page_title: Château de Chinon
section_title: Counts of Anjou
hierarchical_section_title: Château de Chinon / History / Counts of Anjou
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: La Tour d'Horloge du château de Chinon
context_page_description: Château de Chinon is a castle located on the bank of the Vienne river in Chinon, France. It was founded by Theobald I, Count of Blois. In the 11th century the castle became the property of the counts of Anjou. In 1156 Henry II of England, a member of the House of Anjou, took the castle from his brother Geoffrey, Count of Nantes, after Geoffrey rebelled for a second time. Henry favoured the Château de Chinon as a residence. Most of the standing structure can be attributed to his reign; he died there in 1189.
  Early in the 13th century, King Philip II of France harassed the English lands in France, and in 1205 he captured Chinon after a siege that lasted several months. Thereafter, the castle remained under French control. When King Philip IV accused the Knights Templar of heresy during the first decade of the 14th century, several leading members of the order were imprisoned there.
  Used as a residence by Charles VII in the 15th century, the Château de Chinon became a prison in the second half of the 16th century, but then fell out of use and was left to decay. It was recognized as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture in 1840.
context_section_description: According to contemporaneous chronicler Robert of Torigni, on the death of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou in 1151 his second son, who was also called Geoffrey, inherited four castles. Robert did not specify which these were, but historian W. L. Warren speculated that Chinon, Montsoreau, Loudun, and Mirebeau numbered amongst these castles as they were in the territory which may have been traditionally the inheritance of the second oldest son. Geoffrey rebelled against his older brother, Henry, in 1152. Henry negotiated with the castellans of the castles of Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau to surrender before laying siege to Château de Montsoreau. Following the loss of Montsoreau, Geoffrey surrendered to his brother. By 1156 Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau were back under Geoffrey's control. That year he readied them for war as he rebelled against Henry a second time. In the intervening years, his brother had been crowned King Henry II of England at the end of a long-running civil war. Henry besieged and captured Geoffrey's castles in the summer of 1156 and kept them under his control, giving Geoffrey an annuity of £1,500 in compensation. The presence of a treasury and one of Henry II's main arsenals marked Chinon as a particularly important castle in the 12th century. It was a primary residence of Henry II who was responsible for construction of almost all of the massive castle.
  In 1173 Henry II betrothed his youngest son, Prince John, to the daughter of Count Humbert, an influential lord in Provence. John had no land, but as part of the arrangement Henry promised him the castles of Chinon, Loudun, and Mirebeau. Henry II's eldest son, also called Henry, had been crowned King of England alongside his father but had no land of his own and was angered by the situation. His discontent grew and Henry the Young King demanded some of the land promised to him be handed over, claiming to have the support of the English barons and his father-in-law, King Louis VII of France. While the king was at Limoges he was informed of a conspiracy involving his wife and sons to overthrow him. Choosing to keep his eldest son by his side, Henry II set off north to Normandy, ensuring along the way that his castles in Aquitaine were prepared for war. En route they stayed at Chinon; under the cover of darkness Henry the Young King escaped and set off to Paris to join the court of Louis VII. Two of Henry the Young King's brothers, Richard and Geoffrey, joined him in rebellion along with the barons of France and some in England. War followed, lasting until 1174, and Chinon, Loudun, and Châtellerault were key to Henry II's defence.
  After the revolt ended in 1174, relations between Henry II and his sons continued to be strained. By 1187 Henry the Young King was dead, Richard was in line to inherit, and Henry II was on the brink of war with Philip II. In June that year Richard travelled to Paris with Philip II and struck up a friendship with the French king. Concerned his son might turn against him, Henry II asked him to return. Richard went to Chinon and raided the castle's treasury so he could fund the repair of his own castles in Aquitaine. In 1189 Richard and Philip were wreaking havoc in Maine and Toulouse, capturing Henry II's castles; the king was ill and went to Château de Chinon. He left briefly in July to meet with Richard and Philip II and agree a truce, and died at Chinon on 6 July. The king's body was taken to Fontevraud Abbey and Richard became king.
  In 1199, John succeeded his brother as King of England. By 1202 his lands in France were under threat from Philip II of France, threatening the east, and the barons of Brittany. In January 1203 John sent a band of mercenaries to retrieve Queen Isabelle from Chinon as it was under threat from rebels. In the spring Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, took over as commander of Chinon's garrison; the war was not going in John's favour and in August that year he ordered the demolition of several castles, including Château de Montrésor, to prevent them from being used by the enemy. By 1205, Chinon was
caption: La Tour de l'Horloge (clock tower)
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