Deux maisons
MonumentHidden Treasure
Deux maisons, located in Josselin (Département 56), is a Renaissance château built in the 16th century. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Renaissance (16th century)
- Location
- Josselin, Département 56, Bretagne
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 47.9525, -2.5508
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091321
In the heart of Josselin, two 15th-16th century timber-framed houses embody the medieval soul of inland Brittany, with their sculpted corbels and elegant half-timbered facades.
History
Nestling in the picturesque lanes of Josselin, in the shadow of the Château des Rohan overlooking the Oust valley, these two timber-framed houses are an exceptional example of Breton civil architecture from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Their inclusion on the Monuments Historiques list in 1929 testifies to the early recognition of their heritage value by the French authorities, at a time when the protection of small-scale urban heritage was still in its infancy. What sets these homes apart from the ordinary built fabric is precisely their preserved authenticity: bold corbelling that extends the upper storeys out onto the street, runners sculpted with plant motifs or grotesque figures typical of 16th-century Breton art, and corner posts decorated with figures or heraldic motifs. The carefully crafted oak framework reveals the skills of Breton carpenters and masons of the late Gothic period. The experience of visiting Josselin, even from the outside, immediately immerses visitors in the atmosphere of a medieval Breton town at its height. Josselin was in fact a prosperous town, the centre of power of the powerful Dukes of Rohan, and its middle-class houses reflect the affluence of a population of merchants, notaries and craftsmen who gravitated around the seigneury. Looking at these facades is like reading the social history of a flourishing Breton town. The general setting of Josselin adds considerably to the interest of the visit: just a stone's throw away is the Château des Rohan, one of Brittany's finest examples of flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance architecture, whose interior façade is a masterpiece of stone lacework. The proximity of the Nantes-Brest canal and the wooded banks of the river Oust provide a remarkably coherent natural and heritage environment. These two houses form part of a rare urban ensemble where medieval civil and military architecture harmoniously complement each other.
Architecture
The two houses in Josselin illustrate Breton timber-framed architecture in its most accomplished form. Their structure is based on a network of solid oak posts and crossbeams, assembled using mortise and tenon joints, demonstrating consummate technical mastery. The successive corbelled storeys gradually extend out onto the street, creating the overhanging effect characteristic of medieval urban buildings, which made it possible to increase living space without encroaching further on the public space on the ground. The sculpted ornamentation is the most striking feature of these façades. The runners - the horizontal beams separating the storeys - are embellished with low-relief motifs: stylised foliage, knotwork, rosettes or grotesque figures in the Breton tradition. The corner posts, veritable showpieces of fine carpentry, probably feature statues of figures or heraldic motifs, in keeping with the custom of Breton bourgeois homes in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The infill between the posts is made of lime-painted wattle and daub or brickwork. The roofs, steeply pitched as befits the Breton climate, are covered in local slate, the king of Breton architecture since the Middle Ages. Pedimented dormers, possibly added or altered during the Renaissance, punctuate the ridge line and bring light into the habitable attic space. Together, they form a balanced composition in which the verticality of the posts meets the horizontality of the runners, in a harmony typical of the late Gothic aesthetic of inland Brittany.
Related Figures
Jean II de Rohan (XVe siècle) — seigneur de Josselin sous le règne duquel la ville connut un essor économique favorable à l'édification de riches demeures bourgeoisesOlivier de Clisson (1336-1407) — connétable de France et seigneur de Josselin, dont les travaux au château dynamisèrent l'ensemble du tissu urbain de la villeLes maîtres charpentiers bretons anonymes du XVIe siècle — artisans à l'origine des façades sculptées, héritiers d'une tradition d'excellence charpentière propre à la Bretagne intérieureArchitectes des Bâtiments de France (années 1920) — acteurs de la redécouverte et de la protection du patrimoine civil breton ayant conduit à l'inscription de 1929Bourgeois josselinois du XVIe siècle — commanditaires présumés, marchands ou officiers seigneuriaux ayant financé ces demeures comme affirmation de leur réussite sociale
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Deux maisons located?
Deux maisons is located in Josselin, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Deux maisons built?
Deux maisons dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Deux maisons open to visitors?
Deux maisons is currently closed to visitors.