Josselin Castle
Encyclopedia
Josselin Castle is a medieval castle
at Josselin
, in the Morbihan
department of Brittany, France
, first built in the 11th century and rebuilt at various times since. It has been designated as a monument historique
since 1928.
, Rohan and Guéméné
, began to build the first castle on the site around the year 1008, choosing a rocky promontory
overlooking the valley of the Oust. The new fortress was named after Guéthénoc's son, Goscelinus. The name is recorded in the Cartulary of Redon Abbey
(1080) as castellum et castrum Goscelini, but already by 1108 it was appearing as Castellum Joscelini.
The site chosen for the castle was excellent from both the commercial and the military points of view, and since the 9th century there had also existed an annual pilgrimage
in September to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Bramble (Notre-Dame du Roncier), which added greatly to the wealth of the lords and people of Josselin.
In 1154, Odo, Viscount of Porhoet, step-father, guardian and regent of the young Conan IV, Duke of Brittany
, collected the Breton lords to deprive Conan of his inheritance, but was defeated by Henry II of England
, who was also Duke of Anjou, whose protection Conan had sought. Henry married his fourth son, Geoffrey
, to Conan's only child, Constance, Duchess of Brittany
, and Henry and his son pulled Josselin Castle down in 1168 and 1175. Henry II himself led the demolition and sowed salt into the ruins.
During the Breton War of Succession
(1341–1364), the garrison
of Josselin fought inconclusively the defenders of the nearby Castle of Ploërmel
. To break the impasse, the Battle of the Thirty
was arranged, contested by thirty knight
s from each side, and took place on 26 March 1351 half-way between the two places. The men of Josselin defeated the champions of Ploërmel, who consisted of four Bretons
, six Germans
, and twenty Englishmen
.
In 1370 the Breton soldier Olivier de Clisson
(1336–1407), later Constable of France
, acquired the lordship of Josselin and built an imposing new fortress with eight towers and a keep one hundred yard
s across. He married his daughter Beatrice to Alain VIII of Rohan, heir to the viscounts of Rohan, whose own castle was not far away. The castle now boasts an equestrian statue of Olivier de Clisson.
In 1488 Francis II, Duke of Brittany, took the castle and partially demolished it. His daughter, Anne of Brittany
, restored it to Jean II of Rohan, a great-grand-son of Olivier de Clisson, who transformed the property and built a noble new house with a fine granite
facade
, an early example of Renaissance architecture
, importing Italian
artists and artisans. In recognition of his patroness Anne, sovereign Duchess of Brittany and Queen Consort of France, Rohan added to the facade at several points the sculpted letter A beneath a cord, her badge
.
Banned from Josselin due to their Protestantism
, René II, Viscount of Rohan
and the other Rohan men could not prevent the Duke of Mercœur, then Governor of Brittany
, from turning their castle into a base for the Catholic League
in its struggles against Henry IV of France
.
In 1603, after being advanced by Henry IV to a dukedom, Henry, Duke of Rohan, one of the leaders of the insurgent Huguenot
s, transferred his military headquarters to his Castle of Pontivy
. In 1629, Cardinal Richelieu dismantled the keep and four of the towers at Josselin and announced to Duke Henry: "My lord, into your game of skittles
I have just thrown rather a good ball!"
In the 18th century, the castle was no longer occupied as a seat of power, and during the years of the French Revolution
and the First French Empire
it became a prison
and warehouse
. In 1822, Caroline, Duchess of Berry
, persuaded the then Duke of Rohan, Louis François de Rohan-Chabot, to restore it.
The Antechamber of the castle contains a marble
bust
of the 13th Duke, Alain Louis Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, sculpted in 1910 by Auguste Rodin
.
The Castle is still a residence of Josselin de Rohan
, fourteenth Duke of Rohan, who was President of the region of Brittany from 1998 to 2004.
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...
at Josselin
Josselin
Josselin is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:St Meriadek is said to have founded a chapel there during the 4th century...
, in the Morbihan
Morbihan
Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
department of Brittany, 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...
, first built in the 11th century and rebuilt at various times since. It has been designated 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...
since 1928.
History
Guéthénoc, vicomte of PorhoëtPorhoët
The first recognised vicomte de Porohoet was Guithenoc , formerly of Guilliers. Guithenoc was born in Guilliers, Moribihan, Brittany, Western France. He married Allurum of Guilliers. He became Vicomte, and in about 1008 he moved to La Trinite, in Porhoet, Morbihan, Brittany. There he built...
, Rohan and Guéméné
Prince of Guéméné
The fiefdom of Guéméné was bought on 26 May 1377, for 3,400 sous d'or by Jean de Rohan, Viscount of Rohan. From his second marriage to The fiefdom of Guéméné was bought on 26 May 1377, for 3,400 sous d'or by Jean de Rohan, Viscount of Rohan. From his second marriage to The fiefdom of Guéméné was...
, began to build the first castle on the site around the year 1008, choosing a rocky promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
overlooking the valley of the Oust. The new fortress was named after Guéthénoc's son, Goscelinus. The name is recorded in the Cartulary of Redon Abbey
Redon Abbey
Redon Abbey, or Abbey of Saint-Sauveur, Redon , in Redon in the present Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, France, is a former Benedictine abbey founded in 832 by Saint Conwoïon, at the point where the Oust flows into the Vilaine, on the border between Neustria and Brittany.-History:In 832 Ratwili, a local...
(1080) as castellum et castrum Goscelini, but already by 1108 it was appearing as Castellum Joscelini.
The site chosen for the castle was excellent from both the commercial and the military points of view, and since the 9th century there had also existed an annual pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
in September to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Bramble (Notre-Dame du Roncier), which added greatly to the wealth of the lords and people of Josselin.
In 1154, Odo, Viscount of Porhoet, step-father, guardian and regent of the young Conan IV, Duke of Brittany
Conan IV, Duke of Brittany
Conan IV of Penthièvre , called "the Young", was duke of Brittany, from 1156 to his death. He was son of Alan the Black, 1st Earl of Richmond and Bertha of Brittany. He was his mother's heir as Duke Conan III...
, collected the Breton lords to deprive Conan of his inheritance, but was defeated by Henry II of England
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...
, who was also Duke of Anjou, whose protection Conan had sought. Henry married his fourth son, Geoffrey
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond was Duke of Brittany between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.-Family:He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de...
, to Conan's only child, Constance, Duchess of Brittany
Constance, Duchess of Brittany
Constance of Penthièvre was hereditary Duchess of Brittany between 1171 and 1196...
, and Henry and his son pulled Josselin Castle down in 1168 and 1175. Henry II himself led the demolition and sowed salt into the ruins.
During the Breton War of Succession
Breton War of Succession
The Breton War of Succession was a conflict between the Houses of Blois and Montfort for control of the Duchy of Brittany. It was fought between 1341 and 1364. It formed an integral part of the early Hundred Years War due to the involvement of the French and English governments in the conflict; the...
(1341–1364), the garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
of Josselin fought inconclusively the defenders of the nearby Castle of Ploërmel
Ploërmel
Ploërmel is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-Character of the town:It is a growing and developing community with a thriving economy and a lively atmosphere. The town is modern rather than romantically mediaeval, but it is clean and attractive and offers a...
. To break the impasse, the Battle of the Thirty
Combat of the Thirty
The Combat of the Thirty [known as Combat des Trente in French] was an episode in the struggle for the succession to the Duchy of Brittany...
was arranged, contested by thirty 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 from each side, and took place on 26 March 1351 half-way between the two places. The men of Josselin defeated the champions of Ploërmel, who consisted of four Bretons
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
, six Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, and twenty Englishmen
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
.
In 1370 the Breton soldier Olivier de Clisson
Olivier de Clisson
Olivier de Clisson , nicknamed "The Butcher", was a Breton soldier, the son of the Olivier de Clisson who was put to death in 1343 on the suspicion of having wished to give up Nantes to the English.- Biography :...
(1336–1407), later Constable of France
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
, acquired the lordship of Josselin and built an imposing new fortress with eight towers and a keep one hundred yard
Yard
A yard is a unit of length in several different systems including English units, Imperial units and United States customary units. It is equal to 3 feet or 36 inches...
s across. He married his daughter Beatrice to Alain VIII of Rohan, heir to the viscounts of Rohan, whose own castle was not far away. The castle now boasts an equestrian statue of Olivier de Clisson.
In 1488 Francis II, Duke of Brittany, took the castle and partially demolished it. His daughter, Anne of Brittany
Anne of Brittany
Anne, Duchess of Brittany , also known as Anna of Brittany , was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of...
, restored it to Jean II of Rohan, a great-grand-son of Olivier de Clisson, who transformed the property and built a noble new house with a fine granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, an early example of Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
, importing Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
artists and artisans. In recognition of his patroness Anne, sovereign Duchess of Brittany and Queen Consort of France, Rohan added to the facade at several points the sculpted letter A beneath a cord, her badge
Badge
A badge is a device or fashion accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath , a sign of legitimate employment or student status, or as a simple...
.
Banned from Josselin due to their Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
, René II, Viscount of Rohan
René II, viscount of Rohan
René II, Viscount of Rohan the son of René I of Rohan-Gié, a descendant of Francis I, Duke of Brittany and his 2nd wife Isabella Stewart, and of Isabella d'Albret, daughter of John III of Navarre and Catherine of Navarre, Queen-regnant of Navarre....
and the other Rohan men could not prevent the Duke of Mercœur, then Governor of Brittany
Governor of Brittany
This page is a list of royal governors of Brittany during the Ancien Regime.*Nominoe, 9th century*Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy from 1380*Jean de Laval, husband of Françoise de Foix, 16th century*Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier 1569-1582...
, from turning their castle into a base for the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
in its struggles against 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....
.
In 1603, after being advanced by Henry IV to a dukedom, Henry, Duke of Rohan, one of the leaders of the insurgent Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s, transferred his military headquarters to his Castle of Pontivy
Pontivy
Pontivy is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest.-History:...
. In 1629, Cardinal Richelieu dismantled the keep and four of the towers at Josselin and announced to Duke Henry: "My lord, into your game of skittles
Skittles (sport)
Skittles is an old European lawn game, a variety of bowling, from which ten-pin bowling, duckpin bowling, and candlepin bowling in the United States, and five-pin bowling in Canada are descended. In the United Kingdom, the game remains a popular pub game in England and Wales, though it tends to be...
I have just thrown rather a good ball!"
In the 18th century, the castle was no longer occupied as a seat of power, and during the years of 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...
and the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
it became a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
. In 1822, Caroline, Duchess of Berry
Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily
Caroline of Naples and Sicily was the daughter of the future King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his first wife, Maria Clementina of Austria.-Life:...
, persuaded the then Duke of Rohan, Louis François de Rohan-Chabot, to restore it.
The Antechamber of the castle contains a marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
of the 13th Duke, Alain Louis Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, sculpted in 1910 by Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
.
The Castle is still a residence of Josselin de Rohan
Josselin de Rohan
Josselin Charles Louis Jean Marie de Rohan-Chabot, 14th Duke of Rohan, known as Josselin de Rohan was a member of the Senate of France, representing the Morbihan department...
, fourteenth Duke of Rohan, who was President of the region of Brittany from 1998 to 2004.
External links
- Welcome to Josselin Castle - home page of official site
- Photographs of Josselin Castle at oositoo.com
- Josselin Castle at casteland.com