Chinon Castle and The Knights Templar Graffiti

In a Wagnerian site, the ramparts, towers and sturdy enceinte of the Chinon fortress stretch out on the hill overlooking the Vienne River. Although today it looks more like a skeleton of stone emerging from the green, its history is so captivating that we easily forget the wrecked condition of this medieval castle.

Chinon Castle on the Loire Valley in the Summer and Winter.

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Closely linked with the struggles between Capetians and Plantagênets, Henry II and his son Richard Lion Heart died in the fortress of Chinon. Philippe Auguste took the place after a one year siege. The Dauphin Charles, expelled from Paris, found himself safe behind the thick walls of the castle. When he became King of France, Charles VII continued to have long stays in Chinon where Joan of Arc acknowledged him in 1429. All his successors also came and resided here. When the estate fell into the hands of Cardinal de Richelieu, it was poorly maintained. The bishop had no tenderness for castles of the Middle-Ages. Under the reign of Napoleon I, the premises were used as a quarry and saltpetre factory. Restoration began only as from 1855 thanks to Prosper Mérimée when the Department of Indre-et-Loire acquired the fortress.

The Tour du Moulin (Mill Tower).

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The Vienne River as seen from the castle. Typical houses covered with grey slate.

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Museum of Chinon.

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Statue of Joan of Arc.

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The castle had been built on an ancient Gallo-Roman oppidum, the citadel consists of 3 moated castles. Towards East rises the Fort Saint-Georges, erected by Henry II. Only ruins of the crypt and chapel remain today. The Château du Milieu can be reached through the Tour de l’Horloge, a high oblong tower with a bell where can be visited the Musée Jeanne d’Arc. Several towers flank the rectangular enceinte upon which the royal lodgings rested on the South side.  The rests of the Reception Room where Charles VII welcomed Joan of Arc can still be observed.  It is in the Château du Coudray that the heroine was accommodated. The eponymous tower, constructed under the reign of Philippe Auguste is a remarkable military work of art. The dignitaries of the Order of the Knights Templar were imprisoned here in the jails underneath and among them the Grand Master Jacques de Molay. The monks-soldiers engraved deep graffiti on the walls in 1307-1308. They have been preserved until today and protected with glass.  Like in 3 other places of France where they left a message, the graffiti of Chinon correspond to a geometrical code: the octogon stands for the Holy Grail, the triangle topped with a cross: the Golgotha and the square: the Temple. An abundant esoteric literature was written on the subject, and I certainly will not give another version. Let me just tell you that for the visitors, the best treasure is the emotion felt here.  

This article is dedicated to my dear friends here at Triond who encouraged me in my hours of sorrow. Thank you.