Fort la Latte, or the Castle of the Rock Goyon (, ), is a castle in the northeast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, about southeast of

Cap Fréhel Cap Fréhel is a peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor, in northern Brittany, France which extends off the Côte d'Émeraude into the Golfe de Saint-Malo. No towns or villages are situated on the peninsula; however, two lighthouses, one from the 17th ce ...

and about west of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

, in the '' commune'' of

Plévenon Plévenon (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France.Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

and the Emerald Coast (France) Côte d'Émeraude. This impressive castle was built on a small piece of land at the Bay of the Fresnay in the 14th century. Various films have been shot at this site, including '' The Vikings'' (1958) by

Richard Fleischer Richard Owen Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director. His career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. He was the ...

with

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

and

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

. It also features in the French band Manau's video for "

La Tribu de Dana "La Tribu de Dana" (, literally ''Dana's tribe'') is a 1998 song by French hip hop band Manau (band), Manau for their debut album Panique celtique, on which it features as the second track. Initially released as a single in July 1998, it was an ...

." A much larger, fictionalized version of the fort appears in the 2015 animated film ''

April and the Extraordinary World ''April and the Extraordinary World'' () is a 2015 animated alternate history film co-directed by Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci, co-written by Ekinci and Benjamin Legrand, and starring Marion Cotillard. Set in a dystopian steampunk worl ...

.''

History

The castle was built in the 14th century by the Lord of Matignon, Etienne III Gouÿon. The castle's construction began in the 1340s and its dungeon dates from 1365–1370. Following the return from exile of the Duke of Brittany Jean IV in 1379, the castle was besieged by

Bertrand Du Guesclin Bertrand du Guesclin (; 1320 – 13 July 1380), nicknamed "The Eagle of Brittany" or "The Black Dog of Brocéliande", was a Breton knight and an important military commander on the French side during the Hundred Years' War. From 1370 to his ...

. The castle was attacked and taken a second time 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 ...

in the sixteenth century. After this defeat, the castle was abandoned. It was not until the 18th century, under

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, that the castle resumed its strategic interest and was fortified with defensive bastions. It remained in service until the end of the First Empire when the evolution of military techniques led to its obsolescence. From 1892, it was sold to various private owners before being bought by the historian Frédéric Joüon Des Longrais in 1931 who, having a lifelong passion for archeology, undertook restoration which took over twenty years. The castle of the Roche Goyon was classified 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 ...

in 1925. Electricity finally arrived at the castle in 2015.

Location

The fort is located on a rocky cape, near

, in the town of

Plévenon Plévenon (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France.Emerald Coast The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about through five counties—Escambia County, Florida, Escambia, Santa Rosa County, Florida, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa Co ...

, and a large part of the Bay of St-Malo. Construction materials were easily accessible with granite coming from the heart of

, and sandstone directly recovered from the surrounding cliffs. There are traces of old quarries on the coast, whose connection to the castle is revealed by toponyms such as "Port Taillé" which can be found on the cadastre, and wood was plentiful from the many forests that existed nearby in medieval times. The fort was an important strategic point since it was not far from the trade routes connecting

, Normandy, and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

Events

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attend ...

made a private visit to the castle, July 5, 2012, in the footsteps of his ancestors the Goyon Matignon.

Festival

Since the castle opened to the public, the owners, the Joüon Des Longrais family have shared the area with visitors through various events: * The Celtic nights of castle from 2006 to 2007 (storytelling evening with music) * 'Les Médiévales du Fort La Latte' – a medieval festival organized in August every year since 2008, which includes mediaeval stallholders, jousting tournaments and falconry displays as well as a smaller medieval event every two years.

Description

The castle has two

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

s, one opening onto the

barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

, the other onto the courtyard of the castle; each has its own

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

. In the courtyard, there is a water tank, a chapel, various defensive features and installations (in particular the locations of the gun batteries), and of course the dungeon. On the way to the castle, there is a small

menhir A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

which, according to legend, is "the tooth" or "the finger" of Gargantua.

Barbican

The Barbican is protected by a

portcullis A portcullis () is a heavy, vertically closing gate typically found in medieval fortifications. It consists of a latticed Grille (architecture), grille made of wood and/or metal, which slides down grooves inset within each jamb of the gateway. ...

and stout wooden door. The first

of the

has a drawbridge which has been restored to working order. At the time of its construction in the fourteenth century, it was also protected by a portcullis and a double-leaf door. Destroyed by cannon shot during the second capture of the castle, it was subsequently rebuilt. Detail Premier chatelet

In front of this first

battering ram A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried ...

and a pillory can be found. Within the barbican is a small medieval garden, a "Bricole" (a kind of

catapult A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden rel ...

) and one gains a panoramic view of the bay of

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany. The walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the All ...

The courtyard

The courtyard contains several installations, such as the water

cistern A cistern (; , ; ) is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. To prevent leakage, the interior of the cistern is often lined with hydraulic plaster. Cisterns are disti ...

, the chapel (built during

's reign), the governor's house, and the

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably derives more from the Renaissance period. An oubliette (fr ...

. Completely backfilled in the 17th century so that

cannons A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during t ...

may be used, the original medieval soil is up to eight meters below the modern-day surface. Archaeological excavations have revealed a square tower that probably served as a watchtower which has been entirely buried underground. A second building protects the courtyard under which a

can be found. This building is also protected by a

and

. Only the two medieval towers remain as the rest (in particular the upper floor) were destroyed by cannons in the sixteenth century. The drawbridges of the two gatehouses are not on the same axis to hinder the manoeuvering of

battering rams A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient history, ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, he ...

. Image:200707 Fort La Latte 27.JPG, the oven to blush the balls Image:200707 Fort La Latte 29.JPG, a cannon Image:200707 Fort La Latte 30.JPG, a cannon Image:200707 Fort La Latte 48.JPG, Exterior view Image:Fort-la-Latte cour intérieure.jpg, Interior courtyard of Barbican Image:Citerne Fort la Latte.JPG, The cistern Image:200707 Fort La Latte 71.JPG, Interior of the chapel. Image:Chemin de roulage.JPG, Path of the rolling. Image:Citerne Fort la Latte.JPG, The cistern. Image:200707 Fort La Latte 19.JPG, Drawbridge blocking system Fort la Latte - logis du gouverneur.jpg,

The cistern

The water

, with a capacity of 20,000 L, was expected to have been sufficient to serve the entire garrison (about forty men) although given the maximum retention volume seems limited. A rainwater recovery system was put in place. On the same level of the tank, a dummy

was intended to deceive any maritime attackers who would be deceived into sailing onwards an area of strong currents where their ship would then be at risk of smashing against the rocks. This dummy

was, however, ineffective.

The cannons

Eight cannons were installed during the reign of

, the largest being eight meters long. Today, only "medium" copies are present on the site, but they could still shoot a ball up to a kilometer. Ballistic adjustments were made by use of the runway – a granite circle on which the cannon was placed and guided the wheels of the gun as it was maneuvered into position. According to military records, one shot could be fired every three minutes.

Oven to 'Blush' the balls

The Chateau of the Roche Goyon also has a ball oven for heating cannonballs so that they were 'red-hot' before firing. The oven and method were rarely used, however, for several reasons: * The oven consumed a lot of wood; * for this to be effective, it had to heat for eight hours, which gave the enemies plenty of time to flee; * loading the cannon proved much more dangerous as the hot ball could cause to pre-ignite the

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

before the cannon could be properly fired. The use of ball ovens resulted in the coining of the expression "Tirer à boulets rouges" ("To shoot with red balls") meaning a particularly vehement attack on, or criticism of, an opponent.

The keep

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 ...

is equipped with

machicolations In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key poi ...

and several types of loopholes: the

crossbowmen An arbalist, also spelled arbelist, is one who shoots a crossbow. Background An extensive list of archaic words for medieval crossbowmen is given by Payne-Gallwey. Richardson, in his 1839 dictionary, did not make specific reference to the cross ...

in the shape of a cross for crossbow shooting and the very long single slit archeries for

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

. Smaller Holes located on each side of the loopholes for shooting

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

and larger holes through which bombard could be fired. A line of bombardment is visible at the level of these loopholes and corresponds to the capture of the castle in the sixteenth century which was accompanied by a cannonade from the keep. Four sculptures representing the

tetramorph A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek ''tetra'', meaning four, and ''morph'', shape. The word comes from the Greek for "fou ...

according to Ezekiel are found at the level of the yellow granite circle which surrounds the keep. Here, facing the castle, can be found the angel of Saint Matthew, then the lion of Saint Mark, the eagle of Saint John (severely eroded), and finally the bull of Saint Luke to the right of the entrance to the dungeon. The entrance to the keep reveals the presence of a third

, now replaced by a staircase. The emblem of the Goyon-Matignon family, a siren, crowns the passage. The entrance to the keep was protected by a

and a defensive entrapment perhaps best described as a kind of '

mousetrap A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill Mouse, mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch ...

'. In the

there is an exhibition on the restoration works of the castle and the roof is supported by a cross vault of ogives dating from

1340 Year 1340 ( MCCCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events * January 26 – King Edward III of England declares himself King of France at Ghent, Flanders. * March 6 – Bohemian Crusade: The Church auth ...

. Image:200707 Fort La Latte 22.JPG, The keep. Image:Entrée du donjon.JPG, Enter of the keep. Image:200707 Fort La Latte 40.JPG, The roof of the keep. Image:200707 Fort La Latte 51.JPG, interior arched ogive roof Image:Ange de Saint Mathieu.JPG, The angel of st Mathieu Image:200707 Fort La Latte 25.JPG, The lion of st Marc. Image:Aigle de Saint Jean.JPG, The eagle of st Jean. Image:Boeuf de Saint Luc.JPG, the beef of st Luc. Image:Fort la Latte - premier étage du donjon.jpg, Image:Fort la Latte - scène reconstituée dans le donjon.jpg,

The menhir of La Latte

On the path leading to the castle stands the

of La Latte ( 'Doigt de Gargantua' According to legend, at a time when humans and

Korrigans In Breton folklore, a Korrigan () is a fairy or dwarf-like spirit. The word ''korrigan'' means in Breton "small-dwarf" (''korr'' means dwarf, ''ig'' is a diminutive and the suffix ''an'' is a hypocoristic). It is closely related to the Cornish w ...

lived among each other, they were terrorised by giants. Human and Korrigan joined forces and the humans baited the giants in to falling into a trap where they were destroyed by the Korrigans. Gargantua was one such giant who was struck down on Cape Fréhel. Consequently, the islets that are found in the sea are believed to be pieces of his body and the menhir his raised his finger protruding from the ground at Fort La Latte. Other features are variously described as being the hooves and cane of Gargantua. Doigt de Gargantua

Bibliography

* La Châtelaine aux deux visages, by Simone Roger-Vercel, 1957 * Le Jeu du Roi, by Jean Raspail, 1976 * Le Fantôme de Fort La Latte, comics strip from "Aventures de Vick et Vicky" by Bruno Bertin by Éditions P'tit Louis, 2007 * Le Fort La Latte, by Isabelle Joüon Des Longrais by éditions Ouest-France, juin 2009 * Le Chemin de Malefosse, comics strip by Daniel Bardet and Brice Goepfert, by éditions Glénat, 2015 * Christophe Amiot, Le fort La Latte, anciennement Roche Goyon, in French Archaeological congress. 173rd session. Monuments of Côtes-d'Armor. « Le Beau Moyen Âge ». 2015, French Archaeological Society, 2017, p. 97–110, () * Sekijô No Shi, Le Château de la Roche Goyon dit Fort la Latte, imprimerie de la Manutention, 1973, () * Le secret de Fort La Latte, by Valérie Thiébaut published by Héros d'Armor, 1er décembre 2017.

Filmography

This castle served as a setting for several scenes from the following films, television films, television series and clips : * The perfume of the lady in black, 1931 * The Three Musketeers, 1948 * The Vikings (Vikings) 1958, with

, whose final fight took place on the keep. * Metzengerstein one of the sketches from the film Extraordinary Stories, 1967. * Lancelot du Lac, 1970. * The Dance of Death, 1983. * Chouans!, French film 1987. * The King's Game, 1988. * Ridiculous, 1996. * The heart and the Sword (Il cuore e la spada, Heart and Sword) 1998. * La Tribu de Dana, clip from the French band Manau, 1998. * TV advertising for the search engine "Lycos" 2000 * Une vieille maîtresse, French film 2007. * L'Épervier, the series for France Télévision with Aurélien Wiik, Martin Lamotte 2011. * Avril and the extraordinary world, animated film, 2015. * Ma Reine, clip from the French band Manau, 2018. * Tasnif-e magali Kurdi, clip from the French medieval band Soñj, 2018.

References

External links

Fort La Latte – Official siteFort la Latte and Fréhal
*
Dinan Cap-Fréhel tourism
{{Authority control Castles in Brittany Monuments historiques of Côtes-d'Armor