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Origin and history

The castle of Chanteil, located in Méral in the department of Mayenne, is mentioned from the thirteenth century under the name of Campus Tiliate in the local archives. He was associated with a fief with land justice, dependent on Saint-Poix, and offered ecclesiastical privileges such as a shield and a bench in the churches of Saint-Poix and Méral. The estate extended over several lands, including Niotz, Limesle, and Bois-Rahier, and included a central house body flanked by two pavilions, equipped with a chained drawbridge.

The chapel of the castle, dedicated to St. Anthony of the Hermitage, was founded in 1506 with the obligation to celebrate two weekly Masses (on Sunday and Thursday). In the year XII (1803-1804), a request was made for its conservation, stressing its religious and historical importance. The site is also represented on old maps, such as that of Cassini, where it appears surrounded by a square park of 300 toises side by side.

The castle is linked to the Buat family, mentioned in the archives as seigneurial of the estate. The 19th-century sources, including the Dictionnaire historique de la Mayenne (Angot & Gaugain, 1900-1910), describe Chanteil as a place marked by its medieval heritage and architectural transformations, including the presence of a leak (seigneurial column) and a defensive system with drawbridge.

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