 Josselin Castle and theRiver Oust | |
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| Location | Josselin,Morbihan,Brittany,France |
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Josselin Castle (French:Château de Josselin,Breton:Kastell Josilin,Latin:Castellum Joscelini) is a medievalcastle atJosselin, in theMorbihan department ofBrittany,France, first built in 1008 by Guéthénoc, viscount ofPorhoët. The town and castle were named after Guéthénoc's son, Goscelinus, and rebuilt at various times since. The current castle was built byOlivier V de Clisson after 1370. He had acquired the land as part of the dowry on his marriage toMargaret of Rohan.[1] It has been designated as amonument historique since 1928.[2]
Guéthénoc [fr] (or Guithenoc),vicomte ofPorhoët,Rohan andGuéméné, began to build the first castle on the site around the year 1008, choosing a rockypromontory overlooking the valley of theOust. The new fortress was named after Guéthénoc's son,Goscelinus [fr] (or Josselin).[3] The name is recorded in theCartulary ofRedon Abbey (1080) ascastellum et castrum Goscelini,[4] but already by 1108 it was appearing asCastellum Joscelini.[5]
The site chosen for the castle was excellent from both military and commercial points of view. Since the 9th century, there had also existed an annualpilgrimage in September to theBasilica of Our Lady of the Bramble [fr] (Notre-Dame du Roncier), which added greatly to the wealth of the lords and people of Josselin.[citation needed]
In 1154,Odo II, Viscount of Porhoët, step-father, guardian and regent of the youngConan IV, Duke of Brittany, collected the Breton lords to deprive Conan of his inheritance, but was defeated byHenry II of England, who was alsoCount 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.[6] Henry II himself led the demolition and sowed salt into the ruins.
During theBreton War of Succession (1341–1364), thegarrison of Josselin fought the defenders of the nearby Castle ofPloërmel without any clear outcome. To break theimpasse, theBattle of the Thirty was arranged, contested by thirtyknights from each side, and took place on 26 March 1351 halfway between the two places. The men of Josselin defeated the champions of Ploërmel, who were fourBretons, sixGermans and twentyEnglishmen.[7][8][9][10]
In 1370 the Breton soldierOlivier V de Clisson (1336–1407), laterConstable of France, acquired the lordship of Josselin and built an imposing new fortress with eight towers and a keep one hundredyards across.[3] He married his daughter Beatrice toAlain VIII of Rohan [fr], heir to the viscounts of Rohan, whose own castle was not far away.
In 1488Francis 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-grandson of Olivier V de Clisson, who transformed the property and built an imposing new house with a finegranitefacade, an early example ofRenaissance architecture, bringing inItalian artists and artisans. In recognition of his patroness Anne, who was both sovereign Duchess of Brittany andQueen Consort of France, at several points along the facade Rohan added herbadge, the letterA beneath a cord sculpted in stone.
Banned from Josselin due to theirProtestantism,René II, Viscount of Rohan, and the other Rohan men could not prevent theDuke of Mercœur, thenGovernor of Brittany, from turning their castle into a base for theCatholic League in its struggles againstHenry IV of France.
In 1603, after Henry IV promoted him to a duke,Henry, Duke of Rohan, one of the leaders of theHuguenots, transferred his military headquarters to his Castle ofPontivy. In 1629,Cardinal Richelieu dismantled the keep and four of the towers at Josselin and announced to Duke Henry: "My lord, into your game ofskittles I have just thrown a good ball!"[11]
In the 18th century, the castle was no longer occupied as a seat of power, and during the years of theFrench Revolution and theFirst French Empire it became aprison and awarehouse. In 1822,Caroline, Duchess of Berry, persuaded the then Duke of Rohan,Louis-François de Rohan-Chabot to restore it.
The castle remains a residence ofJosselin de Rohan, fourteenth Duke of Rohan, who wasPresident of the region of Brittany from 1998 to 2004.[12][13] Amarblebust of the 13th Duke, Alain Louis Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, sculpted in 1910 byAuguste Rodin, is displayed in the antechamber,[14] and there is also anequestrian statue of Olivier de Clisson.
The castle contains a toy and doll museum with over 5000 objects in its collection.[15]
47°57′8″N2°32′50″W / 47.95222°N 2.54722°W /47.95222; -2.54722