Château de Lyons-la-Forêt

Remains of the rampart

The Château de Lyons-la-Forêt was a castle in Lyons-la-Forêt in the Eure département of France.[1]

The castle was constructed at the start of the 12th century by Henry I of England, also known as "Henri Beauclerc".[1] He died there in 1135, supposedly from "a surfeit of lampreys".[2][3] The town and the castle were occupied by King Philip II Augustus of France in 1193 but the following year, Richard I of England, back from captivity, recovered Lyons and stayed there frequently until 1198.[3]

The castle had four large towers and four gates, each guarded by a different seigneur.[4] At the beginning of the 17th century it was described as being in ruins, with only the chapel of Saint Nicolas remaining.[1] The foundations of the imposing keep were exposed during summer 2007.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ministry of Culture: Château fort (in French)
  2. Judith A. Green Henry I: King of England and Duke of Normandy, Cambridge University Press, 2006. The introduction is online: "Introduction: A surfeit of lampreys"
  3. 1 2 3 Office de Tourisme du Pays de Lyons-la-Forêt: Le pays de Lyons à travers l’histoire. This site also contains further historical detail concerning the castle and its royal connections. (in French)
  4. Michel Toussaint Chrétien Duplessis, Description géographique et historique de la Haute-Normandie : Le Vexin, P.-F. Giffart, Paris, 1740

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