A double wall of ramparts, lower town – upper town, has made Le Puy impregnable for centuries. We have a fairly good knowledge of it through the memoirs of chroniclers (Medici or Burel), research by historians, drawings (Martellange) and engravings or even plans kept in the Archives services. Before our eyes remain the remains of the two enclosures dotted with doors and towers, the dating of which is attested among others Saint George (1233), Gouteyron (1295) and Pannesac of course.
The Pagèse tower is still standing in the Saint-Jean district, the rampart which surrounded the city for three kilometers is visible in a few places, we sometimes discover other sections during urban planning (in 2014 rue Boucher-de -Loss). But spectacular remains, less known, are hidden in the wood of the Seminary, well-preserved witnesses of the last period of the fortifications, at the time of the wars of religion (1562-1598).
Then the situation changed: rows of crossbows and assault ladders, the seats turned into artillery duels, the control of gunpowder and cannon decided the fate of the attacks. In this area, the Velay counted among its own a goldsmith: Antoine de la Tour de Saint-Vidal. Revealed during the first episodes of the conflict, the young baron experienced a rapid rise, soon to be military governor of Velay, then Grand Master of the French Artillery for the Catholic League.
The lost tower
The tower built in the wood of the Seminary clad against the Corneille rock, totally dedicated to the guns, he had wanted to strengthen the defense of Puy. In Baron de Saint-Vidal, historical novel by Roger Archer
, the author imagines the scene and the dialogues during a meeting around the bishop Saint-Nectaire, count of Velay, after a difficult assault of Protestant troops against the Pannesac tower (1562). Are present the Seneschal of Rochebonne, several consuls and Antoine de Saint-Vidal, adviser in fortifications. Already, on his advice, the municipality has strengthened its ramparts and started equipping itself with good artillery.
The churches donated about twenty of their bells: twelve pieces were melted down in the large hospital cemetery, conducted and checked on Place du Breuil (where two artificers were killed by an accidental explosion), then placed on the ramparts. Houses leaning against the outer wall were demolished, ditches dug and the city was heavily indebted for all these works. So the request to build a new tower at the foot of Corneille rock, a sector from which an attack had never come, went badly among the consuls.
But Rochebonne, Saint-Vidal and the bishop insist: “This is what we must fear, all the previous attacks have failed; It is certainly difficult to attack the city from this side, but the malignancy and determination of our enemies are great, this tower is essential. So go for the tower, but what to call it? A consul spoke of “lost corner”, so why not Lost Tower? Anecdote or not, the name has remained for this quickly built tower, “between the feast of All Saints and Lent”, specifies Burel in his memoirs, illustrated with a drawing of the tower dated: 1567.
A formidable rampart
The large embrasures allowing the cannons to be oriented bear witness to this: the tower was dedicated to artillery, nothing to do with the loopholes from the time of archery. Attached to the tower, like itself to the Corneille rock, a formidable rampart fifteen meters high, unparalleled in the lower town, has remained intact; a stone sealed in the wall bears a date: 1587. At its foot, today, an apiary discourages approaching it too closely, the risk of “bees” is also indicated. A little further down, drowned in greenery, the remains of the Porte du Jayant, another construction of the time, offer a surprise, the discovery of a painted ceiling. With these works, junction made with the other ramparts, a weak point of the enclosure disappeared.
About visits
The enclosure of the Grand Séminaire is not lacking in interest: in addition to the ramparts, a large orchard, the calm, the panorama, a shaded alley, the memory of ancient churches that have disappeared. Private, it remains accessible to guests of the Saint-Georges reception center, but the wood itself is also forbidden to them. “Risk of falling trees”, indicates a sign. It is true that the wood is no longer maintained. Rare guided tours have taken place there: Robert Dubois, tour guide, keeps intact the memory of the one he accompanied with his colleague Marie-France Coyras. “There were over a hundred people, the visit lasted three hours, the people were amazed, for the most part it was a discovery. A suggestion then, by way of conclusion: why not repeat the experience, all precautions taken of course. The artillery of Puy: famous and feared.
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The Lost Tower was intended to accommodate small caliber defensive weapons, even portable, but the artillery of Le Puy was famous and feared, especially for its heavy cannons and their 25 kilo balls, capable of shaking the walls. They were disputed during the sieges of Huguenot towns, the mere announcement of their coming frightened the populations. They traveled a great deal, at the governor’s good will, pulled by requisitioned oxen. When they are there, the besieged city falls (Saint-Agrève), without them it is often failure (Ambert). Historian Alain Debard
writes that “to fire a harnessed cannon you need 18 to 20 pairs of oxen”. This gives an idea of their weight. Some never returned to Velay – such as the six loaned to the Duke of Joyeuse, whose trace is lost… in Rodez. In Le Puy, in 1562, hoisted to the platform of Corneille rock, their parabolic shots hit the batteries of the Protestant troops installed in Ronzon. Years later, transported to the mound of Mialaure, they ducked the castle of Espaly, before taking this stronghold which had become Protestant, which was subsequently razed to the ground.
– The Wars of Religion between Velay and Vivarais under the reign of Henri III 1574-1589 Éditions du Roure 2018.
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Puy-en-Velay
43000
