes and with a population of nearly 500 inhabitants. It had several mills, baker's ovens, a chapel and a small private port in the

Gulf of Morbihan The Gulf of Morbihan (, ; ) is a natural harbour on the coast of the departments of France, department of Morbihan in southern Brittany, France. Its English name is taken from the French language, French version, ''le golfe du Morbihan'', t ...

. Its role was therefore political, economic and administrative.

Architecture

This medieval site is composed of several sections of varying architectural styles and eras: the main ''corps de logis'' dating from the 15th century with its

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

dormer windows, a 16th-century

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

pavilion, Classical 17th century outbuildings, and a complete enclosing wall whose corner tower (''tour d’angle'') defended the access road that spans the causeway, between the lake and the mill. The ground-floor hall has a very beautiful example of a ''crédence de justice'' (wall-cupboard built directly into the stone wall) that was used by the lord of the manor to place books and documents relating to the administration of the manor-court.

References

External links

*
Official website of the Plessis-Josso Manor
Castles in Brittany Historic house museums in Brittany Museums in Morbihan Monuments historiques of Morbihan {{France-castle-stub

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links