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A little history of Parthenay castle

The castle | Papay / CC-BY-SA
Castle Parthenay castle

Raised in the 11th century, they altered it in the 13th century, thanks to kings of England's (Henri III and John Lackland) donations: a thank-you gift! Indeed, those lords of Parthenay had supported them!

The city had 3 surrounding walls.The first one had 11 fortified towers: the beautiful Saint-Jacques' gate (13th century) is still standing, identifiable by its two big towers. The second wall divided the city from the castle. And the third wall was the castle itself, destroyed in 1831.

The city was many time besieged: in 1206, king Philip Augustus took it from the English (they have teamed up together, with lords of Parthenay).

When the last lord, Jean II, died out, the fortress fell to constable Arthur de Richemont, then to duke of Brittany. In 1486, Dunois, the famous "Orléans bastard" (Joan of Arc's comrade in arms) besieged Parthenay and gave it to the duke of Orléans. King Charles VIII besieged it too and immediately destroyed the fortifications.

It wasn't the end! François de Coligny d'Andelot besieged the city during wars of Religion and Protestants occupied the castle (their headquarters!).

One year later, the Protestant admiral Coligny forced Parthenay's gate and finally entered with the future Henri IV...

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!