Combourg, an austere medieval fortress
Combourg is located in Northern Brittany and has been inhabited since Gallo-Roman times, as evidenced by archaeological discoveries.
At the beginning of the 11th century, Guingené, archbishop of Dol de Bretagne, created the seigneury of Combourg for his younger brother, Riwallon, and had the imposing fortress built. The lordship remained in the Riwallon family until 1097, then passed into the hands of various Breton aristocratic families over the centuries. In 1575, the Coetquen family raised the seigneury to the rank of county.
The fortress underwent modifications in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, while retaining its austere architectural style. The building indeed consists of four turreted buildings arranged around a central courtyard, with four imposing round towers topped with pepper-pot roofs marking the corners, and small openings pierce the high walls, contributing to its intimidating appearance.
However, a beautifully landscaped park now surrounds the castle, which overlooks the village of Combourg and boasts great views of the aptly named Lac Tranquille.
Château de Combourg, the château of René de Châteaubriand
The Châteaubriand family, one of the oldest baronies in Brittany, acquired the county in the 18th century.
Indeed, their aristocratic title dates back to the Crusades of the 11th century.
The Châteaubriand family coat of arms commemorates religious expeditions to the Holy Land with the motto: “My blood has stained the banner of France.”
The famous French writer, Viscount François-René de Châteaubriand, was an heir to this ancient lineage.
However, despite the family’s former noble status, the kings of France largely ignored them until François-René’s father restored the family fortune through a series of successful maritime ventures.
François-René de Châteaubriand
François-René de Châteaubriand was born on September 4, 1768, at the Hôtel de la Gicquelais in Saint-Malo, the tenth child in the family.
In 1777, the family settled at the fortress of Combourg, where he spent much of his youth. However, like his mother, he suffered from the castle’s austerity and darkness. These years of solitude and boredom profoundly impacted his personality and contributed to making him the founder of the Romantic literary movement.
At the end of his life, he wrote his masterpiece, Memoirs from Beyond the Grave.
Here is an excerpt from this work:
“C’est dans les bois de Combourg que je suis devenu ce que je suis, que j’ai commencé à sentir la première atteinte de cet ennui que j’ai traîné toute ma vie, de cette tristesse qui a fait mon tourment et ma félicité, c’est là que j’ai cherché un Coeur qui pût entendre le mien…”
“It is in the woods of Combourg that I became what I am, that I started to feel the first attack of boredom I dragged my whole life, the sadness that made my anguish and my happiness, it is where I looked for a Heart that could hear mine …”
This talented writer, with a melancholic and sensitive soul, was also an accomplished diplomat and politician, having served under Louis XVIII and Charles X. Chateaubriand died in Paris on July 4, 1848. In accordance with his wishes, he was buried on the Îlot de Bé, off the coast of Saint-Malo, an islet accessible only at low tide.
His solitary grave bears the following epitaph:
“Un grand écrivain Français a voulu reposer ici, pour n’entendre que la mer et le vent.”
“Passant, respecte sa dernière volonté”
“A great French writer wanted to rest here, to listen only to the sea and wind.’
“Passerby, respect his last wish ”
Department of Ille et Vilaine
Coordinates: Lat 48.407524 – Long -1.754111
Photo via Wikimedia Commons: François-René de Chateaubriand by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (1767–1824 Public domain
