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Origin and history

The Escotais Castle, located in Jublains (Mayenne), is a castle today in ruins. It was built to protect the Roman way from Jublains to Mans, with origins potentially prior to the 13th century, from its first mention under the name Feodum Descotes. This site was the heart of the Escotai seigneury, covering nearly 100 km2, including villages like Hambers and Aron. The Escotais family, one of the oldest nobles in Maine, exercised a right of high justice.

During the Hundred Years' War, the fortress was strengthened to resist the English, with an active garrison under Jean des Escotais. Partly destroyed in 1422 by Jean des Vaux during personal conflicts, it was immediately rebuilt, as was the nearby castle of Lassay. These events are documented in the national archives, revealing local tensions and strategic alliances.

In the 16th century, the castle passed by inheritance to the family of Montdamer, then to the d'Andigné in the 17th century. Probably disarmed after the edict of Nantes (1685), he declined: sold in 1714 to Michel de Raccapé, then to François Poisson, before falling into ruins around 1760, perhaps after a fire. The 1753 and 1772 maps confirm this decline, showing an abandoned site.

The current remains include masonry moat, eight granite towers, a 20-metre dungeon, and wall enclosures with killers adapted to firearms. The castle served as a stone quarry in the 19th century, accelerating its degradation. The ruins, surrounded by vegetation, remain accessible near the rue des Ecottés, with underground galleries formerly visible.

The Escotais family, whose history dates back to Thibault (participating in the 3rd Crusade in 1191), owned the site until the 16th century. Their coat of arms, silver with three quilts of mouths, still adorns archives. The younger branch, settled in Touraine, obtained in 1755 the erection of its lands in county, perpetuating the name until today.

The archival sources (National Archives, BnF, cadastres de la Mayenne) and 19th century descriptions (Abbé Angot, F. Verger) document its architecture and decline. The site, though ruined, bears witness to the strategic importance of the castles in the medieval Maine and their transformation in modern times.

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