Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Bocsozel Castle is a former 12th century fortress with ruins in the municipality of Mottier in the Isère department. Although the first written mentions date from the 12th century, early 11th century charters already evoke a castrum under the names Bocizelo (year 1000) and Bocissello (1003), suggesting an older origin. These documents, from the Cartulars of the cathedral church of Grenoble, are among the first traces of the Humbertians, noble family linked to the Dauphiné.

The family of Bocsozel, noble of Vienna, is attested from 1004 by a charter mentioning the castle. Humbert de Bocsozel, quoted in 1093, was the first known member of the group. The site, strategically placed on a castral mound, controlled the Liers plain. The current remains include two towers (XIIIth–XIVth centuries), including a pebble round with a vault, and remnants of ramparts. The round tower, connected to a multipurpose tower (quadrilate-pentagon) by a courtine, dominates the whole.

Listed on the Heritage in Isère label, the castle is accessible by a forest path from the village. The castral mot, located to the west, remains accessible via a wooden ladder. Preventive excavations, such as the one conducted in 2007 by Annick Clavier, have helped document its history. The ruins illustrate medieval Dauphinian military architecture, between strong house and defensive system.

Historical sources underline its role in local feudal dynamics, with repeated mentions in the 11th and 12th centuries. The Cartulars of Saint-Hugues and the notarial acts reveal its importance for the Humbertian lords, then for the family of Bocsozel. The Bozosello form (circa 1140) confirms its anchoring in the Dauphinian political networks of the time.

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