Castle of Bonaguil

The castle of Bonaguil is located in France, with the hinge of the Périgord and of the Quercy, on the commune of Saint-Face-on-Lémance but it is the property of the commune of Fumel in Lot-et-Garonne. It is classified Historic building since 1862. With the the Middle Ages, Bonaguil was the seat of the one of the four Baronnie S of Périgord.

The castle of Bonaguil is one of the last strong castles. Built on a calcareous spur which dominates of about thirty meters the confluence of two narrow valleys, its erection begins at the 13th century, then it is entirely taken again at the end of the 15th century and at the beginning of the 16th century by the baron Bérenger de Roquefeuil who adds to him all the defensive improvements of the finishing Moyen-âge. Military wonder of Architecture extending on 7500 m ², true catalog of the fortification since until the 15th century, it integrates starting from 1480 the last improvements of defense by means of the Artillerie both for to use this one to secure itself some: formidable weephole covering the access to the castle, drain-holes per tens as well in the turns as in the Courtine S, rooms of shooting casematées (“arched”) with the shelter of the unfavourable balls and allowing fires low and shaving, “sparrow” casemate prohibiting any circulation at the bottom of the large ditch, artillery terraces staged with the foot of the body of place which, constitutes as many successive enclosures to force, installation with fine defensives of a natural Grotte located under the rocky outcrop, etc With its completion towards 1510, it appears however obsolete in its austere and warlike stone corset. Indeed, at that time of the beginning of the Rebirth, the noble big families as well as the king and his close relations start to build the first Loire ch4ateau and in all the kingdom, of many medieval fortresses of small and average aristocracy, even if they preserve some defense forces, are transformed little by little into residences of approval by demolition of part of the turns and curtains in order to open them on the light and the countryside.

Bonaguil nowadays is in a remarkable state of conservation. It had never to undergo of attack and was inhabited until the Révolution.

Origins

The name means good needle and indicates the defensive Site: a rock and escarpé limestone urgonien headland, being appropriate perfectly for the establishment of a strong castle.

First state

A first castle of Bonaguil is built after the middle of the 13th century (between 1259 and 1271 according to Jacques Gardelle), on a rocky outcrop, probably by Arnaud the Tower of Fumel. The only entry of the Keep, itself built above a natural cave, is a door with six meters height, accessible on the scale.

The first mention in a text goes back to 1271, in a Charte which indexes the goods of the king de France Philippe III '' Bold the ''. On this date, Bonaguil is a vassal seigniory of the stronghold of Tournon and the principal buildings of the castle are a keep of lengthened polygonal form and a rectangular home, located at the west of the keep beyond of a narrow broad interior court of ten meters. The particularly oblong shape (3 times longer than broad, as its frayed ends) of the keep was strictly dictated by dimensions and the form of the rock support (calcareous campano-urgonien) on which it rises. The northern point of the keep, whose thick masonry of more than three meters forms an angle of approximately 65°, is directed probable side of the attack: the narrow peak located immediately at the north of the fortress.

In the court of the castle, the widening and the overdeepening of a Diaclase (natural vertical fault in the calcareous rock) made it possible to drill a deep well of 48 Mr. for a diameter of 2 Mr. At the beginning of his existence, the castle is thus supplied out of water.

The lords of the place fight in the party of the king of England during the Guerre One hundred Year old. The castle is taken several times, set fire to and given up, although always property of the family of Fumel.

The November 11th 1380, Jean de Fumel-Pujols, baron de Blanquefort and owner of the castle, marries the heiress of the powerful Languedocien family of Roquefeuil (cf Maison of Roquefeuil-Blanquefort), Jeanne Catherine de Roquefeuil, and gives up its name for that - more prestigious of his wife. Their Antoine son inherits the important goods the two families. The son of this last, Jean de Roquefeuil marries Isabeau de Peyre. The couple will have nine children, of which Béranger which is born in 1448 with the castle from Flaugnac. Jean and his wife reside episodically at Bonaguil (following the example all the noble fortunate ones who had several castles) what will encourage it to carry out some installations in the austere fortress of its maternal ancestors.

Installations of Jean de Roquefeuil

Jean de Roquefeuil, who sent his Antoine son to take part in the war of the Ligue of the Public property, against the king, carries out some installations, as much defensive than of comfort:

the walls of the home in the west of the interior court are elevated (in E on the plan) in order to add an additional stage.
a spiral staircase is installed in a new turret " out of œuvre" joined against the western side of the keep, which increases space available inside this one. The access to the keep is carried out from now on as follows: on the basis of the court, a rectilinear flight of stairs of a good score of steps leads to a narrow open door at the base of the turret of staircase. This door is defended a pedestrian drawbridge and some small drain-holes with plunging shooting.

Of four wire - out of nine children of Jean, it is the third, Bérenger, called “ Bringon” , which survives the others and inherits in 1483, of all the goods of his/her parents. Previously, Béranger attended the court of king de France Louis XI where his/her father had probably made it enter like page. In 1477, he marries Anne Guesrine of Tournel to the Royal Château of Amboise. He undoubtedly belongs to the circle of the characters of the court rather close to Louis XI because this last, famous for its stinginess, grants nevertheless a comfortable pension to him. Returned of the court after the death of his/her father, Béranger de Roquefeuil will live a few years between its manor of Castelnau-Montratier to about thirty kilometers from there and one as of its other castles, Blanquefort. It has from now on in a a whole score of castles and nearly thirty baronnies (it makes state besides of it a few years later in a letter addressed to Louis XII) And it is towards 1495 that Bérenger will settle in Bonaguil of which it makes his main home, not without to have engaged there, ten years before, important work which will transform, increase and reinforce considerably the old fortress with his/her parents.

Defensive reinforcements of Béranger de Roquefeuil

Perhaps considerable work of defense of the castle finds their source in the contentions of the lord of Bonaguil with the king Charles VIII, which condemns it for a violent one disagreement with his vassal of Castelnau-Montratier. Thus a first psychological portrait of Béranger is outlined: it is powerful and rich baron, jealous of his prerogatives seigneuriales inherited time its ancestors, of not very easy, proud nature with excess (it wrote " not to fear the troops of king de France if the desire came to this one to come to put the seat in front of Bonaguil"). But by these supposed features of its character, Béranger de Roquefeuil hardly dissociates majority of the high lords of this end of the 15th century whose pride, independence and, undoubtedly, arrogance will be reduced to mercy only a hundred and thirty years later by Richelieu. Béranger de Roquefeuil will finance this important work, which will last thirty years, thanks to the fortune of Roquefeuil, which has grounds of the the Gironde to the Gulf of Lions.

First enclosure

The principal danger at the end of the 15th century comes from progress of artillery. This one, born since more than one century, ceased improving, so much in power, only in precision and that in regularity of shooting. To secure itself some, it is thus necessary to hold most distant possible the guns from the attacker, holding account that those, in this end of the 15th century, must be, to be effective, put out of battery at a distance ranging between 50 and 100 Mr. of the walls to be destroyed. Beyond, their shooting loses his power and, nearer, being used them as parts expose themselves dangerously to the response of the defenders. Holding account as of these technical requirements, an external enclosure, a 350 m length, is added to the castle. It consists of remparées low curtains (retaining with their reverse a ground mass of which the upper part forms a defensive terrace) This system also called False-braie) makes it possible to deaden partially, thanks to the important ground masses, destroying vibrations of the impacts of balls against masonries. This enclosure external of Bonaguil is reinforced low towers which do not exceed the level of false-braies and equipped with drain-holes with shaving shooting, which is the second innovation of this rebuilding: the forecast of the large-scale use of artillery for the defense of the castle, with a total of 104 embrasures arranged for the pieces of ordnance.

One thus has a taking into account of last progress of the armament: on the one hand one pushes back the shooting of the attacker by obliging this last to position much further his guns it would not wish it and, on the other hand, one makes him difficult the approach of his infantry because of the multiple drain-holes drawing almost to the short-nap cloth from the ground and overall. Lastly, the guns of strong gauge of defense are installed preferably in height, either on the terraces of false-braies surrounding the castle, or in the casemates located at middle height of the turns, this in order to beat with far the positions from the attacker. Bonaguil thus offers levels of defense staged in height, technique which will perdurera several centuries: remote shootings (shootings curved, known as " paraboliques") are carried out starting from the high parts of the fortress, the shootings of prohibition of the approach (shootings tended and shaving) operated starting from the low parts. This multiple use potential of artillery to fine defensives is reinforced by the use of the individual portable weapons, so much with jet (arcs and crossbows which were useful until the 16th century) that with fire (arquebuses), all perfectly usable starting from old the archères of the S centuries of which number are preserved.

The spur on which the castle is established is isolated from the plate by broad and deep ditch dug in the rock. Imposing a Barbacane is established in advanced work beyond the ditch, on the edge external of this one, called " contrescarpe". This colossal work controls the single access to the fortress. It can also function like a hopper in the event of period of insecurity: one lets penetrate in the weephole entering them suspect, then one raises the external drawbridge behind them. Then after control of their identity, one lowers for them one of the two drawbridges which give access to the castle. The round shape of this weephole, like its thick walls of four meters, act as protective shield for the northern face of the castle, most vulnerable because slightly dominated by the peak located at north. This outer work east girds of its own ditch, broad approximately four meters and deep of five. But the role of this weephole is not only passive: if the thickness of its walls confers to him a role of very solid shield, it is also defended in an active way thanks to multiple drain-holes prohibiting with the enemy to approach some. Besides the shot-firing pattern of these embrasures lets remain no dead angle. On the side is weephole, side of its door, two turns allow to carry out shootings of flanking while on its western side, the function of flanking is reserved for an outstanding flange of the wall. The door of the weephole moreover is located in the side of this one which dominates the precipice, at the east. A bridge sleeping, nonrectilinear because forming an elbow of ninety degrees towards the line, crosses the ditch of the weephole and is completed, in front of the wall of this one, by a drawbridge. The turn formed this fixed bridge returned very difficult, even impossible, the use of a ram for purposes to smash the door. Moreover, the position of this one in a side of the nonvisible weephole (" défilé") there with the sights of the attacker, prevented this one to destroy it with the gun fault of being able to arrive at the ram. The weephole is connected to the castle by two bridges door frames which cross the large ditch. These bridges are posed on some ten meters high piles (that is to say depth of the ditch) the first bridge, broad approximately 2,50 meters, carries out in the middle of the residential castle. The other, parallel, narrower, is located at ten meters on its left. It gives access to a farmyard and with tenders located at the foot is keep, slightly below the castle. These two bridges thrown on the large ditch are completed by a four meters broad cut which can be crossed only by lowering a drawbridge. The driving drawbridge with the residential castle is double: small, rather narrow, width of a footbridge, serves a pedestrian door while the drawbridge the broadest dessert a door charretière. For the access to the commun runs, only one hinged bridge, of intermediate width.

Always to this end not to let remain no site with the shelter of the shootings of defense, a Moineau is arranged in the content of the large ditch, with the foot of the rock escarpe. This small work is a covered low casemate of a thick roof in flagstones and hardcores and which rests on a solid arches. One can reach it this sparrow only by one natural cave prolonged in corridor which, opening in the rock escarpment in the south of the castle, passes right through under this one. This sparrow is a typical fortification of the second part of the 15th century. Located in bottom of ditch, armed with five drain-holes, it is completely protected from the shootings of gun of the attacker and makes it possible to carry out shootings shaving in the ditch, prohibiting with the attacker who would have succeeds in going down there to use the bottom of the ditch as sees progression (the sparrows remained, under the name of " caponnières" and in a modernized alternative, until the fortification of the beginning of the 20th century). Other drain-holes, located partly low of the turns, come to reinforce the defensive action of the sparrow. A singular posts shooting to defend the ditch is also arranged in the pile of the driving bridge to the farmyard. This pile in masonry, high of ten meters, square section of approximately two meters out of two, is hollow on the eight tenth its height. In top of the pile and with the right in the middle of the passage, a trap door recovers an inspection pit in whom one goes down by means of a scale. The bottom of this narrow and deep well moreover eight meters, loopholes bored in the walls of the pile, make it possible to give shootings shaving directly in the ditch. But being given the exiguity of this small station of shooting, only one man can serve it and only provided with an individual weapon (arquebus or crossbow, the latter having been of use until the middle of the 16th century).

Lastly, of the embanked boulevards are arranged on the sides is, southern and west of the castle. These boulevards are reinforced by casematées low towers. The round boulevard which circumvents the foot of the south-eastern angle of the castle contains a long semicircular corridor which serves eight drain-holes which take the slopes is, southern and north under their fires. This corridor-casemate is covered with a remarkable vault. One goes down there by a slope located at the one from his ends. This arranged slope thus allows an easy access for the bearing of guns of small gauge. At the other end, a spiral staircase goes up close to the entry of the driving cave-corridor to the sparrow of the large northern ditch. The boulevard established with the south-western angle of the castle communicates with outside by means of a passage out of baffle spared in the middle a covered low turret of a roof of roofing stones. Of appearance alleviating, banal, the access carried out in this turret is actually a frightening trap: two thick doors to force, one to penetrate in the turret, the other to be able to come out from it. Between these two closings: a narrow corridor in zigzag stopped by an intermediate door, itself taken under the shootings of row of a Fatal interior.

Second defense system

The falseones/boulevards and the weephole are intended only to move away the attacker from the heart of the castle, which constitutes the residential part. This one is also reinforced. Six turns are built, four circular towers of angle and two turns of medium of curtain, square in the west, and a round in the south (of secondary importance, the more so as it is currently taken in apartments built at the 18th century). The turns are hardly committed, therefore a contrario very projecting compared to the enclosure, which allows a better flanking of this one. Most interesting of these towers built by Béranger de Roquefeuil is located at the north-western angle of the castle, at the end of the large ditch of the entry. It is about an enormous cylinder of more than fourteen meters in diameter, high of thirty and whose walls exceed the four meters base width. It contains seven stages of which three low drain-holes serve, while the four upper floors, nonreserved for defense, light by splendid windows with crossed mullions. The top of this remarkable tower (one of the most beautiful medieval towers of France) is crowned of a covered way with Mâchicoulis carried by corbels of the Breton type (in reversed pyramids, with four or five projections.

These high towers are useful, as in the primitive medieval castle, to protect the walls thanks to the projections which they constitute.

Vicissitudes of the castle of the 16th century at the 18th century

When Bérenger dies in 1530 at the exceptional age for the 82 years time, the castle of Bonaguil, with his high towers and walls, although thick, is not adapted already any more to the military techniques of the time. In the interval, the guns made considerable progress: they can draw more and more far and with more in addition to force. One consequently starts to build buried forts and hardly ten years later, the first bastionnées fortifications will be born in Italy. In spite of these weaknesses, Bonaguil remains for the time an imposing fortress which would certainly not resist well a long time an army organized well and equipped, but can hold a long time in respect a troop very few and badly aguerrie.

Charles, the son of Béranger de Roquefeuil wastes (seems it for his beautiful Blanche wife of Lettes) the fortune of his father, and its sons Honorat and Antoine inherit a well reduced fortune. During wars of religion, the two brothers fight in the opposed camps, and the castle is taken in 1563. A first restoration takes place in 1572. Involved in debt, Antoine must give to the lord de Pardhaillan the fortress in 1618, before being able to repurchase it later a few years.

His/her son Antoine-Alexandre is marquis, but leaves with his only daughter Marie-Gilberte, a castle in bad condition and trunks empty. Married as of the death of his/her father on July 9th, 1639 (at thirteen years) with the marquis of Coligny - Saligny, lieutenant of the gendarmes of the Queen, it is devoted to the raising and the maintenance of the castle. It remarie in 1655 with Claude-Yves de Tourzel, marquis d' Allègre, of which it has a girl who marries Seignelay, Minister for the family of Colbert.

François de Roquefeuil, relative distant who had some rights on the castle, takes possession in 1656 of it, after having removed from force the castle of Flaugnac, the preserve nearly one year, and gives up Bonaguil only plundered. Marie-Gilberte resides at Paris the last years of her life, and leaves with the abandonment the castle of Bonaguil, until her death in 1699. It then passes to Montpeyroux (François-Gaspard de Montpeyroux, which, soldier, lived there almost never) then to his sister which sells it in 1719 to Jean-Antoine de Pechpeyrou-Beaucaire. The son of this one sells the castle to Marguerite de Fumel, widow of Emmanuel de Giversac, in 1761, which done some work of comfort there.

Constructions of approval at the 18th century

Marguerite de Fumel remains indeed regularly with the castle of Bonaguil. She thus makes arrange the castle, in particular in the home P of the plan. At that time, the False-braie in the west of the castle is increased and arranged in a large terrace and becomes a place of walk and approval. New apartments are built in the south, in-outside interior enclosure, and thus profiting from a better exposure. The lady of the manor gives festivals. The seven drawbridges are transformed into bridge-door frames. Part of the ramparts is cut down in order to give a sight on the valley.

The Revolution and restorations

It is the nephew of Marguerite de Fumel, Joseph-Louis de Fumel who inherits it in 1788. He emigrates as of October 1789, and the castle is allocated like well Nation. All furniture is dispersed, the dismounted roofs, floors and woodworks. When after Thermidor, Fumel recover the castle, they do not live it, and sell it.

It passes with hands in hands until its purchase in 1860 by the commune of Fumel, which obtains the classification like Historic building (1862), and makes carry out some work restoration by B. Cavailler in 1868 and the architect of district A. Gilles in 1876. The architect of the Historic buildings restores the keep of 1882 to 1886. Other specific repairs take place of 1898 to 1900, whose cover in Lauze S of watches for keep which is remade in 1900; other work takes place in 1948-1950, 1977 and 1985. A derestauration of the keep is carried out in 1956.

See too

Wikipédia:Books of Wikipédia/Moyen_Âge

External bonds

Site of the castle of Bonaguil
Tourism in the neighborhoods of Bonaguil
Photograph gallery of the Castle of Bonaguil
Article and photographs on the castle of Bonaguil
For the schools, colleges and families: the Public Young reception with the Castle of Bonaguil
the page of the castle of Bonaguil on the site of Casteland

With reading

Antoine Régo, Yannick Zaballos and Christelle Loubriat, " Bonaguil, the last of the large castles forts" , editions fragile, 2005.

Fernande Costes. Bonaguil or the insane castle , Threshold, 1976.

Michel Coste. Bonaguil, keys of the castle , Bookstore of the castle, 2000.

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