I discovered Châteaubriant during a trip with Dany Ashkenazi and my good friend Isabelle, who decided to stop here on the way to Brissac castle, which was the “main course” of that day. We parked across from the town’s church, and since I’m a well-known church enthusiast, I took Isabelle inside with me. You can see what happened next in the video below…
After hearing a song like that, I figured there must be some magic hidden in this town, and when we got to the castle itself, I realized I was right. I had never seen a combination quite like this one, a medieval fortress fused with a Renaissance palace. My gut told me there was an interesting story hiding here, so I decided to do a little digging into the history to find it. Luckily, after a bit of digging, it turned out I was right. Isabelle, who sang in Châteaubriant, was probably thrilled, but the other women here were a lot less happy…
Meeting Her Husband… and Dying of Joy
Before I tell you the story of this ancient castle and the people who lived here, I need to clear something up. I mean, of course, the connection between the Château de Châteaubriant, the famous writer François-René de Chateaubriand (1768-1848), and the equally famous steak that shares his name. Well: there is no connection. The castle’s name ends with a T, while the writer’s name ends with a D. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get started…
The Château de Châteaubriant was built in the 11th century, as part of a series of castles, including Clisson castle, meant to defend the Duchy of Brittany from the king of France. In the 13th century, relations between the lords of Châteaubriant and the king of France actually warmed up, and one of them, Geoffroy IV, even saved the life of Louis IX (Saint Louis, r. 1226-1270), king of France, during the Battle of Mansurah (1250) during the Seventh Crusade. In exchange, the king of France allowed the lord of Châteaubriant to swap the pinecones that decorated his family’s coat of arms for the fleur-de-lis, symbol of the French royal house. And that’s how the Châteaubriant emblem came to be.
Speaking of Geoffroy IV: after the Battle of Mansurah, where he saved the life of Louis IX, he was taken prisoner by the Saracens. After several years, the king of France managed to raise the required ransom, and Geoffroy was freed. At the end of a long journey from Egypt, he finally arrived at the gate of his castle. His wife Sibylle, who had heard that he had finally come home, ran to him and embraced him with great love. But suddenly she turned pale and fell dead to the ground. According to the chroniclers of the time, she died of joy…
The Tragic Fate of the Royal Mistress
If you thought that was the only tragedy hiding in this castle, you’d be wrong. Let’s jump forward a few hundred years to the 16th century. During this period, the castle passed from the barons of Châteaubriant to the barons of Dinan, and finally to the Laval family. One member of the family, Jean, received the title of Baron of Châteaubriant, and in 1509 he married Françoise de Foix (1495-1537).
Françoise, a relative of Anne of Brittany (1477-1514), duchess of Brittany and queen of France (twice), was one of the most beautiful women in France. Not only that, Françoise was also an intelligent woman who had a perfect command of French, Italian and Latin, and even wrote rather good poetry. All of these qualities led her to spend time at the royal court, where she caught the eye of the king of France, Francis I (r. 1515-1547). The king began showering her with gifts and made sure to advance the careers of her family members and her husband, both in the army and at court. After about two years of resistance, the Baroness de Châteaubriant gave in and became the first mistress of Francis I (though certainly not his last).
At first, her husband didn’t seem bothered by her new status, and even enjoyed the royal gifts that came his way. Françoise remained the royal mistress for about a decade. In 1525, Francis was taken prisoner by the Spanish after the Battle of Pavia, and he returned to France three years later. There, at court, he met Anne de Pisseleu d’Heilly, who was about a decade younger than Françoise. Anne de Pisseleu, who was also a beauty, managed, after a struggle of about two years, to win the king’s heart, and Françoise de Châteaubriant returned to her castle in 1528.
In the years that followed, Françoise continued to correspond with the king, who even visited her at the new Renaissance palace her husband had built. But over those years, her husband’s attitude toward her began to change, and a decade-old jealousy poisoned his heart. Jean locked Françoise in a dark room in the palace, where she died in 1537. Did she die of natural causes, or was she murdered by her husband? Historians and researchers still argue about it to this day…
Victor Hugo’s Women
Let’s end the historical part with a somewhat more optimistic anecdote. In the summer of 1796, young Sophie Trébuchet met the promising captain Joseph Léopold Hugo. The two later married in Paris, and from this union the famous writer Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was born. This relationship, too, was fairly tragic, though not as much as the ones I’ve covered so far. The couple were politically divided (Hugo’s father supported the French Revolution and was a Bonapartist, while his mother was a royalist). As a result, the couple eventually divorced, and Sophie and the children moved to Paris, where they lived in poverty for quite a while.
And by the way, the Breton connection in Victor Hugo’s life doesn’t end with Châteaubriant, since both his wife Adèle Foucher (1803-1868) and his mistress Juliette Drouet (1806-1883) were born in Brittany.
Visiting the Château de Châteaubriant
When you arrive at the castle, you’ll find it’s made up of two parts: the old castle from the 11th century, and a Renaissance castle built between 1533 and 1539. From the ancient parts of the castle, a gate and a square tower from the 13th century have survived. But what I find most interesting is actually the Renaissance palace, which is very photogenic (especially from the outside).
Unfortunately, parts of this palace are under renovation (as of July 2019), so you’ll only be able to enter a limited number of rooms. Once the renovations are finished, you’ll be able to see more, and even enjoy the occasional medieval-style show and other surprises, as you can see in the video below:
After you finish visiting the castle, you’re welcome to also visit the town, where a few more houses from the 15th century have survived, especially on Rue Couéré, so it’s definitely worth a visit.
Looking to Stay Near Châteaubriant?
Dany’s lovely Manoir de la Chausee is located about 40 km from the castle, and comes highly recommended as a base for day trips around Brittany. If you’d like to stay right in Châteaubriant itself, feel free to check out this link.
Thinking about traveling in France and not sure where to go? Come check out Francophiles Anonymous’ France travel guide
Related reading