Château de Chambonneau  The Château de Chambonneau is a castle in the "commune" of Gizay in the Vienne "département" of France that still shows good parts of the original "chateau-fort". It is built down a hill, close to the Miosson (a tributary of the Clain river). The original castle dates from the time of Philippe VI, the beginning of the 14th century. The present château dates between 1335 and 1609. The remaining original parts represent the keep and 75% of the towers and lower buildings. The former manor (built aside from present day château) lasted until the 14th century. It belonged to the abbey of Ligugé, which sold it in the 11th century to the Anguittard family. At this time, only a feudal motte existed, on the summit of the hill. There are two theories to explain the origin of the castle's name:  At the start of the 14th century, new owners, the Frottiers de Chambonneau, constructed an imposing castle designed to reflect developments in artillery. Instead of building on the site of the former stronghold, as was usually done, they decided to build the new castle at the foot of the hill and to profit from the proximity of the river to construct moats. The castle was built to a quadrangular plan, with round towers at the corners, two other towers (rounded on the exterior only) in the middle of the longer sides, and two more towers to defend the gate. The gate was protected by a châtelet. All of the towers were approximately 17m high, the square keep 26m. In 1356, after the capture of Jean II de France (Jean "le bon") during the Battle of Poitiers, the English were looking for shelter for the night, to avoid a surprise attack. They presented themselves that evening at Chambonneau, with Jean le Bon in front, demanding shelter for the night. The lord trustingly opened up, and thus lost his castle in one minute. It was, then, in this castle that Jean le Bon spent his first meal in captivity (maybe also the night?). Under Louis XI, calmer times allowed work to make the castle more comfortable. The curtain wall and towers were demolished on the west side, the keep and gatehouse towers lowered in height, and accommodation buildings constructed symmetrically either side of the gatehouse.