History and Hokey

When one stays in the Loire valley region, which is where Fontevraud is located, one visits chateaus. The tourist office supplies a map with 73 from Nantes to Orleans. Chateaus and wine are what most people come to this region for so when in Rome...... I was warned the chateaus run the gamut, from those that are spectacular on the outside and not so great on the inside, to those that are the opposite, those designed to attract tourists to those still a family home where the tourist money helps offset the costs of running the large homes. Two made the list for today, the historic Chinon which along with Fontevraud was a reason for this trip and Usse which was recommended by the tourist office because it is the 'castle of sleeping beauty'. I had no idea how true that statement would turn out to be.


First to Chinon, known historically for two things; first England's Henry II died there, second, Joan of Arc met the French King there. Chinon is a huge imposing fortress on the Vienne river-which turns into the Loire a bit downstream. The castle was set up today with its regular historical exhibits-which center on Henry and Joan and a special exhibit on the life of Marie of Anjou, Queen of France. The special exhibit gives you typical day in her life but what struck me was that her brother was Rene of Anjou who was the father of Queen Margaret of England, Henry VI's wife. So a castle so linked with Plantagenet history has a special exhibit on the aunt of the King in whose name Richard Plantagenet (aka the Duke of York) was killed.

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One story at a time. Henry and Eleanor had a passionate marriage that descended into hatred and then pretty much the most disfunctional family of all time. They had divided up their empire early on so that each son knew what they were getting. Henry the Young king would get England and be the overlord to his brothers. Geoffrey would get Brittany. Richard would get the Aquitaine. John was left with nothing, and received the nickname Lackland and so King Henry decided to rectify that and give John some castles. One of them was Chinon. Young Henry protested and fled to France where he was joined by Richard and Geoffrey in a revolt against their father. Eleanor tried to join them but was captured and imprisioned for the rest of Henry II's life. The Great Revolt of 1173-1174 ended in a victory for Henry II.
Ten years later, young Henry rebels again with some Aquitaine lords and this time Henry and Richard fight together to quash the rebellion. Young King succumbs to a fever and Henry II causes family angst, telling Richard that since he will now be King and he can give John the Aquitaine. Richard wanted no part of that plan and another revolt followed-one which ended when Eleanor took her husband's side and Henry threaten to give land to Geoffrey-who more or less stayed out of this argument. Fast forward and Geoffrey is dead, killed in a tournament. So now King Henry has two sons living, John who was his favorite and Richard with whom he regularly clashed.
French King Philip decides to egg Richard on, calling a conference with Henry to resolve some disputed land and asking Henry to formally make Richard his heir. Henry refused and Richard sided with Philip and launched attacks on Henry. In one particularly fierce fight, William Marshall slays the horse Richard is riding in an attempt to give Henry time to withdraw. An increasing weaker Henry makes it to Chinon, perhaps on his way to Anjou. He meets Phillip and Richard to discuss terms and it is obvious he is so sick he can barely stay on the horse. He is carried back to Chinon in a litter where he falls ill to dysentery but not before being told that Richard convinced John to abandon his father and come fight with Richard. Henry dies alone at Chinon on July 6, 1189 at the age of 56. Richard's first command is to free his mother Eleanor from her prison in England. Today there is a huge stone slab where the chapel where Henry died once stood.

The Royal apartments contain videos telling his story and those of his sons until King John lost Chinon to Phillip in 1205.

The other story they tell is that of Joan of Arc who caught up with the Dauphin at Chinon before being sent to Poitiers to be questioned by religious leaders. Having passed their tests she is brought back to Chinon where the King disguises himself and she correctly picks him out from a crowd.

After the Plantagenet videos there are Joan videos and two rooms covering the history after her death where she becomes a legendary figure of popular culture. There are lots of sculptures and drawings telling her story, including how she was used to rally the French people after the Prussian invasion of 1870 and in WWI.

Most of Chinon is a open green field surrounded by walls and towers, you can go into each tower and climb them for views of the countryside. You also can go in one tower and learn of Queen Marie's life including her dress fittings and supervising her children's education.

Once finished at Chinon, it was time to find Usse which was about 20 minutes away. It really is a beautiful castle but inside in one tower there are life size dolls set up to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty-complete with Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo playing in the background. Malificient even has a tower room all to herself and I think the doll looks a bit like Angelina Jolie! It is rather cheesy. The legend is that Charles Perrault wrote sleeping beauty here when he was inspired by the romantic features of the castle. The rest of the castle that is open to the public has the same life size dolls but this time showing life in the 19th century. Lots of pretty clothes and old toys. Still cheesy but not as bad. Apparently this is the money making plan of the Duke of Blacas who still lives in part of the castle walled off to the public. Now I am pretty sure the French abolished all titles during their revolution so the whole thing seems a bit strange but after the history at Chinon, it was definitely very silly. Usse as a castle dates back to 1004 when the Vikings ruled this part of France (Normans evolved from Northmen). Its terrances and formal gardens were designed by the architect of the gardens of Versaille.

The late afternoon was spend back at Fontevraud, finding more rooms with artwork to discover and reading in the garden, much like Eleanor would have down when she lived here. The best part of staying here is the ability to go exploring after the tour groups have left for the day. Fontevraud was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preacher Robert of Arbrissel. Somewhat advanced in this thinking, he actually put an abbess in charge of the community he was building. It had separate quarters for men and women but a woman abbess ruled over the order until the French revolution. Total it is a cultural center, with displays, conferences, a four star hotel (in the old leprosy hotel), with a garden and of course all the history to walk around and see.