Château de Puivert
Encyclopedia
The Château de Puivert is a so-called Cathar castle situated in the commune
of Puivert
, in the Aude
département of France
. This building, on top of a hill overhanging the village and its lake, reaches an altitude of 605 m. The site is in the Quercob region, 60 km (37.3 mi) south of Carcassonne
and 45 km (28 mi) east of Foix
. The castle has been listed as a monument historique
by the French Ministry of Culture since 1902.
. These lords practised Catharism and were accused as heretics. Then, in November 1210, the castle was subjected for three days to a siege by the army of Thomas Pons de Bruyère, lieutenant of Simon de Montfort
. The castle subsequently became the property of the northern barons. All that is left of this older castle is a few sections of wall to the east. A collapse of the natural dam on the lake at the foot of the site caused the destruction of part of the town of Mirepoix
, 30 km to the north, in Ariège
in 1279. According to legend, this was because a certain Dame Blanche wanted to daydream on the lake shores, which were inaccessible in bad weather. She asked that the water level be lowered and work undertaken to accomplish this goal led to the collapse.
, still exists in the 'new' castle. The building was given a symbolic and picturesque character that can still be seen today.
The castle was classified as a Monument historique (Historic monument) in 1907. The castle is privately owned. Thanks to its very well preserved keep it has been a location for many films, including The Ninth Gate
and Le Peuple migrateur
.
, flute
, tambourin
, rebec
, lute
, gittern
, portable organ
, psaltery
and the bowed hurdy-gurdy.
Elsewhere in the town is a museum (Musée du Quercob) showing the musical tradition of the region from this period.
which separated it from the plateau is practically invisible today. The entrance to the courtyard is through a square gate tower, situated in the centre of the east wall.
Five of the original eight towers remain:
As well as the central gateway in the east wall, there are two other doorways:
The surface area of the site is very large: 3200 m² inside the walls.
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 Puivert
Puivert
Puivert is a commune in the Aude department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.-History:In the 12th century a castle stood on this site which had strong links to both Cathars and troubadours...
, in the Aude
Aude
Aude is a department in south-central France named after the river Aude. The local council also calls the department "Cathar Country".Aude is also a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother...
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...
. This building, on top of a hill overhanging the village and its lake, reaches an altitude of 605 m. The site is in the Quercob region, 60 km (37.3 mi) south of Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
and 45 km (28 mi) east of Foix
Foix
Foix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
. The castle has been listed 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...
by the French Ministry of Culture since 1902.
The first castle
The construction of the present chateau dates from the 13th century. The first mention is in 1170; it belonged to the Congost family before the Albigensian CrusadeAlbigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
. These lords practised Catharism and were accused as heretics. Then, in November 1210, the castle was subjected for three days to a siege by the army of Thomas Pons de Bruyère, lieutenant of Simon de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...
. The castle subsequently became the property of the northern barons. All that is left of this older castle is a few sections of wall to the east. A collapse of the natural dam on the lake at the foot of the site caused the destruction of part of the town of Mirepoix
Mirepoix, Ariège
Mirepoix is a communes in the Ariège department in southwestern France.-History:The original town was virtually destroyed by flooding of the Hers-Vif river on 16 June 1289...
, 30 km to the north, in Ariège
Ariège
Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....
in 1279. According to legend, this was because a certain Dame Blanche wanted to daydream on the lake shores, which were inaccessible in bad weather. She asked that the water level be lowered and work undertaken to accomplish this goal led to the collapse.
The present castle
At the start of the 14th century, Thomas de Bruyère (grandson of Pons) and his wife Isabelle de Melun had the new castle built to the east of the old castle. The remains of the old castle are still visible. The coat-of-arms of Isabelle de Melun, who was the daughter of a Grand Chamberlain of FranceGrand Chamberlain of France
The Grand Chamberlain of France was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, a member of the Maison du Roi , and one of the Great Offices of the Maison du Roi during the Ancien Régime...
, still exists in the 'new' castle. The building was given a symbolic and picturesque character that can still be seen today.
The castle was classified as a Monument historique (Historic monument) in 1907. The castle is privately owned. Thanks to its very well preserved keep it has been a location for many films, including The Ninth Gate
The Ninth Gate
The Ninth Gate is a 1999 horror film directed, produced, and co-written by Roman Polanski. It is a neo-noir, occult mystery thriller involving the rare book business, wherein rare-book dealer Dean Corso is hired by bibliophile Boris Balkan to validate a seventeenth-century copy of The Nine Gates...
and Le Peuple migrateur
Le Peuple Migrateur
Winged Migration , is a 2001 documentary film directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin, who was also one of the writers and narrators, showcasing the immense journeys routinely made by birds during their migrations....
.
The minstrels' room
On the fourth floor of the keep is the minstrels' room (salle des musiciens). It is so called because eight very fine sculptures of musicians with their instruments are represented in the room. Legend has it that the town of Puivert welcomed a great gathering of troubadours in the 12th century. The instruments seen in the room are the bagpipesBagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
, flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, tambourin
Tambourin
A tambourin is a piece of music that imitates a drum, usually as a repetitive not-very-melodic figure in the bass.A tambourin itself is a small, two-headed drum of Arabic origin, mentioned as early as the 1080s . It was played together with a small flute .A tambourin, as a dance, hails from Provence...
, rebec
Rebec
The rebecha is a bowed string musical instrument. In its most common form, it has a narrow boat-shaped body and 1-5 strings and is played on the arm or under the chin, like a violin.- Origins :The rebec dates back to the Middle Ages and was particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries...
, lute
Lute
Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
, gittern
Gittern
The gittern was a relatively small, quill-plucked, gut strung instrument that originated around the 13th century and came to Europe via Moorish Spain. It was also called the quinterne in Germany, the guitarra in Spain, and the chitarra in Italy...
, portable organ
Portative organ
A portative organ is a small pipe organ that consists of one rank of flue pipes, sometimes arranged in two rows, to be played while strapped to the performer at a right angle...
, psaltery
Psaltery
A psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The psaltery of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...
and the bowed hurdy-gurdy.
Elsewhere in the town is a museum (Musée du Quercob) showing the musical tradition of the region from this period.
Description of the château
The walls
The castle's functions were military: lookout and defence, unlike many buildings of the era which had religious goals. The curtain wall extends for 175 m, pierced with arrow slits. It is rectangular in plan. The moatMoat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
which separated it from the plateau is practically invisible today. The entrance to the courtyard is through a square gate tower, situated in the centre of the east wall.
Five of the original eight towers remain:
- a smooth round tower in the northeast corner
- a rough round tower in the middle of the north wall
- a square tower, with a windowed turret on the eastern side joining the two top floors
- remains of a round tower in the southeast
- the keep (the best preserved part of the castle).
As well as the central gateway in the east wall, there are two other doorways:
- one in the northwest corner defended by the keep
- another to the south of the keep giving access to the older castle.
The surface area of the site is very large: 3200 m² inside the walls.
The keep
The best preserved part of the castle, the square keep measures 15 m by 15 m with a height of 35 m. Originally, it adjoined the manor house. On the west of the tower can be seen pieces of perpendicular masonry, from which it can be deduced that the buiildings were joined in this area. The keep comprises:- two lower levels: partly underground, with barrel vaulting
- a third floor: the chapel is accessible through a doorway with a broken arch. The room is decorated with small columns, mouldings and shields. The ceiling is rib-vaulted; in the wall is a "piscina" (basin).
- a fourth floor: a rib-vaulted room, the culs-de-lampe sculpted with non-religious figures playing musical instruments - the Minstrels' Room ("Salle des Musiciens"). It is well lit, thanks to three windows resembling those of the chapel.
- the fifth and top floor: a defensive platform, originally surrounded with crenellations, provides a magnificent view of the Quercob region.
See also
- PuivertPuivertPuivert is a commune in the Aude department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.-History:In the 12th century a castle stood on this site which had strong links to both Cathars and troubadours...
: the town with some history - Cathar castlesCathar castlesCathar castles is a modern term used by the tourism industry to designate a series of fortresses built by the French king on the southern border of his lands at the end of the Albigensian Crusade...
- List of castles in France
- Cathars
- Albigensian CrusadeAlbigensian CrusadeThe Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
External links
- Official site of the Château de Puivert
- Ministry of Culture database entry for Château de Puivert
- Ministry of Culture photos
- Puivert on cathares.org
- Photograph of Puivert Chateau window
Sources
- Châteaux médiévaux de l'Aude : Guide du visiteur, 25 sites du pays cathare; Archéologie du Midi médiéval; revue annuelle du Centre d'archéologie médiévale du Languedoc ; supplément au tome 4, 1986.
- AUÉ, Michèle; (trans. Pleasance, Simon) (1992). Discover Cathar Country. Vic-en-Bigorre, France: MSM. ISBN 2-907899-44-9.
- MICHELIN Green Guide: Languedoc, Roussillon, Tarn Gorges (Michelin Tyre plc 1998) p317