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Origin and history

The castle of Minzé, located 1,500 metres from the village of Châtelain (Mayenne), is attested under various historical names: Mysé in 1494, Misé in 1535, and Minsé in 1687. This fief, dependent on Romfort and in the back-fief of Château-Gontier, included typical elements of a seigneurial estate: noble houses, farmhouses (the Court and the Basse-Court), mills (wind and water), ponds, vineyards and woods. Its organization reflected a structured agricultural and land operation, characteristic of the seigneuries of the Old Regime.

In 1596, the archives describe a complete estate with fief fences, cens, rents, and infrastructure as two fences (farm enclosures) and three ponds. The presence of a chapel, blessed on 18 September 1770, underlines the religious and social importance of the place. The site illustrates the evolution of the Mayan seigneuries, marked by mixed management of resources (agricultural, hydraulic and forestry) and feudal rights.

Historical sources, including Abbé Angot's (1900-1910) work, confirm the local pronunciation Misé and place the castle in a fief network under Romfort. Its economic and symbolic role — between land exploitation and the sign of seigneurial power — is part of the rural landscape of the pre-revolutionary Mayenne.

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