Nicolas Joly and the Clos de la Coulée de Serrant: Guillaume des Roches
At the foot of the Roche-aux-Moines vineyard stands what remains of a Medieval fortress, little more than a few supporting walls and towers, just a minute’s walk from the Château de la Roche aux Moines. This military base overlooking the Loire betrays the importance of this site to Philippe Auguste (1165 – 1223), King of France, who ordered it built by Guillaume des Roches (c.1165 – c.1222), Sénéchal d’Anjou. The fortress was instrumental in the Bataille de la Roche-aux-Moines in 1214, when King John (1166 – 1216) of England laid siege as he tried to wrest control of Normandy from Philippe. Secure within the castle, however, Philippe Auguste’s son Prince Louis (1187 – 1226) held out; many of King John’s allies deserted him as a consequence, and eventually he was defeated. Anjou was returned to the French crown.
It would appear that the fortress (the remains of which are pictured below, although it is largely obscured by trees and railway power lines) and surrounding lands then remained in the hands of Guillaume des Roches, as I have traced a bloodline through several generations to the next significant proprietor. Guillaume married Marguerite de Sablé (date unknown) and they had two daughters, Jeanne and Clémence, the first of whom married Amaury I de Craon (died 1226) in 1212. The lands probably came into the possession of the de Craon family at this time, passing next to their son Maurice IV de Craon (1213 – 1250) who was wedded to Jeanne de la Marche, the union producing another son Maurice V de Craon (1239 – 1282). His union with Isabelle de Lusignan (1225 – 1299) produced another Maurice, Maurice VI de Craon (1259 – 1292) who married Mahaut Berthout-Malines on June 18th 1277.
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