Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1897-06-05

Dotoho anu iuicib VI tnc duJdcchl Mis-
doms. 1t was not only the custom but
necessity as well, in those romantic
and barbarous middle ages. that the
castles of noblemen should be more
like forts than dwelling places, says
the New York Herald. The discovery
just made in this ancient city Of Ian
drecies is a very interesting one. 1t
has led to the unearthing of dungeons
and strongholds dating back to the
ninth, eleventh and twelfth centuries,
and as the history of the people who
lived in the days Of tournaments and
chivalry has a fascination and attrac-
ton for the majority of the people. a
brief description of the present discov-
cry will doubtless be read with pleas
ure by many. Since the passage of the
bill depriving Landrecies of its long
enjoyed privileges of a fortified town
public opinion has Deer very much ex-
cited, for 1t is appreciated that the
Notifications of the greater part of the
Chevalier du Vile and the Marechal du
Vauban will disappear entirely, as
well as the Porte de France" which
is original in itself and that there will
unfortunately not remain in this old
city, so often besieged, burned and de-
stroyed, a single trace, a single mon
ument, which will recall its origin and
the many interesting phases of it's his
tory. This wholesale demolition is a
great mistake. During the process of
~dismantling one of the bastions the
very important ruins of a dungeon
built in the twelfth century by Mich
olas, called lie Beau, were uncovered.
Nicholas lie Beau was "Seigneur
d'Avesnes a la Lisere de la Foret de
Normal" on the borders of the Sam
bre. And it was to the construction
of this very castle fortress that Lam
drecies principally owes it's origin and
its Importance. In fact, IL Landrecies
is mentioned at all in history prior
to this date it is only casually, for it
was not until this castle was built
that the inhabitants of the 'terre de
Landrecies" settled around it, thus
forming the city of the same name.
Jean Froissart tells us in his "Chron-
icles" q340) that after the tragical
death of Sire de Poselle, governor of
the city, the Sire de Floyon was for
a long time guardian of the city and
chastel of Landrecies.'" several let
tiers mentioned the Importance of Ian
drecies at that period. Among them
may be mentioned, first, that in which
Jean de Blois gives certain powers to
Allard de Barbancon. This dungeon
10 built entirely of sandstone and is
nineteen meters long and fourteen and
one-half wide. It's walls in many
places are more than three meters in
thickness. 1t forms a large rectangu-
lar room, 100 meters square into which
access wal gained by a small door
cut in L angle of the room.
This door is hidden and pro-
tected by two strong pilasters. They
are n meter and seventy centimeters
high and about one meter and ten CEN
timeters thick. The dungeon is in a
state of perfect preservation, with it's
grooves, it's portcullis, its drawbridge
and other means then in use for bar
Reading the castle against attack. The
vault of the dungeon, of which one
part is in a very good condition, is al
SO built of sandstone and consists of
a single arch about eighty centimeters
thick at its keystone. The upper part
of this vault forms a platform. which
must have been the floor of a very high
room, for this dungeon, which to-day
is reduced to about five meters in
height, in consequence Of having been
leveled for some certain purpose. must
certainly have been much higher.
judging by the thickness of the walls
and the counter-fort, the ruins OF
which are still seen on its circumfek
ence Besides, a little below the vault
there seems to have been in the thick
ness of the wall a secret corridor start
ing from one OF the angles of the build
ing, and which must have been used
as a means of communication between
the upper room and the vault. and
also traces of an exterior staircase
which has since been destroyed. In
1913 Francois l., when he fortified the
town Of Landrecles, utilized this solid
fortress as a foundation for n of his
bastions, and it was given the name
Of the "Bastion du Chateau" 1t was
doubtless at this time that the dun
geon was mutilated and put in the
condition in which it has just been
discovered. In fact, Messire Martin du
Bellay, Seigneur de Langley, the lieu
tenant of the king, tells us in his
Memoirs (1543), after speaking Of
the construction at Landrecies of
s'trois gros c~oulleverts,'' that for the
fourth 'coullevert' we found an old
turreted Chateau which was filed IN
with earth and upon which we built
our bastion." All this points to the
fact that the discoveries still to be
made in the neighborhood will prove
most interesting. A little distance
away stands a tower in sandstone.
which is very, very old, and its walls
are pierced at regular intervals with
narrow, long Sits, evidently intended
for the use of the archers. The foun-
dations OF several other towers have
just been discovered. The presence Of
this fortified chateau shows the inn
portant part It must have played in
protecting The old highway which
winds below it and which is called the
ftaChnmin Id nana Naroucrifa -