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Origin and history

The castle of Marigny, located in Alexain in the department of Mayenne, was mentioned in 1423 under the name of seigneury of Marigné in the archives of the Sarthe. The historical documents designate him successively as Marigni (1500), then Marigny on the map of Cassini, revealing his territorial anchor between the parishes of Placé, Alexain and Contest. This seigneurial estate, composed of multiple fiefs (Surgon, Hambers, Marigni, etc.), was mostly owned by the Duchy of Mayenne and enjoyed extensive rights: high justice on some lands, patronage of local churches, and a vast estate of 2,397 newspapers live.

The current structure of the castle dates largely to 1563, a date engraved on its door, marking an almost total reconstruction. The house body, flanked by two separate roofed pavilions, includes a chapel dedicated to Sainte-Marguerite and a corbeled tower. An isolated tower, associated by oral tradition with a crosshorse blinded by the Saracens, adds a legendary dimension to the site. At the end of the 19th century, some of the facades, threatened with ruin, required a number of buildings to stand up, reflecting conservation challenges.

The seigneury of Marigny was owned by the Lefebvre de la Faluère family, native to the business of bliss before settling in Laval in the 16th century. Its members held prestigious offices (Parliament of Paris, Parliament of Brittany) and had several domains in Mayenne, including Marigny. The chapel, founded for two weekly Masses, welcomed chaplains from local noble families, such as the Fontenailles, active from the 16th to the 18th century, some linked to the Catholic League.

The archives reveal a land with various resources: seigneurial rights, mills, ponds, and a marked religious heritage (honourary rights in the church of Place, patronage of the church of Alexain). Feudist Chenou, in 1774, described Marigny as a complex set of fiefs and privileges, reflecting the late feudal organization of the region. Sources also refer to church charters and insinuations as evidence of its historical importance.

Today, the castle of Marigny illustrates the architectural and seigneurial heritage of the Mayenne, between Renaissance reconstruction, medieval legends and traces of religious conflicts (Ligue). His history, documented by Abbé Angot and the departmental archives, makes him a key witness to the provincial nobility and its progressive decline at the dawn of the Revolution.

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