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The fortress of Plessis
Bertrand, today in ruin, still testifies
mightily to the power of its lords.
It was built inland by Bertrand III du
Guarplic between 1249 and 1254 on the
colombanaises estates as the castle of his
ancestors on the small island of “le
Guesclin” appeared difficult to defend from
enemy attacks. The fortress consisted of 9
towers connected by a covered way. The
largest tower was 8m in diameter. It was
surrounded by wide ditches, fences and
quickset hedges or "plesses" hence the name
of “Plessis”. |
Loyal to the Penthièvres
during the Brittany succession war, it
accomodated Charles de Blois in 1364 and was
occupied by Olivier de Clisson, a constable
of France from 1387 to 1399.
In 1586, Tiphaine du Guesclin, the lady of
Plessis Bertrand, bequeathed the barony to
Briand de Chateaubriand, the ancestor of the
writer François Rene de Chateaubriand.
Bought back in 1589 by Guy de Rieux, the
lord of Chateauneuf, the fortress played a
role locally significant during the war of
the League which opposed Catholics and
Protestants. Besieged by the Duke of
Mercoeur in 1589, it resisted until its fall
in February 1598, a fall which led to its
dismantling together with the dismantling of
its 2 advanced posts, the Guesclin in Saint
Coulomb and Château Richeux in Saint Méloir.
Transformed into a County in 1702, the
Seigniory of Plessis Bertrand disappeared at
the same time as its last lord, Nicolas
Magon, in 1793. |
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