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Origin and history

The castle of La Boétie is a strong house built in the 4th quarter of the 16th century, in the commune of Sarlat-la-Canéda (Dordogne, Nouvelle-Aquitaine). Located near the Vitrac road, it replaces a first castle probably built by Raymond Boyt (died before 1499), grandfather of Stephen de La Boétie. This site, originally linked to a mill (Cluzel mill, renamed mill of La Boytie in 1451), became a family seigneury marked by alliances with local elites, such as the Calvimont or the Roffignac.

The Boyt family (or Boytia), a bourgeois and Sarlat merchants, gradually acquired land around the so-called La Boétie. Antoine de La Boétie (died after 1540), the first to bear this name, was lieutenant of the Sénéchal du Périgord and married Philippe de Calvimont, daughter of a president in the Parliament of Bordeaux. Their son, Étienne de La Boétie (1530–168), spent his childhood there before becoming an adviser to the Parliament of Bordeaux and a friend of Montaigne. When he died, his sister Anne inherited the castle and passed it on to his son, Berthomieu Le Bigot.

The castle was burned in 1589 during the Wars of Religion, and rebuilt in haste on a rectangular plan with two round towers (including one with a screw staircase) and a roof of lauze. The sources point to its rustic masonry and a disentangled entrance to the north facade, a sign of rapid reconstruction. The estate also includes a circular dovecote and the mill of La Boétie, mentioned in 1507, with its horizontal wheels still visible. The site, classified as Historical Monument in 1948 (castle) and 1998 (terrace, pigeon, mill), passes into the hands of noble families such as the Roffignac, the Veyssières de Puylebreuil, or the Monzie de Lasserre, before being possessed by Gérard du Barry in the 19th century.

The archives reveal local tensions during the 16th century League, where the castle, symbol of power, is coveted. Léonard Selves, a Sarlat bourgeois, noted in 1580 that his reconstruction was carried out under detestable conditions of solidity. In the seventeenth century, Gabrielle de Roffignac (daughter of the owners) married Jean de Carbonnier, perpetuating the aristocratic anchor of the estate. The castle thus illustrates the evolution of a strong medieval house in seigneurial residence, marked by religious conflicts and marital strategies.

The site preserves defensive elements (tours, elevated position) while integrating agricultural functions (moulin, dovecote), typical of the fortified houses of the Périgord. The lauze (local flat stones) and the layout of chimneys in the gables reflect regional constructive techniques. Today, the castle, although private, remains a testimony of the social and political history of the Dordogne, between merchant bourgeoisie, nobility of robe, and Protestant heritage.

The historical sources (bulletins of the Perigord Archaeological Society, family archives) highlight its role in local memory, notably through the figure of Stephen de La Boétie, whose writings on voluntary servitude resonate with the tormented history of the monument. The inscriptions in the Historical Monuments (1948, 1998) protect an architectural and landscaped complex (terrasse, bief du moulin) representative of the Aquitaine rural heritage.

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