부산대학교 도서관

Type of large country house in France. It developed from the fortified castle (château fort) of the Middle Ages into the imposing country residence at the centre of a royal or noble estate (château de plaisance) of the Renaissance and after. The term later came to be used more generally for any French country house, with or without an estate. See also Palace, §II, Castle, §II, and Maison de plaisance. Unlike the town house, which in general conformed to the courtyard type, the château in France is the product of historical evolution and may not be dealt with so clearly in typological terms. The feudal château fort was a base for seigneurial power, in which defensive qualities were of major importance. With the increasing security that followed from the centralization of power in the realm in the 15th century, and with growing conceptions of comfort and convenience, strength ceded to grace and, at the hands of great classical architects, organic diversity to coherence of form. The ...