Château de Matval is a 13th-15th century castle in the commune of Bonneveau. The Merovingian castrum, named Matoval, was destroyed by the Normans in the 10th century. In 1459, the fiefdom was given to Jean, an illegitimate son of Louis, Count of Vendôme. The present castle was built by the powerful counts of Bourbon Vendôme, ancestors of King Henri IV to whom the castle later belonged.
Under Louis XIV, the Marquis de Louvois, his famous Minister of War, made it his home, followed by a succession of notable people including Napoleon II.
Matval is equally renowned as the origin of the rennet apple variety, reinettes du Mans. In effect, Childebert I, having brought grafts of apple trees from Spain, planted them himself in his park, creating what became the most famous apple in France.
The castle's vestiges testify to an architecture specific to the military buildings of their time. The south-eastern corner of the house is a wall pierced by arrowslits, remains of a construction provided with arrowslits and a bretèche, which connected the building to a round tower.
Underground galleries run under the hill and the castle.
The Merovingian mint is a reminder that the domain was royal and that coins were minted here. The statuette by the entrance is a jewel of the Merovingian age and unique in Europe.
References:
The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.