Château Gaillard

This fortress is important because it was a symbol of the power of the Plantagenet line and because the attack upon that symbol led to the unification of Normandy and France. Until 1204, Normandy was independent but after the assault on the fort, Philippe Auguste entered the cathedral of Rouen and declared the annexation of Normandy.

The chateau has triple, concentric fortifications: three enclosures separated by dry moats, with a keep in the inner enclosure. Constructed in less than 2 yrs (1196-1198) 320-400 ft above the Seine, it was meant to be impregnable; therefore, the walls were exceptionally thick -12-16 feet for the second enclosure.



Richard the Lionhearted was the Duke of Normandy, as well as the King of England. To conserve his power and save the Duchy, Richard built it to block the French from reaching Rouen. Over the Seine 25 miles from Rouen, it is nearly a perfect example military construction: there were 17 towers, deep moats, and three defensive walls, all inspired by forts in Syria he saw when he went on the crusades. He would have seen such forts built by Knights Templar in the Holy Land; they had a standard plan of triple fortifications and numerous towers. The Anglo-Norman King presided over the building of the fort, directed the workers, hastened their work, and never left them until the fort was completed. www.syriagate.com/Syria/about/cities/Homs/krakdeschevalier.htm

At first, the fortress intimidated the King of France, Philippe Auguste, who had already advanced into Normandy, but Philippe laid siege to it a few years later, encouraged by the death of Richard in 1199 and the weakness of his successor and brother. The siege lasted seven months and finally, Philippe was obliged to try to breach the fortifications. The chateau was not completely destroyed until the 17th century.

Marguerite de Bourgogne was a prisoner there, probably on the orders of her husband, Louis X, who accused her of adultery. Her lover was tortured and hung in front of her; she was the daughter of the King of Burgundy so her life was spared, but she died in the fortress. Did she die a natural death due to cold, physical misery caused by captivity and disease? Was she murdered on the king's orders or at least with the king's tacit agreement ? It was cold and windy at the fortress, and as I walked through the dungeon, I thought she must have been miserable there, repudiated and alone, in the dark, cold and abandoned, and doomed as she probably suspected.