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Château Gaillard

Type Object Region France Time 1196–1204

Château Gaillard was built by England's King Richard I on the Seine in Normandy in the late 12th century, a masterpiece of Western European castle de…

Timeline

  1. 1196–1198cliffs above the Seine at Les Andelys · NormandyTo consolidate the Norman frontier and control the Seine waterway, Richard I built Château Gaillard on the cliffs at Les Andelys between 1196 and 1198, employing the most advanced concentric defensive layout and stonework techniques of the day.
  2. 1203–1204Château Gaillard · NormandyBetween 1203 and 1204 King Philip II of France launched a full-scale offensive against Normandy; Château Gaillard fell after tunnel infiltration and frontal siege, England lost its last key Norman fortress, and Normandy was incorporated into the French royal domain.
  3. 1204ruins of Château Gaillard · NormandyAfter the castle fell it was controlled by the French crown and gradually fell into ruin in the 16th century. Its multi-layered defensive design and the tactics of the 1204 siege became classic cases in medieval military history; the site is now a French national monument.

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