![\"Walking](\"http:\/\/www.lifewiththetribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/image1.jpg\")
<\/a>Having parked the car just next to the wide and fast flowing Vienne, it is just a short walk to the medieval city that has been perfectly restored and sits between the river and the soaring cliffs crowned by the castle. \u00a0Rue Voltaire is the main street of Chinon and is typically medieval \u00a0– narrow streets paved with flagstones and cobbles with tall, timber framed houses some with ornate facades.<\/p>\n Walking towards the glass elevator that takes you from the town to the visitor centre and fortress at the top of the cliffs, we decide to feed the Tribe before embarking on another history lesson!<\/p>\n In the Place du General de Gaulle with its central fountain, we find a typically French looking bistro housed in an old 16th Century building, Le Bistro de la Place. \u00a0I am slightly horrified when I realise that this lovely old Hotel de France that the restaurant is situated in, is in fact part of the Best Western chain. \u00a0Have we made a big mistake? \u00a0Fortunately not and we have delicious typically French food – mine is a vast plate of local goat’s cheese salad with a crisp, perfectly chilled glass of local rose.<\/p>\n Reinvigorated, we head up to the fortress – the view from the lift as it goes up the cliffside, is stunning. \u00a0The city below disappears until we can only see a sea of old terracotta roofs stretching out towards the Vienne. \u00a0From the lift we walk up the cobbled street to the visitor centre and across the bridge leading into the great and historic fortress of Chinon. \u00a0The restored castle has been brought into the 21st Century for visitors with an amazing multimedia system.<\/p>\n Using the small guidebook that you are given with your entry tickets, you can easily take yourself around the entire site. \u00a0In each location there is a multimedia unit that you pass your guidebook over which then activates it. \u00a0We start in the Middle Castle and the royal quarters (only the south wing remains from the original three buildings that were set around a courtyard in the 15th Century) and our lesson in history begins. \u00a0I remember how unbelievably complex this period of European history is. \u00a0So, an attempt at consolidating it; just before 1000, France was a mishmash of fiefdoms. \u00a0At the time Chinon was held by the Counts of Blois who were vassals of the King of France (the Counts received land and protection in return for allegiance including military support if, or more likely, when necessary – it was a pretty brutal time). \u00a0The Counts of Anjou were neighbours and wanted more land so in 1044 seized Touraine when Chinon became one of their main residences.<\/p>\n In this first room of the fortress, which is dimly lit, large and empty other than two large, low screens, we watch a day in the life of Fulk IV, Count of Anjou, who reigned for 40 years from 1068. \u00a0It is a great piece of film – atmospheric and visually informative. \u00a0Perfect for the Tribe. \u00a0Fulk IV fortified Chinon between 1087 and 1105 and also commissioned the writing of the Chronicles of the Counts of Anjou – obviously an incredibly important historical record. \u00a0He also kept his brother prisoner in the fortress for nearly 30 years – the brother is eventually released when Pope Urban II, whilst visiting nearby Tours to preach on behalf of the Crusades, visits Chinon in person to obtain the brother’s release. \u00a0His son is Geoffrey V of Anjou who adopts the nickname Plantagenet that remains with the dynasty. \u00a0The son, Geoffey V, \u00a0used to wear a yellow sprig of broom (planta genista) in his hat, hence the nickname that eventually was taken as the family name. \u00a0Geoffrey V’s \u00a0son, Henry II, married Eleanor of Aquitaine (who had been married to Louis VII, King of France, but she had not produced an heir, only two girls, and the marriage deteriorated). \u00a0Eleanor and Henri have eight children in 13 years, five of whom are boys. \u00a0Henri’s mother was Matilda (daughter of Henry I of England) and through this he claims the crown of England on the death of Stephen of Blois (his cousin) who had been King of England. \u00a0So, our green and pleasant land was ruled by the French for some time.<\/p>\n The film that we see in the next room shows a dramatic scene showing the conflict between Henri II and his sons, who plot together with their mother against him. \u00a0As a result Henri II keeps his wife, Eleanor, under house arrest in England for nearly 15 years. \u00a0When he dies in 1189, Richard I succeeds him. \u00a0Although the empire has been left organised, with his sons’ continued rivalry, it is also very fragile.<\/p>\n Richard’s main ambition is to join the 3rd Crusade after Saladin’s capture of Jerusalem in 1187. \u00a0He joins forces with Philippe II, King of France. \u00a0On his return however, he is taken prisoner by the Emperor of Germany, Henry VI and only released after a huge ransom of 150,000 marks is paid. \u00a0He returns to England where his brother, John Lackland, has been acting King in his absence and allying himself with Philippe II, unbeknownst to Richard. \u00a0Richard looks to restore his power and reconquer his lands, returning to Normandy which is controlled by Philippe. \u00a0In 1199, Richard is wounded in Limousin and without an heir the crown goes to his brother John.<\/p>\n It is during this time that the stories of Robin Hood begin – his main goal being to restore Richard (the good king) to the throne and banish Prince John (the bad king). \u00a0(John Major, a Scottish historian, writing in 1521, as discussed by Dr Mike Ibeji in Robin Hood and His Historical Content\u00a0http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/history\/british\/middle_ages\/robin_01.shtml). \u00a0The Tribe can relate rather more to this than the wealth of dates, names and places that I bombard them with long after we leave Chinon, but the connections are fascinating and the intricate historical web of this time, immense.<\/p>\n Between 1200 and 1202 King John improves fortifications to Chinon and then snatches Isabella of Angouleme (Philippe II’s cousin) away from her suitor, Hugh de Lusignan, in order to marry her. \u00a0Tact and diplomacy were obviously not his strong points. \u00a0Philippe Ii, not surprisingly, goes back to war against John and in 1205 Chinon falls to Philippe and France.<\/p>\n The next room moves us on over 200 years. \u00a0Since 1328 (the beginnings of the Hundred Years’ War), France had been torn apart by a bitter and long conflict with England. \u00a0A peace treaty in 1420 disinherited the French crown prince, Charles of Valois and King Henry V was made King of France and England. \u00a0His son, Henry VI, succeeded him in 1422. \u00a0Meanwhile, a peasant girl, named Joan, began to hear voices and believed that she had been sent by God to save France from its enemies and instal Charles as its rightful King.<\/p>\n The film shown in this room grabs the Tribe’s imagination as a powerful film is projected on one entire wall of the room. \u00a0It shows Joan of Arc’s journey from Vaucouleurs in Lorraine to Chinon, the meeting between Joan of Arc and Charles of Valois and finally her finding her sword at the church of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois. \u00a0The Tribe are fascinated to know what this young girl did. \u00a0Charles allows Joan to lead a French army to besieged city of Orleans where she achieved an extraordinary victory over the English. \u00a0She then persuaded Charles to be crowned King of France. \u00a0Unfortunately she was subsequently captured by the English and burned at the stake following her trial for witchcraft and heresy. \u00a0She was only 19.<\/p>\n There is an interesting exhibition over two rooms, dedicated to Joan of Arc, her fame only increasing following her death. \u00a0Twenty years after she was burnt at the stake, a retrial was ordered by Charles VII and her name was cleared. \u00a0In 1920 Pope Benedict XV canonised her. \u00a0Even in World War I, her iconic image was used in Britain and the US.<\/p>\n The final two rooms in the Royal Quarters are dedicated to (more) history and archaeology with various exhibits from excavations. \u00a0The Tribe enjoy the informative interactive display showing a 3D reconstruction of the fortress through different times. \u00a0I am ready for some fresh air.<\/p>\n The weather closes in but the view across the valley is still spectacular. \u00a0As the rain starts we head into the Coudray Tower, one of three surviving towers from the works carried out by Philippe II after he captured it in 1205. \u00a0The name ‘Coudray’ dates from the Middle Ages and is probably due to the hazel trees growing inside the fort, ‘coudres’ in old French. \u00a0The tower has a door and portcullis. \u00a0The lower room features a tunnel entrance allowing occupants to escape if the castle was under siege.<\/p>\n Going down the steep, stone steps into the gloom, it is a bit creepy, particularly when you realise that this had been used as a prison for knights of the Order of the Temple in 1308 including Jacques de Molay, the Templar’s last Grand Master.<\/p>\n Despite there being plenty more to see – The Argenton Tower, The Clocktower, The Mill Tower to name but a few, Father of the Tribe and I decide that its getting late and the Tribe have probably had their fill of Chinon. \u00a0Or perhaps its more that I cannot join any more historical dots together and want to do a bit more research to understand exactly where everything fits it.<\/p>\n However, as we return through the visitor’s centre, we do stop and walk around the current exhibition on the Knight’s Templar. \u00a0If you’ve read Dan Brown’s, The Da Vinci Code, well, Chinon has enough history about the Knights Templar to keep you going for a while and Father of the Tribe and I are absolutely fascinated. \u00a0There is also a copy of the famed Chinon Parchment, a document only found in the Vatican in 2007 but dating back to the original investigation in the Middle Ages, undertaken into the Knights Templar after accusations of heresy, blasphemy and sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n Really, really interesting, but the Tribe are now starving so I will have to look into it another time and we will all return to this fabulous place, to see and find out more, but with a greater initial understanding. \u00a0A glass of Chinon red is calling I think!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With slightly overcast skies and the possible threat of rain we decide to head north to the medieval city of Chinon, situated on the borders of Anjou and Poitou alongside the Vienne river. \u00a0My fabulously ancient guidebook (that I still have from when I last visited the Loire Valley in my distant single life 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