Château de Berbiguières: a Historic Castle in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 5
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- French
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page5 sections
History
Château de Berbiguières is a medieval castle in Berbiguières, France, whose development extended from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. It appears in written records from the second half of the thirteenth century, when it belonged to the Castelnau family and was linked with Château de Castelnaud.
The Castelnau family
In 1273, the château belonged to the sons and nephews of Aymeric de Castelnau. Aymeric had sworn homage to Louis IX in 1240. Louis IX was a thirteenth-century king of France, later known as Saint Louis, and homage was a formal declaration of feudal allegiance.
Transfer to the Caumont family
In 1365, Magne de Castelnau married Nompar de Caumont and brought him the two Périgord fortified sites associated with the family, Berbiguières and Castelnaud. The lordship of Berbiguières then included the parishes of Allas, Berbiguières, Cladeck, Carves, Saint-Germain, and Marnac.
Later development and protection
Construction and alteration continued over a long period, beginning in the twelfth century and extending into the seventeenth. The château was listed as a historic monument on 6 December 1948. It is privately owned by Jonathan Sumption.
Remains
The château stands in the village of Berbiguières, within the Périgord Noir region of the Dordogne. The surviving site includes a castle wing identified as an architectural component of Château de Berbiguières. Its physical development belongs to the long building history that extended from the twelfth through the seventeenth century.
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