Château-Gaillard
Encyclopedia
Château Gaillard is a ruined medieval
castle
, located 90 m above the commune
of Les Andelys
overlooking the River Seine, in the Eure
département of historical Normandy
, now Upper Normandy, France
. It is located some 95 kilometres (59 mi) north-west of Paris
and 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) from Rouen
. Construction began in 1196 under the auspices of Richard the Lionheart
, who was simultaneously King of England and feudal Duke of Normandy
. The castle was expensive to build, but the majority of the work was done in an unusually short time. It took just two years, and at the same time the town of Petit Andely
was constructed. Château Gaillard has a complex and advanced design, and uses early principles of concentric fortification; it was also one of the earliest European castles to use machicolation
s. The castle consists of three enclosures separated by dry moat
s, with a keep
in the inner enclosure.
Château Gaillard was captured in 1204 by the French king, Philip II
, after a lengthy siege. In the mid-14th century, the castle was the residence of the exiled David II of Scotland
. The castle changed hands several times in the Hundred Years' War
, but in 1449 the French captured Château Gaillard from the English for the last time, and from then on it remained in French ownership. Henry IV of France
ordered the demolition of Château Gaillard in 1599; although it was in ruins at the time, it was felt to be a threat to the security of the local population. The castle ruins are listed as a monument historique
by the French Ministry of Culture. The inner bailey is open to the public from March to November, and the outer baileys are open all year.
Richard the Lionheart inherited Normandy from his father, Henry II
, in 1189 when he ascended to the throne of England. There was rivalry between the French king and Richard as the King of England was more powerful than the King of France, despite the fact that Richard was a vassal of the French king and paid homage for his lands in the country. From 1190 to 1192, Richard the Lionheart was on the Third Crusade
. He was joined by Philip II of France
as each was wary that the other might invade his territory in his absence. Richard was captured and imprisoned on the return journey to England, and he was not released until 4 February 1194. In Richard's absence, his brother John
revolted with the aid of Philip; amongst Philip's conquests in the period of Richard's imprisonment was Normandy. It took Richard until 1198 to reconquer Normandy.
of Andeli, was identified as a naturally defensible position. In the valley below the site was the town of Grand Andely. Under the terms of the Peace of Louviers (December 1195) between Richard and Philip II neither king was allowed to fortify the site; despite this, Richard intended to build a castle at Andeli. Its purpose was to protect the duchy of Normandy from Philip II—it helped fill a gap in the Norman defences left by the fall of Château de Gisors
and was 7.4 miles (11.9 km) away from Château de Gaillon
, a castle which belonged to Philip—and to act as a base from which Richard could launch his campaign to take back the Norman Vexin
from French control. Richard tried to obtain the manor through negotiation. Walter de Coutances
, Archbishop of Rouen, was reluctant to sell the manor as it was one of the diocese's most profitable, and other lands belonging to the diocese had recently been damaged by war. When Philip besieged
Aumale
in Normandy, Richard grew tired of waiting and seized the manor, although the act was opposed by the Church.
In an attempt to get Pope Celestine III
to intercede, Walter de Coutances left for Rome in November 1196. Richard sent a delegation to represent him in Rome. One of the party, Richard's Lord Chancellor
William Longchamp
(who was also Bishop of Ely
), died during the journey, although the rest, including the Philip of Poitou
, Bishop of Durham, and Guillaume de Ruffière, Bishop of Lisieux
, arrived in Rome. Walter de Coutances meanwhile issued an interdict
against the duchy of Normandy
which prohibited church services from being performed in the region. Roger of Howden detailed "the unburied bodies of the dead lying in the streets and square of the cities of Normandy". Construction began with the interdict hanging over Normandy, but it was later repealed in April 1197 by Celestine, after Richard made gifts of land to the Walter de Coutances and the diocese of Rouen, including two manors and the prosperous port of Dieppe
. The site of Château Gaillard had not been fortified before, and the town of Petit Andely
was constructed at the same time; together with Grand Andely, the two are known as Les Andelys. The castle sits on a high limestone promontory, 90 m above Les Andelys and overlooking a bend in the River Seine
. The castle was connected with Andelys through a series of contemporary outworks.
During Richard's reign, the Crown
's expenditure on castles declined from the levels spent by Henry II
, Richard's father, although this has been attributed to a concentration of resources on Richard's war with the king of France. However, the work at Château Gaillard cost an estimated £15,000 to £20,000 between 1196 and 1198. This was more than double Richard's spending on castles in England, an estimated £7,000. The Pipe rolls
for the construction of Château Gaillard contain the earliest details of how work was organised in castle building and what activities were involved. Amongst those workmen mentioned in the rolls are quarrymen, masons, carpenters, smiths, soldiers to guard the workers, diggers who cut the ditch surrounding the castle, and carters who transported the raw materials to the castle. A master-mason is omitted, and military historian Allen Brown has suggested that it may be because Richard himself was the overall architect; this is supported by the interest Richard showed in the work through his frequent presence.
Not only was the castle built at considerable expense, but it was built relatively rapidly; construction of large stone castles often took the best part of a decade; for instance the work at Dover Castle
took place between 1112 and 1191 (at a cost of £7,000). Richard was present during part of the construction to ensure construction proceeded at a rate he was happy with. According to William of Newburgh
, in May 1198 Richard and the labourers working on the castle were drenched in a "rain of blood
". While some of his advisers thought the rain was an evil omen, Richard was undeterred:
After just a year, Château Gaillard was approaching completion and Richard remarked "Behold, how fair is this year-old daughter of mine!" Richard later boasted that he could hold the castle "were the walls made of butter". By 1198, the castle was largely completed. At one point, the castle was the site of the execution of three French soldiers in retaliation for a massacre of Welsh mercenaries ambushed by the French; the three were thrown to their deaths from the castle's position high above the surrounding landscape. In his final years, the castle became Richard's favourite residence, and writs and charters were written at Château Gaillard, bearing "apud Bellum Castrum de Rupe" (at the Fair Castle of the Rock). Richard did not enjoy the benefits of the castle for long, however, as he died in Limousin on 6 April 1199, from an infected arrow wound to his shoulder, sustained while besieging Châlus
.
failed to effectively defend Normandy against Philip's ongoing campaigns between 1202 and 1204. Château de Falaise
fell to Philip's forces, as well as castles from Mortain
to Pontorson
while Philip simultaneously besieged Rouen, which capitulated to French forces on 24 June 1204, effectively ending Norman independence. Philip laid siege to Château Gaillard, which was captured after a long siege from September 1203 to March 1204. As Philip continued the siege throughout the winter and King John made no attempt to relieve the castle, it was only a matter of time before the castellan
was forced to capitulate. The main source for the siege is Philippidos, a poem by William the Breton
, Philip's chaplain. As a result, modern scholars have paid little attention to the fate of the civilians of Les Andelys during the siege.
The local population sought refuge in the castle to escape the French soldiers who ravaged the town. The castle was well supplied for a siege, but the extra mouths to feed rapidly diminished them; between 1,400 and 2,200 non-combatants were allowed inside, increasing the number of people in the castle at least fivefold. In an effort to alleviate the pressure on the castle's supplies, Roger de Lacy, the castellan, evicted 500 civilians; this first group was allowed to pass through the French lines unhindered, and a second group of similar size did the same a few days later. Philip was not present, and when he learned of the safe passage of the civilians, he forbade further people being released from the castle. The idea was to keep as many people within Château Gaillard to drain its resources. Roger de Lacy evicted the remaining civilians from the castle, at least 400 people, and possibly as many as 1,200. The group was not allowed through, and the French opened fire on the civilians. They turned back to the castle for safety, but found the gates locked. They sought refuge at the base of the castle walls for three months; over the winter, more than half their number died from exposure and starvation. Philip arrived at Château Gaillard in February 1204, and ordered that the survivors should be fed and released. Such treatment of civilians in sieges was not uncommon, and such scenes were repeated much later at the sieges of Calais in 1346 and Rouen
in 1418–1419, both in the Hundred Year's War.
The French gained access to the outermost ward by undermining one of the towers. Following this, Philip ordered a group of his men to look for a weak point in the castle. They gained access to the next ward when a soldier named Ralph found a latrine chute in use through which the French could clamber into the chapel. After ambushing several unsuspecting guards, and setting fire to the buildings, Philip's men then lowered the drawbridge and allowed the rest of their army into the castle. The Anglo-Norman troops retreated to the inner ward. After a short time the French successfully breached the gate of the inner ward, and the garrison retreated finally to the keep. With supplies running low Roger de Lacy and his garrison of 20 knight
s and 120 other soldiers surrendered to the French army, bringing to an end the siege on 6 March 1204. In drawn-out medieval sieges, contemporary writers often emphasised the importance of dwindling supplies in the capitulation of the garrison, as was the case with the Siege of Château Gaillard. With the castle under French control, the main obstacle to the French entering the Seine valley
was removed; they were able to enter the valley unmolested and take Normandy. Thus, for the first time since it had been given as a duchy to Rollo
in 911, Normandy was directly ruled by the French king. The city of Rouen surrendered to Philip II on 23 June 1204. After that, the rest of Normandy was easily conquered by the French.
, two French noblewomen; they were locked up and had their heads shaved for committing adultery. Following the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Halidon Hill
in 1333 during the Second War of Scottish Independence
, the child-king David II
and certain of his court were forced to flee to France for safety. At the time, southern Scotland
was occupied by the forces of King Edward III of England
. David, then nine years old, and his bride Joan of the Tower
, the twelve-year-old daughter of Edward II
, were granted the use of Château Gaillard by Philip VI
. It remained their residence until David's return to Scotland in 1341. David did not stay out of English hands for long after his return; he was captured after the Battle of Neville's Cross
in 1346 and endured an eleven-year captivity in the Tower of London
.
During the Hundred Years' War between the English and French crowns, possession of the castle switched several times. Château Gaillard—along with Château de Gisors
, Château de La Roche-Guyon, Ivry-la-Bataille
, and Mont-Saint-Michel—was one of five castles in the Normandy which offered resistance to Henry V of England
in 1419, after the capitulation of Rouen and much of the rest of the Duchy. Château Gaillard was besieged for a year before it was surrendered to the English in December 1419; all the resisting castles except Mont-Saint-Michel eventually fell, and Normandy was temporarily returned to English control. Étienne de Vignolles
, a mercenary (routier
) known as La Hire, then re-captured Château Gaillard for the French in 1430. However, the English were revived by the capture and execution of Joan of Arc
, and although by then the war was turning against them, a month later they captured Château Gaillard again. When the French gained ascendency again between 1449 and 1453 the English were forced out of the region, and in 1449 the castle was taken by the French for the last time.
By 1573, Château Gaillard was uninhabited and in a ruinous state, but it was still believed that the castle posed a threat to the local population if it was repaired. Therefore, at the request of the French States-General
, King Henry IV
ordered the demolition
of Château Gaillard in 1599. Some of the building material was reused by Capuchin monks
who were granted permission to use the stone for maintaining their monasteries. In 1611, the demolition of Château Gaillard came to an end. The site was left as a ruin, and in 1862 was classified as a monument historique
. In 1962, a conference on the contributions of the Normans
to medieval military architecture was held at Les Andelys. Allen Brown attended the conference and remarked that the castle was "in satisfying receipt of skilful care and attention". The journal Château Gaillard: Études de Castellogie Médiévale, which was published as a result of the conference, has since run to 23 volumes, based on international conferences on the subject of castles. In the 1990s, archaeological
excavations were carried out at Château Gaillard. The excavations investigated the north of the fortress, searching for an entrance postulated by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
, but no such entrance was found. However, the excavation did reveal was that there was an addition to the north of the castle to enable the use of guns. Typologically, the structure has been dated to the 16th century. The conclusion of the excavations was that the site had "enormous archaeological potential", but that there were still unanswered questions about the castle. After Philip II took Chateau Gaillard, he repaired the collapsed tower of the outer bailey that had been used to gain access to the castle. The archaeological investigation examined the tower generally thought to be the one collapsed by Philip, and although it did not recover any dating evidence, the consensus is that he completely rebuilt the tower. In conjunction with the archaeological work, efforts were made to preserve the remaining structures. Today, Château Gaillard's inner bailey is open to the public from March to November, while the outer baileys are open all year round.
, also called a donjon, in the inner-bailey. The baileys, which were separated by rock-cut ditches, housed the castle's stables, workshops, and storage facilities. It is common for extant castles to be the result of several phases of construction, and were adapted and added to over the period of their use; however Château Gaillard essentially is the result of one period of building.
The outer bailey is the southernmost feature of the castle; it is pentagon shaped and there are five towers spaced along the wall, three of which are at corners. North of the outer bailey is the middle bailey which is an irregular polygon; like the outer bailey, the wall of the middle bailey is studded with towers. The towers allowed the garrison to provide enfilading fire
. In the fashion of the time, most of the towers in the curtain walls of the middle and outer baileys were cylindrical. Château Gaillard was one of the first castles in Europe to use machicolations—stone projections on top of a wall with openings that allowed objects to be dropped on an enemy at the base of the wall. Machicolations were introduced to Western architecture as a result of the Crusades. Until the 13th century, the tops of towers in European castles had usually been surrounded by wooden galleries
, which served the same purpose as machicolations. An Eastern innovation, they may have originated in the first half of the 8th century.
Within the middle bailey was the inner bailey. The gatehouse
from the middle to the inner-bailey was one of the earliest examples of towers flanking the entrance to remove the blind-spot immediately in front of the gate. This was part of a wider trend from around the late 12th or 13th century onwards for castle gateways to be strongly defended.
The design of the inner bailey, with its wall studded with semi-circular projections, is unparalleled. This innovation had two advantages: firstly, the rounded wall absorbed the damage from siege engine
s much better as it did not provide a perfect angle to aim at; secondly, the arrowslits in the curved wall allowed arrows to be fired at all angles. The inner bailey, which contained the main residential buildings, used the principles of concentric defence
. This and the unusual design of the inner bailey's curtain wall meant that castle was advanced for its age, since it was built before concentric fortification was fully developed in Crusader castles such as Krak des Chevaliers
. Concentric castles were widely copied across Europe; for instance when Edward I of England
—who had himself been on Crusade—built castles in Wales in the late 13th century, four of the eight he founded were concentric.
The keep was inside the inner bailey and contained the king's accommodation. It had two rooms: an antechamber and an audience room. While Allen Brown interpreted the audience room as the king's chamber, historian Liddiard believes it is probably a throne room. A throne room emphasises the political importance of the castle. In England there is nothing similar to Château Gaillard's keep, but there are buildings with a similar design in France in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Allen Brown described Château Gaillard as "one of the finest castles in Europe" and military historian Sir Charles Oman
wrote that:
Despite Château Gaillard's reputation as a great fortress, Liddiard highlights the absence of a well inside the castle as a peculiar weakness, and the castle was built on soft chalk, which would have allowed the walls to be undermined. This is attributed to Château Gaillard being important not solely as a military structure, but as a salient symbol of the power of Richard the Lionheart. It was a statement of dominance by Richard, having reconquered the lands Philip II had taken. Castles such as Château Gaillard in France, and Dover in England, were amongst the most advanced of their age, but were surpassed in both sophistication and cost by the works of Edward I of England
in the latter half of the 13th century.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, located 90 m above the commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of Les Andelys
Les Andelys
Les Andelys is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Geography:It lies on the Seine, about 35 km northeast of Évreux.The commune is divided into two parts, Grand-Andely and Petit-Andely.-Population:-Sights:...
overlooking the River Seine, in the Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
département of historical Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, now Upper Normandy, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is located some 95 kilometres (59 mi) north-west of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) from Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
. Construction began in 1196 under the auspices of Richard the Lionheart
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
, who was simultaneously King of England and feudal Duke of Normandy
Duke of Normandy
The Duke of Normandy is the title of the reigning monarch of the British Crown Dependancies of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey. The title traces its roots to the Duchy of Normandy . Whether the reigning sovereign is a male or female, they are always titled as the "Duke of...
. The castle was expensive to build, but the majority of the work was done in an unusually short time. It took just two years, and at the same time the town of Petit Andely
Les Andelys
Les Andelys is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Geography:It lies on the Seine, about 35 km northeast of Évreux.The commune is divided into two parts, Grand-Andely and Petit-Andely.-Population:-Sights:...
was constructed. Château Gaillard has a complex and advanced design, and uses early principles of concentric fortification; it was also one of the earliest European castles to use machicolation
Machicolation
A machicolation is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones, or other objects, could be dropped on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The design was developed in the Middle Ages when the Norman crusaders returned. A machicolated battlement...
s. The castle consists of three enclosures separated by dry moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
s, with a keep
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 residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
in the inner enclosure.
Château Gaillard was captured in 1204 by the French king, Philip II
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
, after a lengthy siege. In the mid-14th century, the castle was the residence of the exiled David II of Scotland
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
. The castle changed hands several times in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, but in 1449 the French captured Château Gaillard from the English for the last time, and from then on it remained in French ownership. Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
ordered the demolition of Château Gaillard in 1599; although it was in ruins at the time, it was felt to be a threat to the security of the local population. The castle ruins are listed as a monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
by the French Ministry of Culture. The inner bailey is open to the public from March to November, and the outer baileys are open all year.
Background
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, in 1189 when he ascended to the throne of England. There was rivalry between the French king and Richard as the King of England was more powerful than the King of France, despite the fact that Richard was a vassal of the French king and paid homage for his lands in the country. From 1190 to 1192, Richard the Lionheart was on the Third Crusade
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...
. He was joined by Philip II of France
Philip II of France
Philip II Augustus was the King of France from 1180 until his death. A member of the House of Capet, Philip Augustus was born at Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, the son of Louis VII and his third wife, Adela of Champagne...
as each was wary that the other might invade his territory in his absence. Richard was captured and imprisoned on the return journey to England, and he was not released until 4 February 1194. In Richard's absence, his brother John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
revolted with the aid of Philip; amongst Philip's conquests in the period of Richard's imprisonment was Normandy. It took Richard until 1198 to reconquer Normandy.
Construction
Perched high above the River Seine, an important transport route, the site of Château Gaillard, in the manorManorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
of Andeli, was identified as a naturally defensible position. In the valley below the site was the town of Grand Andely. Under the terms of the Peace of Louviers (December 1195) between Richard and Philip II neither king was allowed to fortify the site; despite this, Richard intended to build a castle at Andeli. Its purpose was to protect the duchy of Normandy from Philip II—it helped fill a gap in the Norman defences left by the fall of Château de Gisors
Château de Gisors
The Château de Gisors is a castle in the town of Gisors in the départment of Eure, France.-History:The castle was a key fortress of the Dukes of Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was intended to defend the Anglo-Norman Vexin territory from the pretensions of the King of France...
and was 7.4 miles (11.9 km) away from Château de Gaillon
Château de Gaillon
The Château de Gaillon is a renaissance castle located in Gaillon, Haute-Normandie region of France.-History:The somewhat battered and denuded Château de Gaillon, begun in 1502 on ancient foundationswas the summer archiepiscopal residence of Georges d'Amboise, Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen; he ...
, a castle which belonged to Philip—and to act as a base from which Richard could launch his campaign to take back the Norman Vexin
Vexin
The Vexin is a historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank of the Seine comprising an area east-to-west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle , and north-to-south between Auneuil and the Seine near Vernon...
from French control. Richard tried to obtain the manor through negotiation. Walter de Coutances
Walter de Coutances
Walter de Coutances was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln and Archbishop of Rouen. He began his royal service in the government of Henry II, serving as a vice-chancellor...
, Archbishop of Rouen, was reluctant to sell the manor as it was one of the diocese's most profitable, and other lands belonging to the diocese had recently been damaged by war. When Philip besieged
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
Aumale
Aumale
Aumale is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in north-western France.-Geography:A village of farming and associated light industry, situated in the valley of the Bresle River of the Norman Pays de Bray in Normandy on the border with Picardie. It is around ...
in Normandy, Richard grew tired of waiting and seized the manor, although the act was opposed by the Church.
In an attempt to get Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III
Pope Celestine III , born Giacinto Bobone, was elected Pope on March 21, 1191, and reigned until his death. He was born into the noble Orsini family in Rome, though he was only a cardinal deacon before becoming Pope...
to intercede, Walter de Coutances left for Rome in November 1196. Richard sent a delegation to represent him in Rome. One of the party, Richard's Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
William Longchamp
William Longchamp
William Longchamp , sometimes known as William de Longchamp or William de Longchamps, was a medieval Lord Chancellor, Chief Justiciar, and Bishop of Ely in England. Born to a humble family in Normandy, he owed his advancement to royal favour. Although contemporary writers accused Longchamp's father...
(who was also Bishop of Ely
Bishop of Ely
The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
), died during the journey, although the rest, including the Philip of Poitou
Philip of Poitou
Philip of Poitou was Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1197 to 1208, and prior to this Archdeacon of Canterbury.- Life :...
, Bishop of Durham, and Guillaume de Ruffière, Bishop of Lisieux
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisieux
The Diocese of Lisieux was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in France, centered on Lisieux, in Calvados.The bishop of Lisieux was the Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lisieux. The first known Bishop of Lisieux is one Theodibandes, mentioned in connexion with a council held in...
, arrived in Rome. Walter de Coutances meanwhile issued an interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
against the duchy of Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
which prohibited church services from being performed in the region. Roger of Howden detailed "the unburied bodies of the dead lying in the streets and square of the cities of Normandy". Construction began with the interdict hanging over Normandy, but it was later repealed in April 1197 by Celestine, after Richard made gifts of land to the Walter de Coutances and the diocese of Rouen, including two manors and the prosperous port of Dieppe
Dieppe, Seine-Maritime
Dieppe is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in France. In 1999, the population of the whole Dieppe urban area was 81,419.A port on the English Channel, famous for its scallops, and with a regular ferry service from the Gare Maritime to Newhaven in England, Dieppe also has a popular pebbled...
. The site of Château Gaillard had not been fortified before, and the town of Petit Andely
Les Andelys
Les Andelys is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Geography:It lies on the Seine, about 35 km northeast of Évreux.The commune is divided into two parts, Grand-Andely and Petit-Andely.-Population:-Sights:...
was constructed at the same time; together with Grand Andely, the two are known as Les Andelys. The castle sits on a high limestone promontory, 90 m above Les Andelys and overlooking a bend in the River Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
. The castle was connected with Andelys through a series of contemporary outworks.
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
's expenditure on castles declined from the levels spent by Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, Richard's father, although this has been attributed to a concentration of resources on Richard's war with the king of France. However, the work at Château Gaillard cost an estimated £15,000 to £20,000 between 1196 and 1198. This was more than double Richard's spending on castles in England, an estimated £7,000. The Pipe rolls
Pipe Rolls
The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rolls, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or Treasury. The earliest date from the 12th century, and the series extends, mostly complete, from then until 1833. They form the oldest continuous series of records kept by...
for the construction of Château Gaillard contain the earliest details of how work was organised in castle building and what activities were involved. Amongst those workmen mentioned in the rolls are quarrymen, masons, carpenters, smiths, soldiers to guard the workers, diggers who cut the ditch surrounding the castle, and carters who transported the raw materials to the castle. A master-mason is omitted, and military historian Allen Brown has suggested that it may be because Richard himself was the overall architect; this is supported by the interest Richard showed in the work through his frequent presence.
Not only was the castle built at considerable expense, but it was built relatively rapidly; construction of large stone castles often took the best part of a decade; for instance the work at Dover Castle
Dover Castle
Dover Castle is a medieval castle in the town of the same name in the English county of Kent. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history...
took place between 1112 and 1191 (at a cost of £7,000). Richard was present during part of the construction to ensure construction proceeded at a rate he was happy with. According to William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh
William of Newburgh or Newbury , also known as William Parvus, was a 12th-century English historian and Augustinian canon from Bridlington, Yorkshire.-Biography:...
, in May 1198 Richard and the labourers working on the castle were drenched in a "rain of blood
Blood rain
Blood rain or red rain is a phenomenon in which blood is perceived to fall from the sky in the form of rain. Cases have been recorded since Homer's Iliad, composed ca eighth century BC, and are widespread. Before the 17th century it was generally believed that the rain was actually blood...
". While some of his advisers thought the rain was an evil omen, Richard was undeterred:
After just a year, Château Gaillard was approaching completion and Richard remarked "Behold, how fair is this year-old daughter of mine!" Richard later boasted that he could hold the castle "were the walls made of butter". By 1198, the castle was largely completed. At one point, the castle was the site of the execution of three French soldiers in retaliation for a massacre of Welsh mercenaries ambushed by the French; the three were thrown to their deaths from the castle's position high above the surrounding landscape. In his final years, the castle became Richard's favourite residence, and writs and charters were written at Château Gaillard, bearing "apud Bellum Castrum de Rupe" (at the Fair Castle of the Rock). Richard did not enjoy the benefits of the castle for long, however, as he died in Limousin on 6 April 1199, from an infected arrow wound to his shoulder, sustained while besieging Châlus
Châlus
Châlus is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Limousin region in western France.-History:Châlus' is where Richard I of England was wounded by a crossbow bolt and killed as a result of the wound...
.
The Siege of Château Gaillard
After Richard's death, King John of EnglandJohn of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
failed to effectively defend Normandy against Philip's ongoing campaigns between 1202 and 1204. Château de Falaise
Château de Falaise
The Château de Falaise is a castle located in the south of the commune of Falaise in the Calvados département of Normandy, France.The town of Falaise was the birthplace of William the Conqueror, first of the Norman kings of England...
fell to Philip's forces, as well as castles from Mortain
Mortain
Mortain is a commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.-Geography:Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the Cance, a tributary of the Sélune.-Administration:Mortain is the seat of a canton...
to Pontorson
Pontorson
Pontorson is a commune in the Manche department in north-western France.-Geography:Pontorson is situated about 10 kilometres from the Mount, to which it is connected by highway and a walking path along the river Couesnon. The river also gives its name to the town's main street.-History:The town was...
while Philip simultaneously besieged Rouen, which capitulated to French forces on 24 June 1204, effectively ending Norman independence. Philip laid siege to Château Gaillard, which was captured after a long siege from September 1203 to March 1204. As Philip continued the siege throughout the winter and King John made no attempt to relieve the castle, it was only a matter of time before the castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
was forced to capitulate. The main source for the siege is Philippidos, a poem by William the Breton
William the Breton
William the Breton , French chronicler and poet, was as his name indicates born in Brittany.He was educated at Nantes and at the University of Paris, afterwards becoming chaplain to the French king Philip Augustus, who employed him on diplomatic errands, and entrusted him with the education of his...
, Philip's chaplain. As a result, modern scholars have paid little attention to the fate of the civilians of Les Andelys during the siege.
The local population sought refuge in the castle to escape the French soldiers who ravaged the town. The castle was well supplied for a siege, but the extra mouths to feed rapidly diminished them; between 1,400 and 2,200 non-combatants were allowed inside, increasing the number of people in the castle at least fivefold. In an effort to alleviate the pressure on the castle's supplies, Roger de Lacy, the castellan, evicted 500 civilians; this first group was allowed to pass through the French lines unhindered, and a second group of similar size did the same a few days later. Philip was not present, and when he learned of the safe passage of the civilians, he forbade further people being released from the castle. The idea was to keep as many people within Château Gaillard to drain its resources. Roger de Lacy evicted the remaining civilians from the castle, at least 400 people, and possibly as many as 1,200. The group was not allowed through, and the French opened fire on the civilians. They turned back to the castle for safety, but found the gates locked. They sought refuge at the base of the castle walls for three months; over the winter, more than half their number died from exposure and starvation. Philip arrived at Château Gaillard in February 1204, and ordered that the survivors should be fed and released. Such treatment of civilians in sieges was not uncommon, and such scenes were repeated much later at the sieges of Calais in 1346 and Rouen
Siege of Rouen
At the time of the Siege of Rouen , the city had a population of 70,000, making it one of the leading cities in France, and its capture crucial to the Normandy campaign during the Hundred Years' War....
in 1418–1419, both in the Hundred Year's War.
The French gained access to the outermost ward by undermining one of the towers. Following this, Philip ordered a group of his men to look for a weak point in the castle. They gained access to the next ward when a soldier named Ralph found a latrine chute in use through which the French could clamber into the chapel. After ambushing several unsuspecting guards, and setting fire to the buildings, Philip's men then lowered the drawbridge and allowed the rest of their army into the castle. The Anglo-Norman troops retreated to the inner ward. After a short time the French successfully breached the gate of the inner ward, and the garrison retreated finally to the keep. With supplies running low Roger de Lacy and his garrison of 20 knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
s and 120 other soldiers surrendered to the French army, bringing to an end the siege on 6 March 1204. In drawn-out medieval sieges, contemporary writers often emphasised the importance of dwindling supplies in the capitulation of the garrison, as was the case with the Siege of Château Gaillard. With the castle under French control, the main obstacle to the French entering the Seine valley
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
was removed; they were able to enter the valley unmolested and take Normandy. Thus, for the first time since it had been given as a duchy to Rollo
Rollo
Rollo has multiple meanings. It may mean:a first name*Rollo Armstrong, member of British dance act Faithless* Rollo May, American psychologist...
in 911, Normandy was directly ruled by the French king. The city of Rouen surrendered to Philip II on 23 June 1204. After that, the rest of Normandy was easily conquered by the French.
Under French control
In 1314, Château Gaillard was the prison of Margaret of Burgundy and Blanche of ArtoisBlanche of Burgundy
Blanche of Burgundy was queen of France and Navarre for a few months in 1322 due to her marriage to the future king Charles IV.-Biography:She was the daughter of Otto IV, Count of Burgundy and Mahaut, Countess of Artois...
, two French noblewomen; they were locked up and had their heads shaved for committing adultery. Following the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Halidon Hill
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill was fought during the Second War of Scottish Independence. Scottish forces under Sir Archibald Douglas were heavily defeated on unfavourable terrain while trying to relieve Berwick-upon-Tweed.-The Disinherited:...
in 1333 during the Second War of Scottish Independence
Second War of Scottish Independence
The Second War of Scottish Independence was the second cluster of a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries....
, the child-king David II
David II of Scotland
David II was King of Scots from 7 June 1329 until his death.-Early life:...
and certain of his court were forced to flee to France for safety. At the time, southern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
was occupied by the forces of King Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
. David, then nine years old, and his bride Joan of the Tower
Joan of The Tower
Joan of England , known as Joan of The Tower, was the first wife and Queen consort of king David II of Scotland.-Birth:...
, the twelve-year-old daughter of Edward II
Edward II of England
Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...
, were granted the use of Château Gaillard by Philip VI
Philip VI of France
Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...
. It remained their residence until David's return to Scotland in 1341. David did not stay out of English hands for long after his return; he was captured after the Battle of Neville's Cross
Battle of Neville's Cross
The Battle of Neville's Cross took place to the west of Durham, England on 17 October 1346.-Background:In 1346, England was embroiled in the Hundred Years' War with France. In order to divert his enemy Philip VI of France appealed to David II of Scotland to attack the English from the north in...
in 1346 and endured an eleven-year captivity in the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
.
During the Hundred Years' War between the English and French crowns, possession of the castle switched several times. Château Gaillard—along with Château de Gisors
Château de Gisors
The Château de Gisors is a castle in the town of Gisors in the départment of Eure, France.-History:The castle was a key fortress of the Dukes of Normandy in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was intended to defend the Anglo-Norman Vexin territory from the pretensions of the King of France...
, Château de La Roche-Guyon, Ivry-la-Bataille
Ivry-la-Bataille
Ivry-la-Bataille is a commune in the Eure Department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. Ivry-la-Bataille was formerly known as Ivry.-History:The Battle of Ivry took place near Ivry on 14 March 1590...
, and Mont-Saint-Michel—was one of five castles in the Normandy which offered resistance to Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
in 1419, after the capitulation of Rouen and much of the rest of the Duchy. Château Gaillard was besieged for a year before it was surrendered to the English in December 1419; all the resisting castles except Mont-Saint-Michel eventually fell, and Normandy was temporarily returned to English control. Étienne de Vignolles
La Hire
Étienne de Vignolles, called La Hire, was a French military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His nickname of La Hire would be that the English had nicknamed "the Hire-God" . He fought alongside Joan of Arc in the campaigns of 1429...
, a mercenary (routier
Routiers
The routiers were mercenaries associated with free companies who terrorized the French countryside during the Hundred Years War. The word routier is French for "road-man", referring to their travelling nature. -Background:Routiers were a product of their time...
) known as La Hire, then re-captured Château Gaillard for the French in 1430. However, the English were revived by the capture and execution of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
, and although by then the war was turning against them, a month later they captured Château Gaillard again. When the French gained ascendency again between 1449 and 1453 the English were forced out of the region, and in 1449 the castle was taken by the French for the last time.
By 1573, Château Gaillard was uninhabited and in a ruinous state, but it was still believed that the castle posed a threat to the local population if it was repaired. Therefore, at the request of the French States-General
French States-General
In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
, King Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
ordered the demolition
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
of Château Gaillard in 1599. Some of the building material was reused by Capuchin monks
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
who were granted permission to use the stone for maintaining their monasteries. In 1611, the demolition of Château Gaillard came to an end. The site was left as a ruin, and in 1862 was classified as a monument historique
Monument historique
A monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
. In 1962, a conference on the contributions of the Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
to medieval military architecture was held at Les Andelys. Allen Brown attended the conference and remarked that the castle was "in satisfying receipt of skilful care and attention". The journal Château Gaillard: Études de Castellogie Médiévale, which was published as a result of the conference, has since run to 23 volumes, based on international conferences on the subject of castles. In the 1990s, archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
excavations were carried out at Château Gaillard. The excavations investigated the north of the fortress, searching for an entrance postulated by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc was a French architect and theorist, famous for his interpretive "restorations" of medieval buildings. Born in Paris, he was a major Gothic Revival architect.-Early years:...
, but no such entrance was found. However, the excavation did reveal was that there was an addition to the north of the castle to enable the use of guns. Typologically, the structure has been dated to the 16th century. The conclusion of the excavations was that the site had "enormous archaeological potential", but that there were still unanswered questions about the castle. After Philip II took Chateau Gaillard, he repaired the collapsed tower of the outer bailey that had been used to gain access to the castle. The archaeological investigation examined the tower generally thought to be the one collapsed by Philip, and although it did not recover any dating evidence, the consensus is that he completely rebuilt the tower. In conjunction with the archaeological work, efforts were made to preserve the remaining structures. Today, Château Gaillard's inner bailey is open to the public from March to November, while the outer baileys are open all year round.
Layout and innovations
Château Gaillard consists of three baileys—an inner, a middle, and an outer with the main entrance to the castle—and a keepKeep
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 residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, also called a donjon, in the inner-bailey. The baileys, which were separated by rock-cut ditches, housed the castle's stables, workshops, and storage facilities. It is common for extant castles to be the result of several phases of construction, and were adapted and added to over the period of their use; however Château Gaillard essentially is the result of one period of building.
The outer bailey is the southernmost feature of the castle; it is pentagon shaped and there are five towers spaced along the wall, three of which are at corners. North of the outer bailey is the middle bailey which is an irregular polygon; like the outer bailey, the wall of the middle bailey is studded with towers. The towers allowed the garrison to provide enfilading fire
Enfilade and defilade
Enfilade and defilade are concepts in military tactics used to describe a military formation's exposure to enemy fire. A formation or position is "in enfilade" if weapons fire can be directed along its longest axis. A unit or position is "in defilade" if it uses natural or artificial obstacles to...
. In the fashion of the time, most of the towers in the curtain walls of the middle and outer baileys were cylindrical. Château Gaillard was one of the first castles in Europe to use machicolations—stone projections on top of a wall with openings that allowed objects to be dropped on an enemy at the base of the wall. Machicolations were introduced to Western architecture as a result of the Crusades. Until the 13th century, the tops of towers in European castles had usually been surrounded by wooden galleries
Hoarding (castles)
A hoarding was a temporary wooden construction that was placed on the exterior of the ramparts of a castle during a siege.The purpose of a hoarding was to allow the defenders to improve their field of fire along the length of a wall and, most particularly, directly downwards to the wall base.The...
, which served the same purpose as machicolations. An Eastern innovation, they may have originated in the first half of the 8th century.
Within the middle bailey was the inner bailey. The gatehouse
Gatehouse
A gatehouse, in architectural terminology, is a building enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a castle, manor house, fort, town or similar buildings of importance.-History:...
from the middle to the inner-bailey was one of the earliest examples of towers flanking the entrance to remove the blind-spot immediately in front of the gate. This was part of a wider trend from around the late 12th or 13th century onwards for castle gateways to be strongly defended.
The design of the inner bailey, with its wall studded with semi-circular projections, is unparalleled. This innovation had two advantages: firstly, the rounded wall absorbed the damage from siege engine
Siege engine
A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some have been operated close to the fortifications, while others have been used to attack from a distance. From antiquity, siege engines were constructed largely of wood and...
s much better as it did not provide a perfect angle to aim at; secondly, the arrowslits in the curved wall allowed arrows to be fired at all angles. The inner bailey, which contained the main residential buildings, used the principles of concentric defence
Concentric castle
A concentric castle is a castle with two or more concentric curtain walls, such that the outer wall is lower than the inner and can be defended from it. The word concentric does not imply that these castles were circular; in fact if taken too literally the term "concentric" is quite misleading...
. This and the unusual design of the inner bailey's curtain wall meant that castle was advanced for its age, since it was built before concentric fortification was fully developed in Crusader castles such as Krak des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers
Krak des Chevaliers , also Crac des Chevaliers, is a Crusader castle in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval castles in the world. The site was first inhabited in the 11th century by a settlement of Kurds; as a result it was known as Hisn al Akrad, meaning the "Castle of the...
. Concentric castles were widely copied across Europe; for instance when Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
—who had himself been on Crusade—built castles in Wales in the late 13th century, four of the eight he founded were concentric.
The keep was inside the inner bailey and contained the king's accommodation. It had two rooms: an antechamber and an audience room. While Allen Brown interpreted the audience room as the king's chamber, historian Liddiard believes it is probably a throne room. A throne room emphasises the political importance of the castle. In England there is nothing similar to Château Gaillard's keep, but there are buildings with a similar design in France in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Allen Brown described Château Gaillard as "one of the finest castles in Europe" and military historian Sir Charles Oman
Charles Oman
Sir Charles William Chadwick Oman was a British military historian of the early 20th century. His reconstructions of medieval battles from the fragmentary and distorted accounts left by chroniclers were pioneering...
wrote that:
Despite Château Gaillard's reputation as a great fortress, Liddiard highlights the absence of a well inside the castle as a peculiar weakness, and the castle was built on soft chalk, which would have allowed the walls to be undermined. This is attributed to Château Gaillard being important not solely as a military structure, but as a salient symbol of the power of Richard the Lionheart. It was a statement of dominance by Richard, having reconquered the lands Philip II had taken. Castles such as Château Gaillard in France, and Dover in England, were amongst the most advanced of their age, but were surpassed in both sophistication and cost by the works of Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
in the latter half of the 13th century.
External links
- Medieval History of Navarre.- Château Gaillard and the Queen of Navarre
- French Ministry of Culture database entries for Château Gaillard:
- Château Gaillard, history and pictures