royal heritage
The Helmet Hall (XIIth - XIIIth century).
an incredible legacy.
Originally built at the end of the IXth century, the first Royal Castle was a rudimentary fortress, protecting the town from Viking attack. The first mention of the Royal Castle in history books dates back to 1031.
Around 1190, the Royal Castle was taken over by the English king, Richard the Lionheart, after the wedding of Amélie de Cognac to Philip of Faulconbridge, his illegitimate son.
In the XIVth century, Edward, Prince of Wales, stayed at the Royal Castle until 1375, when the High Constable du Guesclin helped the French reclaim the castle by freeing the city of Cognac. The Royal Castle then became a stronghold of the Valois family.
Around 1450, Count Jean de Valois rebuilt the Royal Castle, making it his principal residence. Succeeding him, his son – Charles d’Angoulême – married Louise de Savoie. It is here that François (the future king) was born, and was raised in his first years, together with his sister, Marguerite. Charles and Louise enlarged the Royal Castle, gathering a court of poets and artists around them. They built new rooms, vaulted galleries decorated with frescoes, elaborate chimney pieces with their coats of arms, a new chapel and a grand façade facing the River Charente.
A “general view” of Cognac from the XVIth century, based on an old painting, with the Royal Castle on the river in the centre.
A bust of François 1st - Château de Cognac.
A bust of Claude de France - Château de Cognac.
a king is born
The birth of François de Valois in the Château de Cognac was significant for France: he was to become François Ist, King of France, in 1515.
Having grown up in the company of great poets of the day, with a library filled with vellum manuscripts by Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch, surrounded by exquisite artefacts, silverware, draperies and fine bed linen, François was destined to become the epitome of a Renaissance king.
After spending time away from the Royal Castle, King François Ist returned frequently with his wife, Claude de France, and their seven children, including his successor, Henri II. Claude de France died in 1524 and the King married his second wife, Eleanor of Austria, in 1530.
Under François’s rule, the artist Leonardo da Vinci moved from Italy to France to set up his new atelier, helping to make France central to the artistic Renaissance taking place.
According to an old tradition, the design of the Royal Castle was heavily inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's style of architecture. It is known from drawings that Leonardo had experimented with crossed-arch vaults on the basis of an eight-pointed star, so his influence on the Château's vaults is certainly not implausible. It is also then that François took ownership of Leonardo’s most important portrait, the painting of Lisa del Giocondo (the Mona Lisa).
At this time, the Château was in effect a small Italian-style court, where arts and literature flourished, and where sumptuous banquets and fulsome celebrations took place.
An old pot-still at Château de Cognac.
the château through the ages
Significantly, after François's death, the town of Cognac continued to prosper, thanks to the salt trade and the export of local wine. In the XVIIth century, when popular unrest broke out against the young Louis XIV, the Royal Castle and the walled town remained loyal to the crown. The result: Cognac was rewarded with reduced taxes on wine and on a new distilled wine that was to become the liquid we celebrate today, cognac.
A local document of 1651 is one of the first mentions of the production of eaux-de-vie. By the beginning of the XVIIth century, double distillation was dreamed up (the idea literally came to a grower of the Cognac region in his sleep) and it was discovered that ageing in oak barrels improved the liquid immeasurably. Thus was born the need for cellars to store the barrels. The Royal Castle – with its three-metre thick walls at river level – was perfect for it.
Ageing cognac in a royal castle is an honour, and we present La Collection du Roi as an acknowledgement of that privilege. We are blessed with a peerless authenticity and heritage. Indeed, our distinctive crystal decanters – and the rare liquid contained within – encapsulate the very essence of the Château de Cognac’s remarkable history.
The Château's alley.
