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Origin and history

Montfrault Castle, also known as the Fortress of Montfrault, was erected around the middle of the 10th century under the order of Thibaud I of Blois, nicknamed the Tricheur, to defend the southeast entrance of the present Chambord estate. Its name could derive from Mons Feraldi, evoking a Germanic owner, although its history remains linked to that of Chambord (Camboritum in the Roman era), located near the Cosson ford.

In the 12th century, Montfrault and Chambord formed a couple of strategic fortresses among the four protecting Blois County, alongside Montils, Chaumont and Bury. The site became a place of festivities for the Counts of Blois (the so-called Thibaldiens), before being gradually abandoned after 1205, when Countess Catherine, widow of Louis, mourned there and settled permanently in Chambord. The estate, ceded for a time to the Hôtel-Dieu de Blois in 1233, was bought by Counts Gautier II and Marie d'Avesnes.

The castle welcomed two stays of King Philip IV the Bel (in 1303 and 1308) and was mentioned in 1327 in the poem Le Tournoi des dames de Watriquet de Couvin, menestrel du Comte Guy I. After moving to the second house in Orléans in 1397, it was renovated under Louis XII (former Duke of Orléans became king in 1498), serving as a hunting lodge before the construction of Chambord by François I (from 1519). Dismantled between 1778 and 1784 to enlarge Chambord, today nothing remains but ruins, accessible only in a closed area of the park.

The local legend combines Montfrault with the Infernal Hunt of Thibaud le Tricheur, whose cursed spirit haunts the forests of bliss with those of Nury and Bury. In the Middle Ages, the castle reportedly housed a mistress of a Count of Blois, while at a later time it was linked to the lover of the Marquise of Clermont-Tonnerre. These accounts contribute to his mystery, although his historical role was primarily military and residential for the Counts of Blois.

Architecturally, Montfrault was equipped with a fortified enclosure, but no significant vestige is now able to reconstruct its original appearance. Its gradual abandonment after the 12th century and its dismantling in the 18th century erased most of its traces, relegating its history to written sources and persistent legends in local folklore.

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