Châteaux et révolutions

Whereas, independently of the evolution of their architecture and environment, chateaux are uniformly defined throughout the last millennium as emblematic places of power and authority, the definition of revolutions—without a capital r—is never unequivocal or timeless. It was only in the eighteenth century that use of the word “revolution” was extended beyond the workings of the universe and the world of politics. This was vividly highlighted after 1789 in a continuation of the English revolutions of 1648 and 1688. The various contributions to this book reflect these different approaches, ranging from the role of chateaux as the crucible of architectural innovations apparent in their defensive features through to the modern transformations due to the march of progress and the affluence of their owners, concerned with living in comfort or displaying their wealth. These highly transformed chateaux may have been the scene of revolutionary demonstrations in the form of decisive days for the course of the Revolution; thus the events that took place at Versailles and Vincennes are studied in this book. Many large royal chateaux and seigneurial manor houses were pulled down, punished so to speak, doomed to destruction or converted for other functions that can be likened to revolutions; here, a chateau becomes a prison and there a manufactory. Examples of these transformations specific to the nineteenth century abound, and in the twentieth century they are linked to the developing fashion for tourism, or to heritage conservation programs, or even to the whims of some outstanding personality; this is why Josephine Baker and her medieval Château des Milandes have a special place in our survey.