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Origin and history

The castle of Mongaillard, located in the Lot-et-Garonne, is a Romanesque building built in the 13th century, although some sources such as Charles Higounet evoke an origin in the 12th century. It dominates the road from Xaintrailles to Vianne and has a homogeneous structure typical of military constructions in southwestern France. Its architecture includes a dungeon, vaulted rooms superimposed, and remains of a house body with geminated windows, originally surrounded by a polygonal enclosure of 1.50 m thick.

In 1259 Mongaillard's fief was divided between three noble families: Astaffort, Padern and Gontaud. Vianne de Gontaut-Biron, daughter of Vital de Gontaut (who had been sworn in to Louis IX in 1243), gave his share to his nephew Jordan de l'Isle in 1275. The latter paid tribute to the castle to the king of England Edward I in 1287, while the fief remained divided with other co-teachers such as Bernard de Saint-Loup. The castle, mentioned as a castrum in 1259, also housed a fortified village including a parish church.

The site is listed as historical monuments on January 7, 1926 for its ruins, which include a fragment of the dungeon with a vaulted staircase, two superimposed rooms, and walls of the seigneurial house. The debates between historians such as Higounet and Gardelles focused on its precise dating, the latter highlighting the archaism of persistent Romanesque forms in the southwest in the thirteenth century. The current remains reflect a residential and defensive fortress, characteristic of the Gascon feudalism under Anglo-Aquitaine influence.

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