GITES
WITH POOLS
Attraction in the Vendee.
A Short History of Vouvant
In 1000AD Vouvant was only a wooded hill surrounded by water in the middle of the forest. While he was hunting, William V (called The Great), Duke of Aquitaine, found this place and decided to have a church and a monastery built there. He asked the monks of Maillezais, who had just finished building their famous abbey on his instructions to do this. But they had not got enough money and could only build a temporary chapel.
The church was not finished until the end of the 11th century, and was rebuilt in the 12th century in the then prevailing Norman style of architecture. Thus, the crypt, the three apses and the greatly admired North portal (double arched) dated from the 12th century.
As
for the castle, no longer habitable, it was left to become a ruin. Great dark
fortresses were no longer in vogue. In the 19the century what remained was razed
to the ground in order to make a good site for a fairground.
However, Vouvant still retains its historic character and we strongly advise visitors to linger within these walls, which have known the passage of John Lackland and St-Louis (King Louis IX of France) among many other famous people.
However, Vouvant still retains its historic character and we strongly advise visitors to linger within these walls, which have known the passage of John Lackland and St-Louis (King Louis IX of France) among many other famous people.
Originally the tower was surmounted by a spire, as is shown in an
engraving of 1850, predating the restoration of the church in 1881. An octagonal
tower was then built which should also have had a spire but this was not built
and the tower was finished with a tiled roof, which remains to this day. This
gives the church its own commanding appearance. In the nave, only three bays
were restored, so luckily we can still see from the remaining walls what the
original was like.
The Lusignan family, Barons of Vouvant, built the castle. Only the keep (the Mélusine tower) and the ramparts still exist. History has adopted from legend the name of Geoffroy "Big-Tooth "a fierce warrior, greedy for power that thought nothing of attacking abbeys and monasteries to add to his riches. According to legend he was the son of the fairy Mélusine, half woman, half serpent who build the castle including the tower which bears her name in one night with an apron-full of stones and a mouthful of water.
Much later Vouvant had to suffer the horrors of the Wars of Religion. The church was pillaged, set on fire and half destroyed by the Huguenots. At the Postern Gate a battle between the besieged and the attackers left more than 200 Huguenots dead.
The Lusignan family, Barons of Vouvant, built the castle. Only the keep (the Mélusine tower) and the ramparts still exist. History has adopted from legend the name of Geoffroy "Big-Tooth "a fierce warrior, greedy for power that thought nothing of attacking abbeys and monasteries to add to his riches. According to legend he was the son of the fairy Mélusine, half woman, half serpent who build the castle including the tower which bears her name in one night with an apron-full of stones and a mouthful of water.
Much later Vouvant had to suffer the horrors of the Wars of Religion. The church was pillaged, set on fire and half destroyed by the Huguenots. At the Postern Gate a battle between the besieged and the attackers left more than 200 Huguenots dead.
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