Château d'Ételan
Encyclopedia
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 Saint-Maurice-d'Ételan
Saint-Maurice-d'Ételan
Saint-Maurice-d’Ételan is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A farming village in the Pays de Caux, situated some east of Le Havre, on the D81 and D281 roads, by the banks of the meandering river Seine, which forms the commune’s...
in the Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime
Seine-Maritime is a French department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre...
département in 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:...
, France. Situated on the right bank ot the 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...
between the Brotonne and Tancarville
Tancarville Bridge
The Tancarville Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the Seine River and connects Tancarville and Marais-Vernier , near Le Havre.The bridge was completed in 1959 at a cost of 9 billion francs....
bridges, the Château d’Ételan commands a site overlooking the final loop of 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...
.
Originally designed as a 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...
, it was later converted to a 15th century flamboyant gothic mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
.
Place name
It is not known if the village gave its name to the first castle, or the opposite. It was called Esteilant in 1050-1066, from the Old English land and maybe Old English stēġili that means "steep" or "sheer". Many farmers from the DanelawDanelaw
The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the "Danes" held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. It is contrasted with "West Saxon law" and "Mercian law". The term has been extended by modern historians to...
had settled in Normandy with the Dane
Dane
- General :* Someone from the Kingdom of Denmark, or of Danish descent** Dane, a Danish national, resident or citizen ** Dane, one of the Danish people** Dane, a member of the Danes...
s in the 10th century, which explains why there are typical Old English place name elements in the Norman toponymy
Norman Toponymy
Norman Toponymy refers to all place-names in Normandy. Some belong to the common heritage of the Langue d'oïl extension zone in northern France and Belgium; this is called Pre-Normanic. Others contains Old Norse and Old English male names and toponymic appellatives...
, for example: croft > crot > croc(q): Vannecrocq
Vannecrocq
Vannecrocq is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-Population:...
(Wanescrotum 11th C.) = Walshcroft
Walesby, Lincolnshire
Walesby is a village and civil parish in Lincolnshire, England.Walesby forms part of the district of West Lindsey.It lies in the Lincolnshire Wolds, northeast of Market Rasen and south of Caistor. Tealby parish lies to the southeast...
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
or stān > esta(i)n, éta(i)n: Fatouville-Grestain
Fatouville-Grestain
Fatouville-Grestain is a commune in the Eure department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
(Grestano 11th C.) = Garston, Hertfordshire
Garston, Hertfordshire
Garston is a village in Hertfordshire, England, more or less contiguous with Watford and now, despite retaining a local identity, is effectively, a suburb...
(Grestan 11th C.) 'great stone', etc..
Simon the Norman is well known in England from the story of his dismissal and disgrace by Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
early in 1240, but less as Master Simon of Steland (or Steyland, de Esteilant, de Esteyland) whom Henry presented to the archdeaconry of Norfolk in May 1237. He originated from this place.
History
In 1494 Louis Picart, magistrate of TroyesTroyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
and Tournaisis, friend and chamberlain of King Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
with whom he went to Italy, undertook the construction of the chateau.
In August 1563, the Regent, Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
and the young King Charles IX
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
visited Ételan, having just recaptured Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
from the British (27 July 1563). Thus it was in Ételan that Regent, advised by Michel de l'Hôpital
Michel de l'Hôpital
Michel de l'Hôpital was a French statesman.-Biography:De l'Hôpital was born near Aigueperse in Auvergne ....
decided to proclaim one year early the majority of the King (4 August 1563).
At Ételan she had drawn up, signed and sealed the letter proclaiming "the King’s of age" convening the Parliament of 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...
to register the summons.
History or legend tells us that the following people have spent time at Ételan : Louis XI
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
(6 June – 13 July 1475), Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
(during the construction of le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
), Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
and Charles IX with the future kings Henry III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
and 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....
, Marguerite de Navarre
Marguerite de Navarre
Marguerite de Navarre , also known as Marguerite of Angoulême and Margaret of Navarre, was the queen consort of Henry II of Navarre...
and Michel de l'Hôpital
Michel de l'Hôpital
Michel de l'Hôpital was a French statesman.-Biography:De l'Hôpital was born near Aigueperse in Auvergne ....
(August, 1563), Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
(1723–1724). André Caplet
André Caplet
André Caplet was a French composer and conductor now known primarily through his orchestrations of works by Claude Debussy.-Biography:...
, composer and winner of the Grand Prix of Rome often stayed in Ételan and composed some of his works there including Mass for three voices.
Description
The château is listed as a monument historiqueMonument 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 the Historical Monuments File of the French Ministry of Culture. Completed in 1494 by Louis Picart, the Château d’Ételan was built on the site of a fortress which has been destroyed under the order of Louis XI. Of the medieval construction, only the cellar, the castle wall and the guard house dating from 1350 remain.
Constructed in a flamboyant Gothic style, it is the contemporary with the Law Court and the hôtel de Bourgtheroulde in 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...
and as old as the Château de Clères
Clères
Clères is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A large farming and forestry village situated by the banks of the Clérette river, in the Pays de Caux, some northeast of Rouen, at the junction of the D2, D6, D53 and the D100 roads...
. The building consists of two dwellings built from layers of bricks and stones and joined together by a magnificent stone staircase dating from the first Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
As integral part of the main building, the Chapel, dedicated to Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
, include stained glass windows, wall paintings and statues which characterised the first Norman Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
