Château de Montjoie (Les Contamines-Montjoie)

The Château de Montjoie (castrum Montis Gaudii), also known as the Château de Béatrice, was a 12th-century fortress located in the Faucigny region. It stood in the center of the present-day commune of Les Contamines-Montjoie in the Haute-Savoie department of the Auvergne–Rhône-Alpes region. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, it served as the administrative center of a châtellenie.

Toponymy The name Montjoie derives from the Germanic mundgawi, meaning a "border height with a military post." Medieval copyists recorded the term as Mons Gaudii. The valley occupies a border position between the Faucigny and the Beaufortain.

The castle is also referred to as the Château de Béatrice, a designation linked to the presence of Béatrice de Faucigny, known as the Grand Dauphine.

Geography The Château de Montjoie was located in the village of Les Contamines-Montjoie. The site now corresponds to the location of the , whose bell-tower base incorporates the remains of one of the castle's former towers.

The castle occupied a strategic position in the , on the right bank of the torrent. It controlled access to the route connecting the Arve Valley, via Saint-Gervais, to the , as well as the route from the toward the Beaufortain. The passage over the Col du Bonhomme had been in use since at least the Gallo-Roman period.

The site also served as a border zone with the Beaufortain, which was under the authority of the .

History The castrum appears to have been constructed during the 12th century. Its earliest known mention dates to 1277 in a document referring to an albergement (inter nantum de Contamina prope castrum Montis Gaudii).

Montjoie and its lords were vassals of the lords of Faucigny. In 1234, Peter of Savoy married Agnes, the sole heiress of Baron . After the baron died in 1253, Pierre inherited the seigneury of Faucigny and reorganized it into châtellenies, with Montjoie forming one of them in association with Sallanches.

By the late 13th century, the castle served as the center of one of the nine châtellenies under the jurisdiction of the bailliage of Faucigny, encompassing Montjoie and Saint-Gervais. Three parishes were associated with this territory: Saint-Nicolas-de-Véroce, Saint-Gervais, and Notre-Dame-de-la-Gorge.

Béatrice of Faucigny, the Grand Dauphine and lady of Faucigny, is generally regarded as the probable founder of the site and is documented as having resided there on multiple occasions. The châtellenie held the eighth rank in the regional order of precedence.

The arms of the mandement of Montjoie were blazoned as a golden lion on an azure field.

In 1355, following the Treaty of Paris, the Count of Savoy acquired the barony of Faucigny, which had previously belonged to the Dauphins of Viennois. The removal of the border reduced the strategic significance of the castle, and administrative authority, now primarily economic, shifted toward Saint-Gervais. Although the châtellenie retained its name, the châtelain thereafter resided in the fortified house known as the Maison-Forte de la Comtesse in Saint-Gervais, constructed by the Count of Savoy in 1373.

Description Although the castle no longer survives, various studies provide an understanding of its overall layout. It appears to have had a quadrangular plan with a keep, and village houses were likely constructed directly against its outer walls.

Seat of a châtellenie

Organization The Château de Montjoie was the center of a châtellenie, also called a mandement, of Faucigny, established from the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the following century. Faucigny is considered to have been organized around nine châtellenies at the end of the 12th century, with Montjoie occupying the 8th rank in precedence, according to the old inventory of the titles of Faucigny (1431), cited by the canon .

During the Delphinal period (1342–1343), Faucigny was organized around fifteen châtellenies, including Montjoie.

The Maison Forte de la Comtesse, located in Saint-Gervais, later became the residence of the châtelain, while the name "châtellenie de Montjoie" was retained. +Villages, parishes, and fortifications of the châtellenie of MontjoieCommuneNameTypeLes Contamines-MontjoieChâteau de MontjoiecastleLes Contamines-MontjoieChâteletsmall castleLes Contamines-Montjoiemaison forte de La Frassefortified houseLes Contamines-MontjoieLe Châtelsmall castleSaint-Gervais-les-BainsMaison forte de Hautetourfortified houseSaint-Gervais-les-Bainsmaison-forte dite de la Comtessefortified houseSaint-Gervais-les-BainsLa TourotherSaint-Gervais-les-BainsLe Châteausmall castleSaint-Gervais-les-BainsLe Châteletsmall castleSaint-Gervais-les-BainsLes Châteletssmall castleSaint-Gervais-les-BainsLes Châteletssmall castle During the early 14th century, the barony of Faucigny was reorganized around seventeen châtellenies.

In the 17th century, the arms of the mandement were described as a golden lion on an azure field.

Châtelains In the County of Savoy, the châtelain was an officer appointed for a fixed term, with revocable and removable authority. He was responsible for managing the châtellenie or mandement, collecting the domain's fiscal revenues, and maintaining the castle. The châtelain was sometimes assisted by a financial receiver, who prepared an annual report of the châtelain's activities. +Castellans of Montjoie, 13th–17th centuryFaucigny, Dauphiné, and then French administration 1288: simple mention 1292: Sadans 1297: Jean de Samoen (family of Samoëns) 1300–1303: Henry de Graveruel, also castellan of Saint-Michel-du-Lac 1337–1338: Pierre . Payraud gives for this period Jean des Bauges, also castellan of Sallanches 1340–1348: Bastard 1355: Pierre

Savoyard administration

1355–1356: Jaquemet de Landru 1356–1358: Jacques 1358–1363: Jean de Filinge 1363: Guillaume de Cors 1363–1368: Bérard de Bellegarde 1368–1380: Antoine de Montfalcon 1383–1385: Jean Ravais 1385–1397: Pierre de Bellegarde. Payraud gives for this period Fournier 1397–1399: Catherine de Bellegarde, wife of the previous 1399–1417: Pierre Amblard 1417–1436: Jean de Compois 1436–1441: Rodolphe (I) , lord of Coudrée 1441–1479: Guillaume (I) d'Allinges, governor and bailiff of the Pays de Vaud, son of Rodolphe (I) 1441–1467: Louis (I) and Rodolphe (II) d'Allinges, brothers of the previous and sons of Rodolphe (I) 1467–1530: Louis (II) and Rodolphe (III or IV) d'Allinges, brothers, sons of François Bon d'Allinges, co-castellans. François Bon was probably (1466–1510) and of Ternier (1471–1485), or a close relative 1479–1530: Guillaume (II) d'Allinges

Administration of the apanage of Genevois (1502–1659)

1514: Noble Georges 1525–1257: Pierre d'Allinges, Montjoie subsidy 1530–1565: François-Boniface d'Allinges, also "grand bailiff of the County of Genevois" 1530: Noble Hudry de Montfort 1531–1533: Noble Georges de La Frasse 1534–1535: Noble Nicolas de La Frasse 1536–1541: Noble Benoît Guigard 1543–1547: Noble Gaspard 1547–1550: Noble Aymé 1550–1556: Noble Gaspard de Riddes 1559–1565: Noble Aymé de Cuppelin (Cupelin) 1560: Noble Gabriel Du Fresney 1565–1568: Noble Charles-François de La Frasse, who subrogates the office to master André Dufoug 1574–1580: Noble Gabriel Du Fresney 1580–1592: Noble Nicolas Du Fresney 1592–1598: Maître Michel Dupras 1598–1604: Noble Louis 1604–1610: Maître Jean Quart 1610–1616: Noble Jean-Jacques Du Fresney 1616–1628: Noble Étienne Du Fresney 1628–1634: Noble Jean-Baptiste Du Fresney 1634–1646: Maître Nicolas Peyraud, with the lease of lods 1646–1652: Maître Georges Fontannaz 1652–1659: Noble Aymé II Du Fresney

See also

Medieval fortification Fortification

Notes

References

Régeste genevois (1866)

Bibliography

Archival collections