Lock at the entrance to the Duchy of Normandy, the fortress of Gisors was for a long time at the center of quarrels between the French and the English. And for some treasure hunters, it would always conceal the gold of the Templars, sought after by Philippe le Bel. The fortress of Gisors, witness to the endless conflicts between the French and the English in the Middle Ages, still looks great, with its round, square, polygonal towers and its 10-meter high walls. Treasure or not, the castle is well worth your visit.
Set on its mound of earth and stone, surrounded by a circular fortification, the 12th century keep was added to a staircase turret in the 14th century.
“I am in a Romanesque chapel. Along the walls, placed on the ground, stone sarcophagi. And in the nave, 30 precious metal chests arranged in columns of 10. ”It is more or less with these words that Roger Lhomoy describes to the town hall of Gisors the discovery he has just made, on this day in March 1946 .
Roger Lhomoy is a gardener and caretaker at the château. For six years, he has been digging a gallery under the feudal mound, convinced that there is a fabulous treasure hidden there: that of the Templars.
A treasure in Gisors?
We have to go back to the 12th century. Object of covetousness between the kingdom of France and England, the castle was entrusted for three years to the order of the temple, while the marriage between the daughter of Louis VII and the son of Henri II Plantagenêt was negotiated. Two centuries later, Philippe le Bel had Jacques de Molay, the grand master of the order, imprisoned there before having him burnt in 1314.
His goal: to get his hands on the good fortune of the order. But the day before the arrest of all the Templars, on October 13, 1307, a handful of them would have left Paris with three carts filled with gold in the direction of England: they were able to stop in Gisors and find a cache in this castle that had belonged to them. The one who built the first building in 1096, Robert de Bellême, was himself a knight of the temple.
Does Roger Lhomoy know all this? In any case, our guardian is not convincing: the hole is plugged and the research abandoned. In 1960, Roger told his story to a journalist passionate about treasure stories, Gérard de Sède. A book comes out: The Templars are among us, and André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, orders new excavations. We will never find anything.
Treasure ... Where are you hiding?
Treasure or not, the castle is well worth your visit. It is an impressive witness to the endless conflicts that opposed the French and the English in the Middle Ages. The 12th century enclosure still looks great, with its round, square, polygonal towers and 10-meter-high walls. A part of the side of the city gate still has a false breech, that is to say a second, smaller rampart that protected the larger one from the ditch
A part of the outbuildings was certainly destroyed in the 17th century, stones stolen in the process ... All that remains is a walk at the foot of these 10-meter-high walls, under these towers (watchtower, "of the Prisoner »…) Round, square, polygonal, you will relive a beautiful page of history.
The interior, now occupied by peaceful gardens, is dominated by the haughty silhouette of the keep. Placed on a motte, it is surrounded by a circular fortification or "shirt" and dates like it from the beginning of the 12th century. Note the buttresses that consolidate it: they are several decades later. As for the staircase turret attached to it, it dates from the 14th century.
From now on, the keep is no longer open to visitors: the untimely excavations of treasure hunters, which followed the publication of Gérard de Sède's book, transformed the mound into Gruyere and compromised the stability of the building. The legend of the Templar treasure was more fatal in Gisors than centuries of war against the English!
Par Détours en France
Source : Hors-Série - Châteaux de légende, 2013
https://www.detoursenfrance.fr/patrimoine/chateaux-et-monuments/forteresse-de-gisors-lenigme-du-tresor-cache-des-templiers-3852
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