THE ROYAL PALACE PLANTAGENET

It was the residence of the Counts of Maine in the ^10th and ^11th centuries. At the time of the dynasty, it included the Sainte-Chapelle, now the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre-la-Cour. The six-bay nave still exists. An upper chapel, where the standard of the Counts of Maine was kept, was added to this Sainte-Chapelle. Destroyed by fire in 1720, it is now occupied by the municipal registry office. Count Geoffroy V and his son Henry II were born in this palace. Queen Berengaria was widowed here after the death of Richard the Lionheart. Today, all that remains are the walls and windows of the walled Romanesque style, inserted into the building of today's town hall. An imposing section of wall in the north wall also remains. The palace was divided into two main areas: the aula comtale (gigantic ceremonial hall) and the collegiate church of Saint-Pierre-la-Cour. A number of private and domestic structures completed this noble ecclesiastical site. It was in this aula that all the important ceremonies marking the life of each sovereign took place. The remaining section mentioned above is the former gable wall of a vast hall, exceptional for its dimensions (31 x 23 m) and the three naves making up its structure. The various influences noted, especially Anglo-Saxon, lead specialists to attribute the construction of this hall to Henry II Plantagenet.