Château d'Aguilar
Encyclopedia
The Château d'Aguilar is a 12th century Cathar castle located in the commune of Tuchan
in the Aude
département of France
.
allows supervision of the corbière
s. Despite this, the castle is easily accessible from the plains because of its relatively low elevation of 321 metres.
There is a small underground chapel of Saint-Anne below the keep.
s of Carcassonne
to their vassal, the Ternes.
In 1210 it was invaded and occupied by Simon de Montfort
, whose soldiers took and held the owner Raymond de Termes in a dark dungeon in the Carcassonne. Militarily, the castle lay dormant for the next 30 years, until Raymond's son Oliver de Termes
took back the castle in the brief revolt against the crusaders. Aguilar became the refuge of many faydits, Cathar
knights and lords without strongholds. In 1246 a royal garrison was installed to supervise the Aragon frontier.
Olivier, however, eventually made an alliance with king Louis IX
, who purchased the castle from him in 1260. Despite the heavy fortifications, the castle would be continually under siege by opposers to the French or Spanish rulers until the 16th century.
When the border was pushed back to the south of Roussillon
by the treaty of the Pyrenées
, the castle gradually lost its strategic importance, and was eventually abandoned in 1569. Today it is in decrepit condition. Since 1949, it has been listed as a monument historique
by the French Ministry of Culture.
Tuchan
Tuchan is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.-Population:...
in the Aude
Aude
Aude is a department in south-central France named after the river Aude. The local council also calls the department "Cathar Country".Aude is also a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother...
département of 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...
.
Architecture
The design of the castle witnesses the practical military thinking of the 12th century. The castle consists of an inner keep built in the 12th century, surrounded by an outer pentagonal fortification from the 13th century. This fortification is oriented such that its point guards the side most favourable to attackers. The keep and the inner hexagonal fortification is flanked at each corner with semi-circular guard towers, each equipped with archery outlooks. The strategic location of the castle on a hill overhanging the plain of TuchanTuchan
Tuchan is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.-Population:...
allows supervision of the corbière
Corbiere
Corbiere was a racehorse who won the Grand National in 1983...
s. Despite this, the castle is easily accessible from the plains because of its relatively low elevation of 321 metres.
There is a small underground chapel of Saint-Anne below the keep.
History
The earliest building at this location belonged to the count of Fonnollède since 1021. In the 13th century, the keep that had replaced earlier buildings was bequeathed by the viscountViscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
s of Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
to their vassal, the Ternes.
In 1210 it was invaded and occupied by Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...
, whose soldiers took and held the owner Raymond de Termes in a dark dungeon in the Carcassonne. Militarily, the castle lay dormant for the next 30 years, until Raymond's son Oliver de Termes
Oliver de Termes
Oliver de Termes was a knight from the southern French region of Termes, Aude. He was raised as a Cathar but eventually converted to Catholicism in a move that would help restore peace to his homeland following the ravages of the Albigensian Crusades.-Early life:Oliver was the son of Raymond de...
took back the castle in the brief revolt against the crusaders. Aguilar became the refuge of many faydits, Cathar
Cathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
knights and lords without strongholds. In 1246 a royal garrison was installed to supervise the Aragon frontier.
Olivier, however, eventually made an alliance with king Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
, who purchased the castle from him in 1260. Despite the heavy fortifications, the castle would be continually under siege by opposers to the French or Spanish rulers until the 16th century.
When the border was pushed back to the south of Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
by the treaty of the Pyrenées
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed to end the 1635 to 1659 war between France and Spain, a war that was initially a part of the wider Thirty Years' War. It was signed on Pheasant Island, a river island on the border between the two countries...
, the castle gradually lost its strategic importance, and was eventually abandoned in 1569. Today it is in decrepit condition. Since 1949, it has been 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.