The Château de Montfort, in Vitrac, overlooks the Dordogne. It cannot be visited.
The castle was mentioned in 866 under the name of "Castrum de Monte Forti".
Bernard de Casnac, bloodthirsty leader during the Albigensian Crusade, married to Alix de Turenne, was the lord of Aillac, Castelnaud and Montfort. The castle was taken by Simon de Montfort in 1214. Bernard de Casnac took over it the following year, as well as the castle of Castelnaud. It was besieged and destroyed in 1216 by the army of the Archbishop of Bordeaux.
The fief, as well as that of Aillac, was given to Raymond IV, Viscount of Turenne who undertook the reconstruction of the castle.
In 1251, the division of the property of the viscounts of Turenne between Raymond VI and Hélis de Turenne, daughter of Raymond IV, married to Hélie de Rudel, lord of Bergerac, Blaye and Gensac[2] passed the fiefs of Ribérac, Espeluchat, Aillac, Carlux, Souillac, Roixe (Creysse), Larche, Terrasson, Salagnac, La Cassagne and those in their movement into the family of Rudel[3].
The property of Hélis de Turenne and Hélie de Rudel passed to their only daughter, Marguerite de Rudelle, known as de Turenne. She married Renaud III, Sire de Pons. Their property was divided between their three children.
Geoffrey V de Pons, son of Renaud III de Pons[4] and of Marguerite de Rudel, called de Turenne, lady of Bergerac, was married to Isabelle de Carlat. His mother, by her will of 1289, made him heir to the castles and castellany of Ribérac, Épeluchat, Montfort, Aillac, Carlux, Larche, Creysse, Martel, Mons, and all her rights to the viscounty of Turenne due to the partition of 1251. Lord of the castellany of Montfort and Aillac, he had high justice over six parishes. In 1309, the King of France withdrew the high justice from Geoffrey V and took it to his advantage for having approved his castellan of Carlux who had received banished from France. The decree called for the destruction and burning of the Château de Montfort.
During the Hundred Years' War, the castle withstood sieges in 1404 and 1409. The garrison abandoned the castle in 1441.
Jacques I de Pons (1413-1473), son of Renaud VI de Pons and Marguerite de La Trémoille, daughter of Guy VI de La Trémoille, sire de Pons, viscount of Turenne, lord of Ribérac, Montfort, Montluc, the islands of Oléron, Marennes, the land of Arvert, titled cousin of the king, chamberlain of Louis XI, was convicted of the crime of lèse-majesté by a decree of the parliament of Paris on 28 June 1449. He lost his fiefs of Aillac, Montfort and Carlux, which were attributed to Pierre de Brézé[5]. Jacques de Pons then took refuge in Spain. In 1461, the accusations were recognized as false and King Louis XI granted him letters of remission. He died in 1472 or 1473 without having recovered all his fiefs.
Pierre de Brézé was killed at the battle of Montlhéry on 16 July 1465, and his eldest son, Jacques de Brézé, succeeded him in all his titles. He killed his wife, Charlotte de Valois, on 31 May 1477. He was arrested on 24 November 1477 and kept in the Conciergerie. Kidnapped on the orders of Louis XI, he was kept in the castle of Vernon before being condemned on 22 September 1481 to pay 100,000 gold crowns. Unable to pay the fine, he was again imprisoned at the Château de Roche-Corbon. To get out of prison, he had to cede all of his property to the king by contract signed in Tours on 6 October 1481. Among the properties ceded, there are his fiefs in Périgord, Montfort, Carlux, Aillac which depend on the viscounty of Turenne. The king ceded the property acquired from Jacques de Brézé to his son, Louis de Brézé. On 14 August 1483, Pierre de Brézé ceded by deed to his son, Louis de Brézé, all that he owned in the viscounty of Turenne. After the death of Louis XI, his son Charles VIII granted letters of remission to Jacques de Brézé for the murder of his wife in August 1486[6].
In 1486, Guy de Pons (11 May 1431-1510), son of Jacques Ide Pons, lord of Ribérac, was restored to possession of his lands of Montfort, Carlux and Aillac. The lordship then passed directly to François II de Pons, son of François Ide Pons and grandson of Guy de Pons[7],
The Huguenots took the castle three days after the capture of Sarlat by Geoffroy de Vivans, on 22 February 1574. The lord was then Antoine de Pons (1510-1586), sire of Pons, count of Marennes, baron of Oléron, lord of Royan, Mornac, Blaye, Montfort, Carlux, titled cousin of the king, councillor in his councils of state and privy, son of François II de Pons, married to Marie de Monchenu. He fights for the king.
My name is Eric Clark and I am a world traveler. I have been around the world a few times and decided to help fund my travels by sharing my videos and pictures. I have been to almost every country and would be glad to give tips and pointers. Drop me a note. = )
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