Château Guillaume-le-Conquérant - Falaise, Normandy, France (National Monument)
Within the castle walls of Château Guillaume-le-Conquérant, William The Bastard, Duke of Normandy, as he is known in France, William the Conqueror as he is known in Britain, was born in 1027. The son of Robert, Duke of Normandy and the beautiful Arlette, a laundry maid, William became a formidable force in Northern France and across the sea in the British Isles. The original castle was superceded by the remaining medieval structure of the 12C- 13C, which is characteristic of Anglo-Norman architecture, and is undergoing clever restoration. As you can see from the photos below, its exterior is very much in keeping with its medieval origin, its interior, meanwhile, has been laid out in a very modern and atmospheric way, with floors of alternating squares of glass and lead and ceilings of Teflon covering stretched over an iron frame. The huge aula on the second floor of the keep is the main reception room and great hall. Within the hall, two giant chess boards adorn the floor providing an image of the feudal world and a study of customs and of the duties of noblemen through the game of chess. On entering the aula and the many other rooms within the castle, blinds automatically fall to cover the windows and video projections provide animated displays upon the bare walls and are accompanied by a personal audio experience!
Entrance to the castle is through the Porte St-Nicolas into an inner courtyard of 2.5 acres surrounded by 15 towers. The main keep, rectangular in structure and built in the 12C, is accessed via a drawbridge to the second floor aula. The Tour Talbot is an impressive round tower 35 meters tall and is attached to the keep by means of a curtain wall.
This tower, built during the Kingship of Philippe-Auguste at the beginning of the 13C, was allegedly named after John Talbot, governor of the castle in 1449, who undertook its restoration.
As well as being the birth place of William the Conqueror, it was also in this castle at Falaise on 8th July 1199 that John Lackland, King of England and Duke of Aquitaine signed the charter founding the Jurade de St-Émilion, a body responsible for the quality of the famous St-Émilion wines. King John's father, Henry II, had earlier sent the captured Scottish King, William I (The Lion) to be kept prisoner at Falaise and in 1173/4, finally extracted what he wanted from his dangerous neighbour, namely the oath of fealty that for ever afterwards formed the basis of the English Kings' claim of superiority over the Scots.
The castle's keep is of a similar design to that of the Anglo-Norman Castle Rising located in Norfolk, England, but the outward and architectural similarities do not continue inside. During the Second World War, the Keep at Falaise took a direct artillery hit and consequently suffered enormous damage. Rather than leave a ruin or restore it to it's former appearance, the French have used the castle as a wonderfully imaginative and stimulating backdrop to an exploration of the characters and times of its former inhabitants. The modern is grafted onto the ancient, with models, light and video effects and aural explanations of the medieval world. Particular highlights are the afore-mentioned chess room and the siege engine models. Work is at present continuing (July 2003). Inevitably, the castle attracts a high proportion of English tourists, due to its location in Normandy and its association with William the Conqueror and the visitors book reflects the different impressions it makes, from outrage at anything being done to the old castle, to delight at the originality of the solution to severe damage.