Château de Montgilbert
Encyclopedia
Ferrières-sur-Sichon
Ferrières-sur-Sichon is a commune in the Allier department in central France.-Population:-References:*...
, 25 km to the south-east of Vichy
Vichy
Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...
in the Allier
Allier
Allier is a department in central France named after the river Allier.- History :Allier is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Auvergne and Bourbonnais.In 1940, the government of Marshal...
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
Built during the 13th century, the Château de Montgilbert is located at the top of a rocky hillock in one of the turns of the Vareille, a brook feeding Sichon, a small tributaryTributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Allier River
Allier River
The Allier is a river in central France, and is the left tributary to the Loire River. Its source is in the Massif Central, in the Lozère département, east of Mende. It flows generally north...
.
It is composed of two concentric walls. The external fortification, adapted for ground combat, reinforces the defences (towers, arrow slits) in the gently sloped west and south sides, and delimits a low courtyard that contained the servants' quarters. This enclosure was expanded during the 15th century with artillery batteries
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
and a bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
with thick walls that covered the overexposed original entry.
The inner, approximately square, fortification comprises round towers at each corner, where arches (chapel) are still visible. Square towers were situated in the centre of the curtain walls, but the majority of them have disappeared. This curtain walls were crowned with a covered path. A door with a portcullis
Portcullis
A portcullis is a latticed grille made of wood, metal, fibreglass or a combination of the three. Portcullises fortified the entrances to many medieval castles, acting as a last line of defence during time of attack or siege...
, framed by two towers, gives access to the high courtyard containing the lordly residence, the ceremonial room, outhouses including the large-chimneyed kitchen, as well as many storage areas: a water cistern, a corn silo, and cellars located under the home with access staircases. A covered gallery existed along the buildings besides the high courtyard.
From the 15th century, these buildings were modified to make them more comfortable. The windows were opened, the walls were coated with murals, and an approach ramp to the postern
Postern
A postern is a secondary door or gate, particularly in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location, allowing the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a sally port, allowing...
in the lordly residence was constructed.
Subsequently, the castle fell into neglect. Rooms were abandoned and windows were walled, and the castle was completely abandoned in the 18th century, just before the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
History
At a key point between the AuvergneAuvergne (province)
Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....
, Forez
Forez
Forez is a former province of France, corresponding approximately to the central part of the modern Loire département and a part of the Haute-Loire and Puy-de-Dôme départements....
, and Bourbonnais
Bourbonnais
Bourbonnais was a historic province in the centre of France that corresponded to the modern département of Allier, along with part of the département of Cher. Its capital was Moulins.-History:...
, Montgilbert was probably built by the family of Saint-Gérand around 1250, during the reign of Saint Louis.
Around 1280, the Aycelin family bought the castle. They were rich bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
, later ennobled, of the Auvergne.
The castle was passed by marriage to the De Vienne family. However, Rodrigue de Villandrando, a Spanish mercenary in the pay of King Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, confiscated the castle from 1434 to 1439, during 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...
. Important modifications to the castle (including the bastion and external walls) were carried out during this period.
During the Renaissance
French Renaissance
French Renaissance is a recent term used to describe a cultural and artistic movement in France from the late 15th century to the early 17th century. It is associated with the pan-European Renaissance that many cultural historians believe originated in northern Italy in the fourteenth century...
, Montgilbert became less and less a place of residence for its owners, the family of Saulx-Tavannes. The French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
were covering the country with blood, and the Bourbonnais was definitively attached to France.
Under Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, the owners lived among the noble court
Noble court
The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure...
. Certain parts of the castle were given up, starting its ruin.
Around 1770, the last heir, Jean Baptiste Bravard d'Eyssat Duprat, returned to Montgilbert with his mother. To coax him to leave this obsolete castle, she probably unpinned the roof.
In 1793, the castle was sold as a national asset.
During the nineteenth century, inhabitants of the neighbourhood used the castle as a stone quarry, accelerating its ruin.
Current Situation
The castle of Montgilbert was registered on the Inventaire Supplémentaire des Monuments HistoriquesMonument 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...
on October 11, 1930. It is described in the French Ministry of Culture database as "perhaps the doyen of feudal fortresses in the region" ("peut-être la doyenne des forteresses féodales de la région").
An association to save the site was created in 1974 after some initial work began in 1973. This association is active around the year (as of the beginning of 2010) and organizes construction jobs each year for youth volunteers. This association is affiliated with the Union Rempart, a federation of associations to safeguard the cultural heritage of France.