page_title: Château du duc d'Épernon
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Château du duc d'Épernon / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette (1554-1642), French admiral
context_page_description: The Château du duc d'Épernon is a château, built on the site of a medieval castle located in Fontenay-Trésigny, in the Brie region of France, 43 km southeast of Paris. It stands alongside the Bréon stream and next to the Church of Saint-Martin, in the heart of a once walled old town, the history of which is closely linked to the history of the château. The castellans were lords of Fontenay-en-Brie during the Old Regime.
  The château has been classified as a Monument historique since 7 October 1963, and its park land is included in the List of Remarkable Gardens of France published by the French Ministry of Culture.
context_section_description: The castle of Fontenay is mentioned in the 12th century under the reign of Louis VI of France. It is now neglected and threatened by ruin.
  The first castle here was built on a strategic site, on a pilgrimage road from Paris to Rome, continuing to Rozay-en-Brie, Provins, and Troyes, also used by traders going to the famous Champagne Fairs. The lord of the castle collected a toll from travellers passing through his domain. The Bréon creek fed the moat, upstream of the valley where the castle of Vivier and a road were on the edge of royal lands of the county of Champagne, Rozay-en-Brie and Bernay-Vilbert, separated from Fontenay by the woods of Lumigny, Bernay, and Vilbert. 
  The estate was in the Garlande family from the 12th century until May 1293, when Jean de Garlande sold the Tournan castellany to Pierre VI de Chambly, known as "Pierre the Fat", who was the Grand Chamberlain of King Philip IV. In October of the same year, Chambly sold the Tournan castellany to Charles, Count of Valois. It was then gradually broken up and came into the ownership of several landowners. 
  In 1389, by letters patent, Charles VI granted the estate of Fontenay to his adviser Jean Le Mercier, knight, lord of Noviant, Neuville, and Rugles, with permission to rebuild the old castle which by then had fallen into ruin. Two years later, the new castle was standing and was the site of local courts, and also a prison. The castle, surrounded by walls and a moat, stood around a central courtyard and had two drawbridges, south and north, the second leading to the church. The present building has retained the rectangular plan, with round towers at the corners.
  The castle next passed into the family of Coutes through inheritance. Around 1446, Louis de Coutes dit Minguet (the son of Jean de Coutes, sometime page of Joan of Arc), by then esquire and lord of Fontenay en Brie, Viry, Neelle la Gilleberde, and other estates, together with his siblings Jean de Coutes dit Minguet, Raoul de Coutes, Jeanne de Coutes, and Anne de Coutes, transferred the usufruct to Denis du Moulin, then bishop of Paris. On 1 October 1451, Jean du Moulin, the son of Denis de Moulin and cupbearer to the king, got permission from the king to restore the castle, land and lordship of Fontenay en Brie, and the big houses of Fleur de Lis, Sourdeau, Viry, and Escoubley, which he had newly acquired from Louis de Coutes.
  In 1538, Guillaume Prudhomme began to rebuild the castle. The fortifications of Fontenay en Brie were built at the same time.
  In 1570, Jean de Nogaret de La Valette became the new owner of the castle. He was visited there by King Charles IX and Catherine de' Medici.
  In 1571, Charles IX invited the Protestant leaders to a meeting at Fontenay en Brie. Secret meetings were held at the castle of Lumigny between envoys of the King and Catherine de' Medici, who stayed in Fontenay en Brie, and the Protestants, including Admiral Coligny, the Prince of Condé, and Louis of Nassau. Coligny was assassinated a year later in Paris, during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.
  In 1575, Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette became lord of Fontenay en Brie, and on the death of his father in November 1581 he became Duke of Épernon.
  The castle of Fontenay en Brie has been the scene of many notable events and has been visited by famous figures like Henri III, when magnificent festivities took place at the castle on the occasion of his marriage, and Cardinal Richelieu, who stayed at the castle in 1633. During the first half of the 17th century, the Château du duc d'Épernon was built on the site of the old medieval castle, and the new house took on the character of a pleasure palace. The rooms were comfortable, decorated with tapestries and paintings. The ground floor and the guard room floor were covered with large glazed tiles.
  In 1640, the Duke of Épernon sold the estate of Fontenay in Brie, with the château, to Pierre Aubert, secretary of the King's Chamber, General Treasurer of Artillery, head of the Ferme générale of the Gabelle of salt from 1632 to 1656. He then added the name of the estate to h
caption: Jean Louis Nogaret de La Valette
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