Maison du 15e siècle
MonumentHidden Treasure
Maison du 15e siècle, 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
- 47.9537, -2.5478
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00091318
In the heart of Josselin, this 15th-century medieval house embodies the Breton art of building at its Gothic apogee: sculpted half-timbering, bold corbelling and a timber-framed façade of rare elegance.
History
Nestling in the cobbled streets of Josselin, a medieval town in Morbihan dominated by the famous Château des Rohan, this 15th-century house is one of the rare examples of Breton flamboyant architecture still standing in Morbihan. Its characteristic silhouette, with its progressively corbelled storeys and carved oak framework, tells the story of Josselin's prosperous trading days at the heart of the Duchy of Brittany. What makes this building so special is precisely its survival: where dozens of medieval houses disappeared under reconstruction in the 17th and 18th centuries, this one has survived the centuries without losing much of its original appearance. The runners and brackets adorning the timber-framed facades bear witness to the care taken by local craftsmen, heirs to a carpentry tradition firmly rooted in the Vannes region. Visiting this house is like immersing yourself in the daily life of a middle-class citizen or merchant in Josselin at the end of the Middle Ages. It's easy to imagine the activities that took place on the ground floor - probably a shop or workshop opening onto the street - while the upper floors housed the family dwellings, sheltered from the hustle and bustle of the town. The street in which it stands still retains a pervasive medieval atmosphere, ideal for strolling and contemplation. Josselin's setting further enhances the magic of the place: the Nantes-Brest river flows just a short distance away, and the towers of the Château de Rohan loom in the background, turning every angle of view into a tableau of living history. Listed as a Historic Monument since 1931, the house is protected to ensure that this exceptional heritage will be preserved for future generations.
Architecture
The house is in the great tradition of timber-framed dwellings from the Lower Middle Ages in Brittany. Its structure is based on a solid oak frame, with the key components - runners, uprights, braces and jambs - forming a network of lines that punctuate the façades with a geometric precision characteristic of late Gothic civil architecture. The corbelled storeys, which gradually overhang the street, give the building the slightly inverted pyramidal silhouette typical of medieval houses in Brittany and Normandy. The sculpted brackets that support the corbels are soberly but carefully decorated with stylised plant motifs and prismatic mouldings in keeping with the ornamental repertoire of the late 15th century. The infill between the timbers is traditionally made of cob on lath - a mixture of clay, straw and sand applied to a framework of wooden strips - or, for the lower parts that are more exposed to damp, shale rubble bonded with lime, a material that is abundant in Morbihan. The openings, arranged according to a clear functional logic, include large bays on the ground floor for commercial purposes, and narrower windows on the upper floors, possibly originally fitted with stained-glass cives. The roof, which was probably steeply pitched in keeping with the Breton climatic tradition, was covered in local slate - the Argoat region having provided an abundant supply of this material since the Middle Ages. The composition as a whole bears witness to accomplished craftsmanship and an economy of means typical of quality vernacular architecture, quite distinct from major religious projects but just as revealing of the skills of an era.
Related Figures
Olivier de Rohan (seigneur de Josselin, XVe siècle) — dont la famille régnait sur la ville au moment de la constructionJean II de Rohan (1452-1516) — vicomte de Rohan sous le règne duquel Josselin connut son apogée médiévaleAnne de Bretagne (1477-1514) — duchesse dont les politiques ont façonné la Bretagne urbaine de cette périodeArtisan charpentier josselinais (anonyme, XVe siècle) — maître d'œuvre présumé de la maisonMarchand bourgeois (anonyme, XVe siècle) — commanditaire probable, représentatif de la classe marchande locale
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Maison du 15e siècle located?
Maison du 15e siècle is located in Josselin, Département 56 department, Bretagne region, France.
When was Maison du 15e siècle built?
Maison du 15e siècle dates back to a period built during the Renaissance (16th century).
Is Maison du 15e siècle open to visitors?
Maison du 15e siècle is currently closed to visitors.