Regnéville Castle
The Château de Regnéville is the ruin of a lowland castle from the 14th century in the town of Regnéville-sur-Mer in the French department Manche . Built at the mouth of the Sienne River , it was intended to protect the dry port of Regnéville-sur-Mer, one of the most important on the Cotentin peninsula , from the Middle Ages to the 17th century . Partly demolished towards the end of the Hundred Years War between England and France, the complex was partly rebuilt during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Today the ruins are owned by the department. Archaeological excavations and restoration work are attempting to preserve the existing substance of the castle.
history
The crews defending Regnéville Castle were always quite small: an average of five or six armed men and 15 archers or crossbowmen who were under the command of a captain (French: capitain). The numerical weakness of this troop allows conclusions to be drawn about the defense system of this complex: a strong defense through circumferential battlements on the curtain wall .
Contracts were concluded between the respective state sovereign and the fortress commanders. The wages for the crew were guaranteed in this way by the King of Navarre , the French or the English king.
The beginnings
The complex, whose predecessor buildings date from the 11th century, was built in the middle of the 14th century. Among other things, it consisted of a core castle in the east, the foundations of which were exposed during excavations between 1991 and 1993. The large tower, of which only two of its four sides have been partially preserved, was located in the northwest of the main castle.
To the west opposite the harbor was the outer bailey , originally the royal residence of Charles the Evil . After the fighting in the Hundred Years War, the former castle remained in a sad state.
The castle of Charlemagne
In 1336 the Regnéville fief came into the hands of the House of Navarre . In 1349 Charles the Evil, King of Navarre, took over the Norman property of his father Philip III. , Count of Évreux . The current facility was probably built around this time. In 1364 Charles V ascended the French throne. The followers of Charlemagne, allied with the English, were able to hold Normandy , relying on the numerous fortified castles in the region. The fortifications were also strengthened at Regnéville.
After an attempt to poison the French king in March 1378 failed, Charles V sent the Duke of Burgundy and Connétable Bertrand du Guesclin to besiege the fortresses of Charlemagne in Normandy. In early May 1378, Regnéville Castle was captured by French troops. After the death of Charles V, his son Charles VI. however, these lands returned in 1380. In 1404 Charles III handed over . from Navarre , son of Charles the Evil, Normandy to the King of France. Regnéville was spun off from the Kingdom of Navarre to join the Kingdom of France.
English occupation
At the beginning of the 15th century, three pieces of artillery were purchased for defense. These were small cannons, so-called couleuvrines , which could throw stone balls weighing four pounds.
In March 1418 the Duke of Gloucester conquered the castle for the English King Henry VI. The crew in Regnéville at that time consisted of about fifty men. The English occupation was very unpopular, and there was resistance to the occupation among the population , which was expressed in raids and propaganda against the English soldiers, but was rather disorganized.
In 1435, Hue Spencer was in command of the castle. For the King of England he was Baillif of Cotentin and combined a high administrative office with a military command. Until 1448 Regnéville was his residence.
On September 19, 1449, the army of the Duke of Brittany , Arthur III. , Called Connetable de Richemont , the fortification for the English with the help of citizens from Coutances and farm workers from Regnéville. The attack left the castle heavily damaged on its seaside, and in the second half of the 15th century the complex gradually lost its importance after a fire.
In 1603 Regnéville was sold to Isaac de Piennes, Lord of Bricqueville. During the French Wars of Religion , he participated in a conspiracy from Regnéville that was instigated by the Protestant side. The conspirators intended to offer Normandy to the English in 1628 as a diversion from the siege of La Rochelle .
destruction
In 1626, the Minister of King Louis XIII. , Armand-Jean du Plessis, duc de Richelieu , to destroy all fortifications of cities and castles that were not on France's borders or were considered important for the kingdom. Regnéville Castle was undoubtedly considered safe because it was eleven years before it was defended. After it was badly damaged by a storm in 1630, its defense elements were finally destroyed in 1637. The powder-filled donjon broke apart and split in two along the spiral staircase from top to bottom. The remaining castle buildings were then used as a residence and farm.
reconstruction
Roulland de Gourfaleur began work in 1582 to rebuild the outer bailey. Among other things, he had the moats made functional again. In addition, the courtyard-facing facade of the north wing in the outer bailey was renewed in such a way that two doors on the first floor lead onto the inner courtyard. Behind it is a gallery that can be reached via an outside staircase.
Equally important reconstructions followed the destruction in 1637. In the middle of the 19th century Sieger Bunel set up a mechanical sawmill for marble in the outer bailey.
The castle ruins were acquired in 1989 by the Conseil Général de la Manche and placed under monument protection by the French Ministry of Culture in 1991 as a monument historique . Reconstruction work started in 1994 is intended to restore the facility to its condition from the end of the 16th century.
description
The sea gate
The sea gate (French: Porte de Mer ) of the castle used to provide access to the old port of Regnéville. It was built in the 14th century by the then tenant Robert I de La Porte, Bishop of Avranches and Chancellor of the King of Navarre.
Drawbridges led to the gate, which has been changed several times in its history . A small fortified gatehouse (French: châtelet) with a stone ground floor formed the first fortified access to the bridge. Some remains of the masonry substructure of this gate are still preserved. The first drawbridge that led to the gate was possibly two-lane, with one passage for pedestrians and a second for riders and carts.
Donjon
The Donjon , the main tower of the castle complex, has become the symbol of the city of Regnéville over the years, and its remains dominate the image of the ruin. Despite its architecture outdated for the 14th century, the main tower seems to have been built solidly. It has a rectangular floor plan and corner blocks that are typical of Romanesque residential towers . The approximately 20-meter-high tower, the walls of which are more than three meters thick, rises in the northwest corner of the inner castle. Its four floors, three of which are vaulted, are connected by a staircase that was renewed in the 16th century and is still preserved today. A cellar was used to store supplies on the ground floor.
From the oriels on the western and southern side of the donjon, which were added in the 16th century under Roulland de Gourfaleur, two mighty granite girders can still be seen today .
Web links
- Brief historical overview on the website of the canton of Montmartin-sur-Mer (French)
- Entry of the castle ruins in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
Coordinates: 49 ° 0'27 " N , 1 ° 33'11" W.