Josselin Castle
{{about|the medieval castle in Brittany, France|the house in Omaha, USA|Joslyn Castle}}
{{Infobox museum
|image=File:Josselin Château Evening Light Reflected 2016-08-15 WLM.jpg
|caption=Josselin Castle and the River Oust
|location=Josselin, Morbihan, Brittany, France
}}
Josselin Castle ({{langx|fr|Château de Josselin}}, {{langx|br|Kastell Josilin}}, {{langx|la|Castellum Joscelini}}) is a medieval castle at Josselin, in the Morbihan department of Brittany, France, first built in 1008 by Guéthénoc, viscount of Porhoët. The town and castle were named after Guéthénoc's son, Goscelinus, and rebuilt at various times since. The current castle was built by Olivier V de Clisson after 1370. He had acquired the land as part of the dowry on his marriage to Margaret of Rohan.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/throughbrittany00macqgoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/throughbrittany00macqgoog/page/n152 125] |title=Through Brittany |author=Katharine Sarah Macquoid |author-link=Katharine Sarah Macquoid |publisher=Chatto and Windus |year=1877}} It has been designated as a monument historique since 1928.{{Base Mérimée|PA00091310|Château}}
History
{{ill|Guéthénoc|fr|Guethenoc de Porhoët}} (or Guithenoc), vicomte of Porhoët, Rohan and Guéméné, began to build the first castle on the site around the year 1008, choosing a rocky promontory overlooking the valley of the Oust. The new fortress was named after Guéthénoc's son, {{ill|Goscelinus|fr|Josselin de Porhoët}} (or Josselin).[http://www.chateaujosselin.com/castle-middle-ages.html History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212041107/http://www.chateaujosselin.com/castle-middle-ages.html |date=2009-12-12 }} at chateaujosselin.com, accessed 27 May 2010 The name is recorded in the Cartulary of Redon Abbey (1080) as castellum et castrum Goscelini,A. de Courson (ed.), Cartul de l'abbaye de Redon but already by 1108 it was appearing as Castellum Joscelini.Victor Mortet, Recueil de textes relatifs l'histoire de l'architecture et à la condition des architectes en France au moyen age (2009 reprint) [https://books.google.com/books?id=0P5iSDXWQyMC&pg=PA199 p. 199] online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 27 May 2010
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 annual pilgrimage in September to the {{ill|Basilica of Our Lady of the Bramble|fr|Basilique Notre-Dame du Roncier}} (Notre-Dame du Roncier), which added greatly to the wealth of the lords and people of Josselin.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}
File:InsideFacadeChateaudeJosselin.jpg
File:Banner of the Breton French.svg during the Battle of the Thirty]]
In 1154, Odo II, Viscount of Porhoët, step-father, guardian and regent of the young Conan IV, Duke of Brittany, collected the Breton lords to deprive Conan of his inheritance, but was defeated by Henry II of England, who was also Count 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.Jean Ogée, Dictionnaire historique et géographique de la province de Bretagne (new edition by A. Marteville & P. Varin, vol. 1, 1843), [https://books.google.com/books?id=KZIPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA361 p. 361] online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 27 May 2010 Henry II himself led the demolition and sowed salt into the ruins.
During the Breton War of Succession (1341–1364), the garrison of Josselin fought the defenders of the nearby Castle of Ploërmel without any clear outcome. To break the impasse, the Battle of the Thirty was arranged, contested by thirty knights 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 four Bretons, six Germans and twenty Englishmen.Steven Muhlberger, Deeds of Arms: Formal combats in the late fourteenth century (Highland Village, TX: The Chivalry Bookshelf, 2005), pp. 76-120H. R. Brush, ed., 'La Bataille de trente Anglois et de trente Bretons', in Modern Philology, vol. 9 (1911-12) pp. 511-44; vol. 10 (1912-13) pp. 82-136Andrew Sanger, Michelin the Green Guide France (2007), [https://books.google.com/books?id=GKVsIhwoSswC&pg=PA280 p. 280] online at books.google.co.uk, accessed 27 May 2010Le Combat de Trente Bretons contre Trente Anglois (Paris: Jules Renouard, 1827 edition), [https://books.google.com/books?id=g24_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA58 p. 58] online, accessed 27 May 2010: "Ici finit la Bataille de trente Anglois et de trente Bretons, qui eut lieu en Bretagne l'an de grâce mil trois cent cinquante, le samedi avant Laetare Jerusalem."
In 1370 the Breton soldier Olivier V de Clisson (1336–1407), later Constable of France, acquired the lordship of Josselin and built an imposing new fortress with eight towers and a keep one hundred yards across. He married his daughter Beatrice to {{ill|Alain VIII of Rohan|fr|Alain VIII de Rohan}}, heir to the viscounts of Rohan, whose own castle was not far away.
File:Chateau-de-Josselin-DSC1-117.jpg
In 1488 Francis 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 fine granite facade, an early example of Renaissance architecture, bringing in Italian artists and artisans. In recognition of his patroness Anne, who was both sovereign Duchess of Brittany and Queen Consort of France, at several points along the facade Rohan added her badge, the letter A beneath a cord sculpted in stone.
Banned from Josselin due to their Protestantism, René II, Viscount of Rohan, and the other Rohan men could not prevent the Duke of Mercœur, then Governor of Brittany, from turning their castle into a base for the Catholic League in its struggles against Henry IV of France.
In 1603, after Henry IV promoted him to a duke, Henry, Duke of Rohan, one of the leaders of the Huguenots, transferred his military headquarters to his Castle of Pontivy. In 1629, Cardinal Richelieu dismantled the keep and four of the towers at Josselin and announced to Duke Henry: "My lord, into your game of skittles I have just thrown a good ball!"«Monseigneur, je viens de jeter une bonne boule dans votre jeu de quilles!»
In the 18th century, the castle was no longer occupied as a seat of power, and during the years of the French Revolution and the First French Empire it became a prison and a warehouse. In 1822, Caroline, Duchess of Berry, persuaded the then Duke of Rohan, Louis-François de Rohan-Chabot to restore it.
Modern castle
The castle remains a residence of Josselin de Rohan, fourteenth Duke of Rohan, who was President of the region of Brittany from 1998 to 2004.[http://www.photos-france.net/Le-chateau-de-Josselin-une-forteresse-de-Bretagne.html Le château de Josselin, une forteresse de Bretagne] at photos-france.net, accessed 27 May 2010 (in French)[http://www.parcsetjardins.fr/bretagne/morbihan/chateau_de_josselin-1011.html CHATEAU DE JOSSELIN (3 ha)] at parcsetjardins.fr, accessed 27 May 2010 A marble bust of the 13th Duke, Alain Louis Auguste de Rohan-Chabot, sculpted in 1910 by Auguste Rodin, is displayed in the antechamber,[http://www.chateaujosselin.com/visit.html Welcome to the Castle...] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212064340/http://www.chateaujosselin.com/visit.html |date=2009-12-12 }} at chateaujosselin.com, accessed 27 May 2010 and there is also an equestrian statue of Olivier de Clisson.
The castle contains a toy and doll museum with over 5000 objects in its collection.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chateaudejosselin.com/en/museum/|title=Dolls and Toys|access-date=2022-01-25}}
Image:Josselin.jpg
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Image:Chateau Josselin.jpg
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Image:Château de Josselin nocturne.jpg
Image:ChateaudeJosselinSW01.jpg
Image:France Bretagne 56 Josselin 03.jpg
Image:Flag of the House of Rohan-Chabot.svg|Banner of the arms of the House of Rohan-Chabot, flown from the ramparts of the castle
See also
Notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Château de Josselin}}
- {{official|https://www.chateaudejosselin.com/en/}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090419142213/http://www.oositoo.com/galerie-photos/index.php/2005/11/19/9-josselin-cite-bretonne-de-caractere Photographs of Josselin Castle] at oositoo.com
- [http://www.casteland.com/pfr/chateau/bretagne/morbihan/josselin/josselin.htm Josselin Castle] at casteland.com
{{Coord|47|57|8|N|2|32|50|W|region:FR_type:landmark|display=title}}
Category:Military history of Brittany