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Origin and history

Durtail Castle is a ruins building located in the commune of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps (Ardèche, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), although often associated with Châteaubourg because of its geographical proximity. Originally, it included an octagonal tower (visible until 1954) and two churches. Its history dates back at least to the 12th century, when the land of Durtail, belonging to Arnaud de Cristo, was engaged in the Sire de Tournon around 1146/1147 during the Second Crusade. The fief, erected in barony before the 16th century, was a strategic issue during the Wars of Religion, during which it fell into ruin.

In the 17th century, the castle passed into the hands of several noble families. In 1667 the Lévis-Ventadour, heirs of the Tournons, gave the fief to Claude de Lamothe, who handed him over to his nephew Jean Bouvier de Montmeyran in 1682. The latter, Baron de Cornas and Durtail, was involved in mortal duels, illustrating the aristocratic tensions of the time. The property was then owned by the Bouvier-Montmeyran, then by the Coston: Jean-Charles de Coston-St-Romain inherited it before dying in 1746, leaving the estate to his son Charles-Louis, the last Baron of Durtail. The latter, a survivor of the Revolution despite imprisonment under the Terror, became a justice of the peace at Saint-Péray (1796-1799).

The castle's jurisdiction once extended to Cornas, much of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps, and parcels of Glun, Châteaubourg and Saint-Péray. Its decline is part of the political and religious upheavals that marked the Ardèche, from medieval conflicts to the Revolution. The present ruins, which remain the base of the octagonal tower, bear witness to this turbulent feudal past, linked to families such as the Tournon, the Lévis-Ventadour, or the Coston, some of which were officers or authors under the Empire.

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