Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Château des Termes-d'Armagnac, located in the Gers department in Occitanie, is a medieval vestige dating from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Built on a hill overlooking the Adour and Arros valleys, it served as a surveillance post for the lords of Termes-d'Armagnac, vassals of the Counts of Armagnac. This strategic site was used to control the region's borders, reflecting its military and political importance in the feudal era.

The square dungeon, two meters thick and thirty-six meters high, is the main vestige of the castle. It consists of three floors of vaulted rooms in a broken cradle, illuminated by door windows and equipped with fireplaces. A stone staircase serves the levels, complemented by communication galleries and latrines. The site also retains traces of a house and other buildings, although partially ruined. Ranked a historic monument in 1962, it was given to the commune in the 1960s by André Boingneres, allowing its opening to the public.

Among the notable figures related to the castle, Thibault d'Armagnac, a companion of arms of Jeanne d'Arc, is the most famous. The site housed a museum on the history of Gascogne until 2020, when a renovation project transformed the site into an immersion in the lower Middle Ages. Today, the tower and its remains offer an architectural and historical testimony of feudality in Gascony, while remaining an accessible cultural place.

The castle illustrates the defensive and social organization of the Middle Ages in southwestern France. Local lords, like those of Termes, played a key role in the protection of territories and loyalty to the Counts of Armagnac. The presence of Thibault d'Armagnac alongside Jeanne d'Arc also highlights the engagement of these noble families in national conflicts, such as the Hundred Years War. The dungeon, with its military characteristics, reflects the construction techniques of the time, adapted to the needs of defence and seigneurial life.

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