France’s Final Medieval Fortress: The Last Castle Built Before the Age of Artillery
France is dotted with hundreds of castles—some in ruins, others remarkably well-preserved. They’re part of the nation’s heritage that never fails to captivate visitors, often awakening our inner child. But among all these historic fortresses, which one was actually the last to be built? Medieval Castles: A Late Blooming Phenomenon First, it’s worth clarifying that while we associate castles with the Middle Ages, they actually only appeared toward the end of this period. Historians date the medieval era from the fall of the Roman Empire (around the 5th century) to Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492—roughly a thousand … Read more