Château de Courceriers

The current remains consist of:

an entrance portal west of the castle, consisting of a roof truss known as a Philibert Delorme truss; a monumental entrance portal north of the avenue, dating from the Middle Ages; a chapel; the main building; a tower, now used as a guest room.

The castle is initially associated with the de Courceriers family. It is a knightly family. It is known by various names (associated with that of the fief): Caria Cesaris, de Curcessiers, de Corcesei, de Corceseis, de Corsesiers, de Courcerieux, de Corcier, de Corcessers, etc. The family's coat of arms is: Gules, three cinquefoils Or, 1 and 2. A potentially 14th-century seal of Guérin de Courceriers shows a shield with three cinquefoils, divided by a four-pronged charge emanating from the dexter flank (side associated with his wife, a Riboulle). Furthermore, the family owned numerous fiefs in the surrounding area: Asseil (Ballots), Ballée (Grez-en-Bouères), la Bigeotière (Bourg-d'Iré), Cangen (Laigné), Casrouge (Saint-Germain-de-la-Coudre), etc. The fief of Courceriers depended on Mayenne. The first lord known in writing is Gervais de Courceriers, who seems to have been born in the mid-12th century and probably died in 1218. He made numerous donations to abbeys. His name is known thanks to the various cartularies of the abbeys. He had 2 brothers, Guillaume and Hamelin, and potentially a third, Mathieu. Guillaume is a knight who also made donations to abbeys (Savigny, Evron, etc.) at the beginning of the 13th century. Hamelin is mentioned as a witness to a donation by his brother Gervais. Only one document mentions Mathieu de Courceriers as a witness, but it is impossible to clearly associate him with the other 3. He also seems to have lived at the beginning of the 13th century.

Gervais de Courceriers married a certain Marguerite and had 3 children: André, Hamelin and Béatrix. André de Courceriers succeeded his father. He also had 3 children: Guérin, Gervais and Hamelin. It was Guérin de Courceriers who then succeeded, while his brother Gervais was a knight and Hamelin a canon, then a scholastic and finally a cantor of the church of Le Mans. Guérin married a Riboulle, whose family coat of arms united with that of the de Courceriers family on the seals. Their son Cesbron then became the lord of Courceriers. He married Simonne de Saint-Denis. He seems to have had 2 children: Guillaume and Jeanne. Guillaume de Courceriers is mentioned in a lawsuit in 1301. He married Jeanne de Couesmes. They had 5 children: Guillaume, Guérin, Gervaisote, Simonne and Jeanne. Guillaume de Courceriers in turn became lord. He married Marcebille d'Usages and had 4 children: Guillaume, Jean, Marcebille and Jeanne. He died in 1359.