How Two Exceptional Girls Fought Over Chenonceau Fortress (and who received)

One of many Renaissance’s biggest love tales (and steamiest rivalries) was set in Chenonceau Fortress, a Sixteenth-century jewel and top-of-the-line chateaux of Loire Valley.

Romantic, stylish, delicate, chic, female – only a few of the phrases used to explain this pleasant château. Chenonceau France: a fairy story.

So many sights which might be beautiful in pictures disappoint in individual; with Chenonceau it is the other. The extra I explored, the extra I fell in love with the château − and its curious historical past.

The gallery constructed by Catherine Medici on the Chateau de Chononceau, Loire Valley, France. She added the gallery however the unique bridge was constructed by her rival, Diane de Poitiers

Château de Chenonceau historical past: two exceptional women

A kiss price a king

The period that considerations us is the early Sixteenth century, and François I (Francis, King of France) is the monarch.

He was a lover of arts, a kingpin of the Renaissance, so decided to deliver the very best to his courtroom that he invited none apart from Leonardo da Vinci to come back and keep. Leonardo obliged, and would spend the rest of his days in France.

However Francis was additionally a warrior, and was dramatically defeated through the Italian wars at Pavia by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain. That defeat would value Francis his freedom, and with out it, the 2 women of Chenonceau may by no means have been.

Captured and brought to Madrid, Francis ultimately negotiated his launch, however solely in alternate for his two sons, aged six and eight, who could be held hostage in his stead.

As the 2 little princes embarked intp exile, legend has it that Diane de Poitiers, a member of the king’s courtroom, hugged Henri, the youthful son, and kissed him on the brow.

Terrified at his upcoming exile and undoubtedly offended at his father’s hostage alternate, little Henri treasured  Diane’s sort gesture and would always remember it.

When lastly, after 4 years, the boys had been returned to France, Henri would hung out with Diane, her husband and the remainder of her household.

As Henri advanced in the direction of maturity, Diane even helped him select a spouse, the Tuscan-born Catherine de Medici (generally spelled with an apostrophe in English, as in Catherine de’ Medici), a distant cousin of hers. He was 14 when he and Catherine married.

Meantime, Diane’s husband died, and he or she would use her newfound freedom to create an unprecedented life for herself: she would start a love affair with Henri (the youthful, married Henri) that might final 1 / 4 of a century. Henri was 15, Diane was 35.

She would stay the love of his life, in addition to a trusted political adviser (a job he would forestall his spouse from taking part in). She might effectively have been essentially the most highly effective girl in France throughout her lifetime, and he or she was positively Queen Catherine’s most feared rival.

The jewel goes to the rival

And now, the scene for Chenonceau was set.

When King Francis I died, his son Henri inherited the pleasant chateau, which his spouse had coveted for years. In a transfer that might wound and enrage her, he promptly turned the citadel over to… his mistress, Diane, an affront the Queen would by no means forgive.

Regardless of their rivalry, at instances the 2 girls put apart their enmity for his or her better good.

After her marriage to King Henry, Catherine appeared unable to bear youngsters. There was gossip at courtroom that the wedding could be dissolved and a youthful and lovelier spouse discovered for Henri.

This, Diane thought, could be catastrophic. She was in no temper to permit a brand new, stunning spouse to slide underneath her lover’s sheets and switch him away from her.

So she and Queen Catherine of France conspired. Diane gave Catherine classes within the artwork of lovemaking, and the teachings should have labored, as a result of Catherine quickly gave beginning to a son, adopted by 9 different youngsters.

Issues calmed down at courtroom and an uneasy truce developed between mistress and spouse, spurts of jealousy alternating with intervals of calm.

Queen Catherine liked Henri; she had fallen head over heels for him after they first met as youngsters and would go to nice lengths to maintain him – together with “permitting” him to maintain his mistress. By bearing the royal heirs, she did have leverage, which she would, as we will see, use to the fullest.

Diane de Poitiers’ reign

Diane was the right royal mistress, totally charming and beautifully clever, and those that knew her totally understood what the king noticed in her.

She was a unprecedented businesswoman and by no means missed a possibility to complement herself or her household. She was rigorous along with her cash, however a budgetary whiz, multiplying her fortune many instances over and maintaining minute monitor of every expense.

She was additionally health-conscious and clear, uncommon for ladies of her period. It’s stated she took ice baths within the morning, rode horseback three hours a day, ate healthily, wore no make-up and stayed out of the solar, which can have helped her retain her youthful magnificence.

Diane de Poitiers by François Clouet through Wikimedia Commons

The Queen will get her revenge

As with every thing, nevertheless, Diane’s success could be lower brief.

Someday, King Henri – accompanied by each Diane and Catherine – attended a joust at a household wedding ceremony. He was 40, in good well being, and eager to point out his mistress he nonetheless had what it took: youth, prowess and vigour. He determined to trip, carrying Diane’s colors.

His spouse Catherine was extremely superstitious (she had her personal private astrologer) and skilled an intense premonition. She begged Henri to not trip, however after all ego prevented him from listening. Dangerous omens certainly…

A primary cross was profitable, and everybody was relieved. However the king wasn’t happy, and rode once more. It was one trip too many.

In a freak accident, his opponent’s lance broke off, its tip piercing the king’s visor and lodging itself in his left eye. Henri would agonize for ten days, calling desperately for his mistress.

His spouse, now in cost, would train that leverage we simply talked about, and he or she was unrelenting.

Henri would die with out ever seeing Diane once more. Nor would she be invited to his funeral.

The deadly match throughout which Gabriel Montgomery, captain of his Scottish Guard, pierced his faceplate together with his lance Sixteenth century German print, nameless through Wikimedia Commons

Catherine had waited a very long time to turn out to be Mistress of Chenonceau, and he or she rapidly despatched Diane packing to Chaumont, one other Loire Valley citadel which, by the best way, occurs to be beautiful and really introduced in extra money than Chenonceau.

The Queen settled into her long-awaited citadel and made it her personal. She reworked the façade, redecorated the inside, and constructed the two-story gallery above the straightforward bridge Diane had erected over the Cher River.

Right here she gave spectacular events, introducing the fork to France and organizing the primary fireworks the nation had ever seen.

What had been a backdrop for Diane’s magnificence turned an instrument of energy within the palms of Catherine. 

She would rule France for 15 years as regent, first from Chaumont (earlier than switching castles with Diane), then from Chenonceau, and, in her last days, from the regal and eclectic château de Blois.

She could be witness to turbulent years through the Wars of Faith which pitted Catholics in opposition to Protestants and would die in 1589 on the age of 70, Chenonceau passing into different palms.

Portrait of Catherine de Medici by François Clouet

The opposite girls of the Women’ Fortress

Diane and Catherine weren’t the one girls whose lives had been intertwined with Chenonceau. In reality, the citadel’s complete historical past has been predicated by girls.

• Married to Thomas Bohier, finance minister to a few kings, Katherine Briçonnet really constructed Chenonceau, not along with her personal palms, after all, however she designed and oversaw its constructing in 1513, whereas her husband was away throughout these pesky Italian Wars
• Then, as we all know, got here Diane, who embellished it, and Catherine, who expanded it
• The austere Louise de Lorraine, Catherine’s daughter-in-law, remodeled it into a spiritual sanctuary of kinds, spending her time there in mourning over her husband’s assassination (he was Henri III, fourth son of Henri and Catherine)
• Louise Dupin saved it from the rampant destruction of the French Revolution
• From 1864 to 1888, Marguerite Pelouze remodeled it into a middle for arts and literature, welcoming writers, artists, musicians and all method of skills

Within the early twentieth century, the chateau was auctioned off and acquired by a scion of the French chocolate household, Menier, however you may see why, over the Chenonceau citadel historical past, it will come to be generally known as the “Château des Dames”, or the Women’ Fortress.

A more in-depth take a look at the château on the river

Tales are fantastic however I should not miss this chance to point out you round considered one of my favorite castles.

The method to Chenonceau Fortress is intriguing as a result of the citadel seems to be tiny within the distance as you stroll down the drive. You may cross two gardens. The one on the left was designed by Diane, and the one on the best by Catherine, opposites till the tip.

Alley resulting in Chateau Chenonceau, with the Tour des Marques on the best

As soon as upon a time there was a gorgeous citadel…

Earlier than it turned a citadel, a medieval fortress and a mill stood right here, of which solely a dungeon – the Tour des Marques – stays. The fortress was razed in order that Katherine Briçonnet might construct Chenonceau.

The doorway to the Tour des Marques, the unique dungeon of the constructions razed to construct Chenonceau

Chenonceau is a pleasant constructing by any customary, a product of the Renaissance (with a number of Gothic remnants), constructed at a time when constructing stunning castles within the Loire Valley was very a lot in vogue.

Does it not remind you of Venice a bit? Does the gallery not make you consider the Ponte Rialto? Maybe not, however there is no denying the Venetian affect on this palace over the water, from the lacy mouldings and friezes to the loggias and stairways.

The Chenonceau Gallery

The gallery might be Chenonceau’s best-known architectural characteristic. Its swish arches over the River Cher are the face of each postcard, whereas the black-and-white tiled flooring is a reminder of rivalry: Diane’s “official” color was white, whereas Catherine’s was black. And whereas Diane constructed the span throughout the river, Catherine went one higher and constructed the 2 storeys above.

One other shot of the gallery, as a result of it is price it!

The Gallery is 60 meters lengthy, with daylight streaming in by means of 18 home windows. Catherine’s upstairs part was inaugurated in 1577 with celebrations in honour of her son, Henri III.

It’s a magnificent house however Chenonceau is an instance of the dazzling French chateau inside decor now we have come to anticipate in a chateau de la Loire… This is a peek to whet your urge for food!

Diane de Poitiers’ bed room

César de Vendôme’s room – he was the son of Henry IV and his mistress Gabrielle d’Estrées, and the uncle of Louis XIV, who turned the proprietor of Chenonceau in 1624

The Guard Room

Chenonceau kitchens, two monumental underground rooms with the chateau’s largest fire. The kitchens had been modernized when the citadel was used as a hospital throughout World Conflict I

A couple of extra Chenonceau Fortress information

Whereas researching the historical past of Chenonceau, I did come throughout a number of extra information that had nothing to do with Diane or Catherine. Nonetheless, I believed it’s best to know…

• You’ve gotten seen it is not spelled with an X, as many guidebooks (mistakenly) do? There IS such a spot as Chenonceaux, however it’s Chenonceaux village, the place the chateau is positioned, not the citadel itself. France is nothing if not complicated.

• The chapel’s stained glass home windows aren’t unique. The unique home windows had been destroyed through the Second World Conflict and rebuilt in 1954.

• The fireside in Diane de Poitier’s bed room is surrounded by the initials of Henri (H) and Catherine (C), his spouse. Those that take pleasure in theories past the plain may learn one thing completely different into it: the intertwined letters also can kind the letter D.

• When World Conflict I broke out, Chenonceau was transformed right into a army hospital. By battle’s finish, it will have welcomed some 2254 troopers.

• Throughout World Conflict II, the Château de Chenonceau was severely broken, though it will be restored by the homeowners (the Menier household). It additionally served as an escape route from occupied France − the border between the 2 French zones occurred to be the River Cher. However we’ll save that story for one more time.

The best way to go to Chenonceau from Paris and past

One does must take care of practicalities, as a result of to take pleasure in Chenonceau Fortress you will first must get right here!

• The Chenonceau practice station is close to the citadel, so you may simply stroll (one of many few châteaux you are able to do this with).

• Have in mind Chenonceau climate earlier than you go: in summer time it is sizzling, and holidays imply crowds. I visited in March, which was best (chilly however sunny). One other good time to go to Chenonceau could be September.

• Questioning about Chenonceau pronunciation? shuh-non-SOH

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