Maison du Dauphin
MonumentHidden Treasure
Au cœur du village de pèlerinage de Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois, la Maison du Dauphin perpétue le souvenir du futur Charles VII, qui fit de ce lieu une halte royale sur la route de sa destinée.
© Wikimedia Commons
History
Nestling in the medieval village of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois, in Indre-et-Loire, the Maison du Dauphin is one of those discreet residences that history has imbued with exceptional density. Modest in appearance, it is part of the fabric of stone and tufa that makes medieval Touraine so unique, a land of transition between the Paris Basin and the Loire Valley, and a long-standing feature of the itineraries of the Capetian and later Valois royalty. What makes this building truly unique is its inseparable link with the Johannine epic. Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois was a famous place of pilgrimage, under the patronage of Saint Catherine, protector of soldiers and captives. The Dauphin of France - the future Charles VII - stayed here on several occasions during the Hundred Years' War, finding in this place of devotion a refuge and a symbolic legitimacy. Joan of Arc herself stopped here in February 1429 on her way to Chinon, and it is in the village church that she is said to have buried the famous sword that she asked to be dug up to take to war. To visit the Maison du Dauphin is to enter into the intimacy of this pivotal period when the French monarchy was wavering and rebuilding itself. The house offers an invaluable insight into medieval civil architecture in Touraine, with its sober facades, quality tufa stone bonding and proportions inherited from the late Gothic tradition. Listed as a historic monument since 1927, the building blends harmoniously into a village where the church itself boasts a first-rate heritage. Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois, some twenty kilometres south of Tours, has retained the atmosphere of an unspoilt pilgrimage village, where the narrow streets and houses with their coherent architecture invite you to take a slow, meditative stroll. For lovers of medieval history and authentic heritage, this is one of the Touraine department's best-kept secrets.
Architecture
The Maison du Dauphin is typical of medieval civil architecture in Touraine, with its tuffeau stonework - the soft white limestone that is the hallmark of the Loire Valley - easy to carve and ideal for sculpted ornamentation. The sober, well-ordered facade bears witness to the care taken to represent the patron, while retaining the restraint typical of the bourgeois and seigneurial residences of the late Middle Ages. The openings - mullioned or stone-crossed windows - are part of the late Gothic tradition that prevailed in Touraine in the first half of the 15th century, before the Italian Renaissance gradually transformed the decorative repertoires of the Loire Valley. Grooved mouldings and stone cords punctuate the horizontal levels of the façade, a common technique in the region for marking the hierarchy of interior spaces. The steeply pitched roof is covered in slate, in keeping with regional practice and contrasting with the white of the tufa stone. The general massing - a rectangular main building, possibly flanked by a turret or a staircase - is reminiscent of the seigneurial dwellings found in large numbers in the villages of Chinon and Richelieu. The restrained scale of the building reveals a functional architecture designed for high-quality residential use, halfway between a nobleman's house and a princely residence.
Related Figures
Charles VII, dit le Victorieux — Dauphin de France, séjourna à Fierbois à plusieurs reprises avant son sacre à Reims (1429)Jeanne d'Arc — fit halte à Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois en février 1429, y entendit trois messes et demanda la recherche de la célèbre épéeCharles VI le Fou — roi de France dont les crises de démence ouvrirent la crise dynastique qui contraignit le Dauphin à chercher refuge en val de LoireYolande d'Aragon — belle-mère et protectrice de Charles VII, qui organisait ses déplacements entre Anjou et Touraine et favorisait ses pèlerinages à FierboisGilles de Rais — compagnon d'armes de Jeanne d'Arc, présent sur les routes de Touraine pendant la chevauchée de 1429, associé au contexte militaire de l'épopée johannique
