Dear friends of Montautre,
Here is already the tenth edition of the "Petit journal des amis de Montautre" !
Thank you all for your expressions of interest, your comments and your encouragement: this motivates us to continue sharing our passion through the writing and mailing of this "little journal". You can access previous issues by asking us by email, or by viewing them directly on our website (www.chateau-de-montautre, news/blog section).
0. News
The upcoming arrival of spring leads us to open the castle to visitors again, after the success of the visits in autumn 2022 (210 visitors!). For 2023, the first slots are all in April: Saturday April 1 and 29(visit at 3 p.m.), and Sunday April 2 and 30 > (visits at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.). On the program, like last year, is a visit to the exteriors (general architecture, Gallo-Roman remains, history of the Mondin de Montautre family and logic of the buildings), then a visit to the interiors (guards' quarters with their large room, the stables , the mini-museum, the bakery, the chapel, then the lordly home with the kitchen, the living room, the lordly bedrooms and the escape gateway). Inform people around you who may be interested and ask them to register (as groups are limited to 20 people). The best is to do it by email, to my address or to: contact@chateau-de-montautre.fr.
1. Merovingian History
Until now we had a big missing link between the Gallo-Roman period and the medieval period of the site. Our friend Joël Leroy, a passionate scholar of Montautre who helps me with visits, spotted the sale at auction last month of a Triens d'or (third of a penny) from King Dagobert I (or Clotaire II?), struck in the vicinity of Montautre (in the commune of Fursac to which our property borders).
To put this discovery in context, you should know that the site of Montautre (as well as the whole of Greater Aquitaine!) had been taken over by Clovis from the Visigoth king of Toulouse (Alaric II) when he killed him in single combat at the battle of Vouillé, in 507 AD. Since this date, the region was administered by the Merovingian kings. Jean-François Boyer, CAOA for Haute Vienne and expert in Merovingian coins, explained to us that this coin - marked on the obverse side "Ferruciac." (for Ferruciacum, ancient name of Fursac) and on the right side "Ursulfo moni" - is the testimony of the tax paid by the inhabitants of Fursac to a collector named Ursulfo (moni, means "the monetary guy", that is to say the collector mandated by the Merovingian king). At the time, the payment of tax was made by bringing gold, in various forms, which was then transformed into coins struck on site in the name of the payer (the citizens of Fursac, on the front side) and the receiver ( Ursulfo, right side). This Ursulfo was also the tax collector of Bersac-sur-Rivalier (a few kilometers south of Montautre) since we found coins in his name minted in Bersac: we can therefore conclude that Montautre was within the scope of responsibility of Ursulfo.The amount of the auction reached by the sale of this gold piece (1400 euros) unfortunately did not allow us to enrich the Montautre museum!
2. Classic story
Our friend and enlightened lover of old stones Georges Mériguet found in the archives of his home in Chateauponsac an order form dated 1754, issued by the owner at the time, a certain Jean -Baptiste Mathieu de Lagorce, president treasurer of France to the generality of Riom. He then bought from the "tuilerie de Montautre" enough to restore the roof of his Château de Ventenat (now disappeared).Indeed, the presence of clayey soil near the castle had from very ancient times (perhaps from antiquity) allowed the existence of tile factories right next to the castle. The Napoleonic land register lists 3 distinct ones (see map below) which had provided all the flat tiles for the roofs of the castle, like those still in place on the entrance gate (see photo ). Some were still active in the 20th century and the place corresponding to the vicinity of the castle is today called "the Tuileries" (see photo)
3. Contemporary History
The Lazzarini family emigrated from Italy after the Second World War to come and work at the Château de Montautre for Mr. and Ms. Dufour. We have the pleasure of meeting them at least once a year for a lunch that we organize on site in August with Annie and Christian Maumège. This year, Josiane Lazzarini, wife of Primo, very kindly offered us a souvenir that she got from Mrs. Marie-Louise Dufour: a silver-plated brass table planter, a very fashionable object in the mid-19th century to decorate family tables with greenery. After around fifty years, it has finally found its place in the living room (see photo)!
4. Current story
Thank you to all of you who are accompanying us in this surely somewhat crazy adventure: the opening to the public and the restoration of Montautre. Our story was also the subject of a short article - quite faithful - in the ELAN magazine published last January (see below)
... and, following a question received, public subscription to help us restore the guards building is still open (Château de Montautre (fondation-patrimoine.org)): a big thank you to all those who have already contributed so generously!
That's all for this tenth letter... but, while waiting for the eleventh, we will be pleased to see you again on the site always magnificently maintained byKitty and Adri. The Mayor of Fromental, Fabien Dupuy, will come on Tuesday March 14, in the presence of several local personalities, to inaugurate the two guest rooms (the only ones in the town!). They can be used as family suites thanks to the adjoining rooms equipped with single beds, and open for reservation today for stays from Friday March 31. To find out more, www.chateau-de-montautre.fr
Kind regards
Serge Lacaze
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