bearing the title (grand) maître de l’hôtel du roi, whose offices were eventually conflated
into one. The queen, the king’s eldest son, and many lesser princes also maintained hotels
from the 13th century onward, and they were generally organized along the same general
lines as that of the king.
D’A.Jonathan D.Boulton
Lot, Ferdinand, and Robert Fawtier. Histoire des institutions françaises au moyen âge. 3 vols.
Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1957–62, Vol. 2: Institutions royales (1958).
HOUDAN
. The small city of Houdan (Île-de-France), situated at the confluence of the Vesgre and
the Option, preserves a 12th-century bkeep, the only remains of the castle of the
Montforts. The transformation of the keep into a water tower has complicated the study
of its interior. Elements of its unusual plan, however, are still discernible. A round tower
approximately 100 feet high and 50 feet in diameter, this keep is flanked by four turrets,
each 6 feet 6 inches in diameter, that run the height of the tower. The walls, 12 feet thick,
are made of millstone. Conical roofs must have topped the central tower, as they do the
turrets. The keep could be accessed only by a door in the north turret situated 20 feet
above the level of the soil. This limited and somewhat hidden access encapsulates one of
the most striking features of the keep’s interior: its complex arrangements for moving
from one floor to another. For example, this outer door opens onto a corridor that ends at
a stone staircase leading to the first story, a square room whose corners lead to the
alcoves of the turrets. This central room, or Grande Salle, served as the lord’s. In addition
to the corner recesses leading to the turrets, sets of staircases and ladders lead from this
room or floor to others. In short, to get from one room to another or into the turrets, one
had to pass through the Grande Salle. And it was here that the lord of Montfort resided,
since from this vantage he could watch over the comings and goings of all those who
entered and in this way could deal with any treasonous activity.
E.Kay Harris
de Dion, A. “Description de la tour de Houdan.” Bulletin monumental (1865): 392–98.
Finó, J.-F. Forteresses de la France médiévale. Paris: Picard, 1970.
HUCBALD OF SAINT-AMAND
(ca. 849–930). Music theorist, composer, hagiographer, and author of De har-monica
institutione, Hucbald was a monk at the abbey of Saint-Amand at Tournai. He studied at
Saint-Amand, Nevers, and Saint-Germain of Auxerre, and became a fellow student of
Remigius of Auxerre at Fulda. Later, he became director of the school at Saint-Amand,
started the school at Saint-Bertin, and helped Remigius to revive the cathedral school at
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