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At
the foot of the Mont d'Auxois the river Oze is joined by the smaller stream
of the Rabutin, which has carved out a little valley running from north-east
to south-west. Half-way up this valley, and opposite the village of Bussy-le-Grand,
a steep re-entrant opens toward the south ; here, embowered by the trees
of an ancient park, can be seen the cone-capped towers of one of Burgundy's
most famous châteaux, named from its village and its valley, Bussy-Rabutin.
Raised on the foundations of a feudal fortress and still retaining something
of its militant disposition, the buildings are ranged round three sides
of a quadrangle set between four corners towers, offering to the south a
sunny courtyard on which all the architectural contrivance has been concentrated.
To right and left, the wings which join the main block to the towers belong
to the early French Renaissance. Bussy-Rabutin is an attractive example
of provincial mannerist architecture. |
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This
was built in 1649 by Roger de Bussy-Rabutin,
whose grandfather had purchased the château in 1602. On 16 April
1665, Bussy-Rabutin was arrested and imprisoned in the Bastille, where
he was to remain until 15 May in the following year, when he was released
on medical grounds. In August he was given permission to retire to his
estates in Burgundy, where he remained in exile until 1681. His offence
was that of having written a short book entitled Histoire
Amoureuse des Gaules. It was a series of tales, partly true
and partly embroidered, about four noble ladies, the comtesse d'Olonne,
the duchesse de Châtillon, the marquise
de Sévigné and the marquise de Montglas. It dealt
with their affairs the complexity of which extended as far as certain
members of the royal family -notably the prince de Condé, governor
of Burgundy, who had no love for Bussy-Rabutin. As the result of the condemnation
of its author, the Histoire amoureuse acquired the reputation of
being a somewhat salacious piece of scandal-mongering. |
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