Chamerolles: Lancelot... and a story of buggery
And also
The tops
Lancelot and the vie de château
Lancelot turned up
Next to Orléans, let’s enter in the castle of Chamerolles! The primitive fortress was raised in the 12th century.
Then, it fell to several owners: and in the beginning of the 16th century, a fine gentleman turned up. Do you see him?
He was Lancelot du Lac, king François I’s comrade in arms during the Italian wars. Quick, quick, Lancelot re-raised his castle between 1500 and 1530!
Red and black
The architect kept the foundations of the medieval fortress with ditches around. But he added Renaissance elements!
So, he designed a square castle, with circular towers on the corners. An inner courtyard and an entrance small castle flanked by turrets, too…
We also have this nice gallery, on the Southern wing.
After Lancelot’s death, the castle fell to several owners… who made lots of restorations!
For instance, in the 18th century, the owner replaced the draw bridge by a simple bridge.
Damaged by the German troops in 1940, Chamerolles was bought in 1987 by the conseil général du Loiret.
A story of buggery
Sodomite!
Here’s an edifying story, which took place in the castle! The book Étude sur la bestialité au point de vue historique, médical et juridique by Dubois-Desaulle (1905) talks about that…
In 1550, by a cold February morning, people found a man who had sex with a cow, in the castle! They immediately recognized the chap, a ploughman, Jacques Gion.
Chocked, people caught him and tied him, and went to the police. Gion, one month later, was sentenced.
Poor beast...
He was sentenced to be burnt with the cow, ″on the bundle of woods where he made the crime of buggery″…
Buggery! The old term for sodomy… Gion deserved it.
But what about the poor cow? An innocent victim, she had to die, too...
The visit of Chamerolles
Don’t miss the nice Renaissance gardens next to the castle. And inside, we discover a collection of objects about the history of perfumes and hygiene through centuries!