The Rohans...yes, but which ones?
The Rohans! They're talked about all over Brittany and elsewhere in France... so, of course, they're also to be found in the Pays du Roi Morvan and particularly in Guémené-sur-Scorff.
Did you know that?
The Cardinal de Rohan, the victim of fraud in the famous conspiracy to steal the Queen's earrings, which was the talk of the court of Louis XVI from 1784 to 1786, was a Rohan-Guémené! These misadventures, known as theaffair of the necklace, probably make him the most famous of the Rohans!
In his novel Le collier de la reine (The Queen's Necklace), Alexandre Dumas tells us, with all his talent, the story of the plot of which the man who wanted so much to please Marie-Antoinette was the victim.
A very large family from Brittany
It's never easy to find your way around the great families of history. As far as the Rohans are concerned, to put it simply, they are a family or lineage from which seven branches have descended, including the Rohan-Guémené.
It was in 1377 that the marriage of Jean I de Rohan to Jeanne de Navarre, a princess of royal blood, gave birth to this branch. This was the beginning of a line of twelve lords who succeeded each other from 1395 to 1791. For four centuries, the city witnessed the power of this great family of Breton nobility.
The Rohan-Guémené family, great builders
The origins of Guémené-sur-Scorff can be traced back to the fiefdom of Lord Guéguant in the 11th century. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, this fiefdom underwent successive changes of ownership. Guémené became the permanent property of the Rohan family at the end of the 14th century when Jean I, Viscount of Rohan, bought the estate.
The history of the town became inextricably linked with that of the Rohans, who continued to make it prosper.
Jean I de Rohan and Jeanne de Navarre carried out major renovation work to extend the château and make it more comfortable. The Queen's Baths, a private steam room, were built in 1380.
Around 1480,Louis II de Rohan had a real feudal castle built, surrounded by an imposing wall.
From 1522, Louis IV and Marie de Rohan had the castle disarmed and the fortress embellished. Marie de Rohan also set upa hospice to care for the sick and needy.
Louis V and his mother founded a collegiate church.
In 1570, under Louis VI de Rohan, Guémené became a principality.
Louis VII de Rohan had market halls built in 1634.
These are just a few of the many achievements!
In 1791, following the Revolution, Henri Louis Marie de Rohan emigrated and in 1792, under the law on the property of emigrants, his property was seized and sold. The Château de Guémené was confiscated for the benefit of the Nation.
A prosperous town
Until the middle of the 16th century, the lords regularly lived at Château de Guémené. While this was an attraction for the area, it was above all the local economic development that attracted new inhabitants. In addition to the numerous annual fairs that already existed, the Rohan-Guémené family created weekly or monthly markets. Guémené was a rich and prosperous town. An auditorium of justice was built next to the castle. This symbol of seigneurial justice proves the need for a solid administration to govern daily life on the territory of the seigneury.
The names of streets and squares that remain from this flourishing era remind us that Guémené-sur-Scorff was already a bustling little town.
