Castle of the Court en Mayenne

Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of the Court, located in Asse-le-Bérenger in Mayenne, has its origins in the 11th century, although its current structures date mainly from the late 15th century. At that time, it was surrounded by moat, protected by a drawbridge and flanked by three round towers, one of which is now used as a staircase. A square tower, pierced by murderers, dominates the facade, while a rubbish heal bordered the ditches. These defensive elements, disputed by the Canons of Le Mans in 1624, were according to the local lords of the immemorial remains, confirming the fortified status of the site.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the castle was described in notarial acts as a seigneurial house closed with walls and ditches, including a leak (pigeon) still visible at the end of the 19th century. In 1600 Charles de Cervon claimed the title of seigneur of Assé, relying on family burials in the parish church (like Jean de Bouillé or Catherine de Favières) to legitimize his rights. He argues that his ancestors, although vassals of the Canons of Mans, held an independent noble authority, the canons having never possessed a castle on these lands.

Tensions between the Lords of the Court and the Canons of Mans, the Chatelans of Assé, also concern feudal rights such as the measurement of grains: in 1623, the seigneurial bushel was reduced from 32 to 29 pintes 1⁄2 by baillival sentence, aligning the pint with that of Sillé. The archives also mention houses, a walled orchard, and a bridge crossing the water ditches, characteristic of the seigneurial residences of the time. However, the renovations during the Restoration (early 19th century) changed part of its medieval structure.

The history of the castle reflects the conflicts of local power between secular nobility and clergy, typical of the Old Regime. Fortifications, though modest, symbolized a disputed authority, while notarial acts (1623, 1682) reveal an active seigneury, integrating agricultural spaces (gardens, orchards) and banal rights (moulin, oven). The escape, seigneurial element par excellence, recalls the economic role of the estate, between land exploitation and aristocratic prestige.

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