Ramblings for Tuesday, June 13, 2017      

About 10:00 am on the second day of our journey we headed east from Montreuil to the ancient town of St Pol-sur-Ternoise, the seat of my medieval forefathers, the Counts de Saint-Pol. My previous research about this community and its significance to our family history did not prepare me for what I was to find. The earliest wooden palisade in the 990s AD defined the defensive areas around the castle high ground. In the twelfth century stone walls replaced these structures along with a central man-made mound (motte) upon which a stone tower was built. The last episodes of siege warfare in 1537, left the castle in ruins. Since then the site was robbed of the stone for construction and expansion of the town below.

Today we were to visit the castle – now called Parc du Château des Comtes de Saint-Pol – which included a public exercise course and a small outdoor amphitheatre. One photo I had previously found showed that the only remnant of the castle was a subterranean rock arched gateway dug into the side of the hill upon which the castle once stood. Satellite photos showed that most of the site was covered by a canopy of tall trees with a few glimpses of a hedge labyrinth and some stones marking an old wall. Although anxious to explore the site I did not expect to find any significant remains of the ancient ruins.

Origins of the Château de Saint-Pol

After the end of the Roman Era in France – about 500 AD – the Pas de Calais region was administered by the powerful Counts of Flanders who were positioned as overseers under the auspices of kings of the Pope’s Holy Roman Empire. Historians further explain that the first appearance of the Counts de Saint-Pol was due to the choices made by the powerful Hause de Flanders who were allied to the Holy Roman Emperor King Henrich II of the German Ottonian Dynasty. Henrich II granted the counts of Flanders several fiefdoms from Ternoise to Zeeland. In need of local administrators, Count Baldwin IV appears to have granted privileges to oversee several fiefs in the La Canche valley to local rivalling families of Guines, Hesdin, and Saint-Pol. This allowed Baldwin IV to turn his attention to securing his threatened eastern territories. Although, now vassals of the Count of Flanders, these families constructed castles during the late 900s to protect their local fiefdoms.

The earliest mention of the Counts de St Pol occurs in the writings of the French chronicler Lambert d’Ardres.  In his book “Historia comitum Ghisnensium” (History of the Counts of Guines) he mentions the marriage of Rosella, the daughter of the Comte de St Pol to Raoul Comte de Guines about 1000AD. No records exist naming her father, but it can be presumed that he may have been Hugues I since later records identify a Comte Hugues II. However, records are unclear since the first count identified in existing written records is Roger Candavene. Nevertheless, the recognition of this marriage presupposes the existence of a castle along with the establishment of the administrative family by the name of Candavene (aka Campdavaine) as the Comte de St Pol.

Observations of the Château de Saint-Pol

The ancient community of Saint-Pol has a mere 5500 inhabitants today. Access to the Château is up a rather steep narrow lane between houses near the centre of town. A gate marked “Château de Saint-Pol” obstructed our entrance to the east side of the man-made motte or castle hill. However, with a good shove, it opened, and I directed my brother to park the car in a small level area next to a pathway leading to the top of the hill. There was no area designated for parking, but since we were the only visitors at this time, we left the car and excitedly headed off in different directions to explore the grounds. Approaching the hill from the east side, I recognized the tunnel at the base of the motte. Surprisingly, the information on the signpost identified this feature as having been dug by British troops during WWI and therefore implied that it was not part of the ancient castle ruins!

Beside the tunnel was a gravel pathway heading gently upwards around the motte. Anxious to see the top I chose the direct but steeper route. Grasping at roots and trees for balance, I eventually reached the summit entirely out of breath. I then climbed up onto a raised wooden boardwalk which circled the hilltop. The platform served as an observation deck, not of the surrounding town – which was obscured by the dense forest of mature trees – but of the remnants of the foundation stones of the ancient Château de Saint-Pol! The area of the flat hilltop was quite small and only about 30m across. Surprisingly, the first couple of rows of foundation stones bore witness to the original footprint of the “donjon” built in the early 1100s!  At 25 meters tall, the tower had a commanding view of the surrounding country.early 1100s!  At 25 meters tall, the tower had a commanding view of the surrounding country.

The fortified tower or “keep” (in French called donjon) was the residence and refuge of last resort should the rest of the castle defences fall into the hands of an adversary. The motte upon which the donjon was constructed was at least 30 meters high above the upland terrace upon which it rested. At last, I had an impression of the local topography and could readily understand why this strategic site was chosen as an administrative centre of the ancient fiefdom.

Impressed by what I had found I descended the pathway to the west and onto a large open field or bailey where limestone and flint foundation stones marked the footprint of an ancient chapel. In some places, the original mortar still held the first course of cut stones.

Although dominated by trees, I could tell that the edge of the bailey courtyard descended steeply to the town below. It was evident that this area had been the central part of the enclosed complex around which the first palisade was constructed. However, I was not able to determine if the castle included a moat. The configuration of other linear earth mounds and shallow valleys around parts of the site were confusing and awaited further research to understand their complexity. Nevertheless, after twenty-five years of research, it was exciting to have at last stood upon the site of the motte-and-bailey castle of my medieval ancestors.

Fortunately, additional research after my visit led to the discovery of an archaeological report for the Château de Saint-Pol. The following sketch map was sourced from this account.

Construction phases of the Château de Saint-Pol

The original wooden fortified enclosure of the earliest Chateau de Saint-Pol was built upon a naturally elevated plateau at the turn of the first millennium. This feature formed the central bailey of the site. The tenth century was a period when a system of rural organization and land tenure were introduced to regulate the cultivation of open field areas which were coming into production. This new system attempted to impose rules for the use of labour and distribution of produce. As a result, there was a need for the creation of defensive sites to secure areas of cultivation and production from intruders. As mentioned previously certain families were selected as overseers of small territories called seigneuries. The condition of protecting rural peasants or fiefs required compensation to the seigneur (or lord of the manor) regarding payment in labour and kind.

The earliest fortifications did not include a motte or donjon tower, but as warfare technology improved, it became necessary to build protective stone structures with excellent visibility and defences. Hence, the Château de Saint-Pol, as it stands today, reflects the ancient vestiges of several stages of construction and rebuilding during the first half of the second millennium.

The following sketch illustrates many of these medieval castle features.

Construction phases during the 1000s included stone replacement of the wooden palisade and construction of a high and steep-sided motte. This feature was adjacent to a ditch or “fossé” on the east side of the bailey. Today part of this moat is the site of an open-air amphitheatre.

During the term of Comte Hugues III Campdavene (1118-1141) an earthen motte and defensive rampart mounds were raised along the eastern perimeter of the bailey and today are part of the switch-back pathway leading to the top of the motte where a stone donjon was constructed. An adjacent linear “fossé” was dug below the east side of the bailey. However, I have not yet found clear evidence to suggest that this moat was water filled.

A hundred years later Comte Hugues V replaced the square stone tower with a circular three-meter thick one clad in led to better thwart fireball attacks from mangonels (trebuchet) devices. The 1100s an extensive building phase included new towers at the north wall of the bailey, one of which was the residence of the Count. These towers included private latrines and staircases leading down to a paved courtyard. Two chapels were added in the 13th century the largest called the chapel Notre-Dame (12 meters by 9 meters) and the smaller Sainte-Catherine chapel. Both are represented in the above sketch of the Chateau Neuf. Several other towers on the perimeter walls served as sentinels and barracks for the guards. Personalities who lodged at the castle included the King of France, Louis XI, Edward III in 1355, and Edward IV in 1470.

Next Post – – – A visit to Varennes-en-Croix evokes the story of my “black sheep” ancestor the infamous Hugues III Comte de Saint-Pol.