Château Pontus de Tyard

History

The Tyard family became lords of Bissy after Claude de Tyard married Françoise de Bissy in 1350. In 1478 Étienne de Tyard lived here, and his son Jean became lieutenant general of the bailiwick of Mâcon. Jean's son Pontus was born at Bissy in 1521. Around the middle of the 16th century, after the death of his brothers, Pontus inherited the estate.

Pontus de Tyard became a leading humanist and one of the poets of La Pléiade. His Erreurs amoureuses appeared in 1549, and he also wrote on music, astronomy and philosophy. In 1578 he became bishop of Chalon-sur-Saône and defended the royal cause against the Catholic League. He resigned his see in 1594 and died in 1605, after which his nephews kept the fief.

In the 19th century the estate was turned into a farm. From 1951 Madame de la Poix de Fréminville devoted herself to saving the buildings, and in 2001 the association Renaissance du château Pontus de Tyard was founded to restore, study and bring the place to life. In 2015 the château received the Maison des Illustres label, given to homes of notable French figures.

Architecture

The château keeps a long rectangular enclosure with a carriage gate at each end, the southern one flanked by a square tower. The rectangular main house has a round tower, a square tower, an oblong tower and a stair tower on its façade. One tower, known as La Panneterie, is dated to around 1300. Inside are four large rooms with fireplaces and a small chapel beneath a dovecote.