CONFERENCES
In order to complete its architectural Renaissance, it seemed important that Château de Bournazel should regain, year after year, a central place in the Humanist culture of the 16th century. To allow specialists in French Renaissance culture, be they art historians, researchers, curators, linguists, philosophers, architects, musicologists or specialists in literature, to come together, as well as to offer lovers of the 16th century the pleasure of a cultivated or scientific debate, seemed a necessity.
Thus, began the ‘Bournazel Colloques’, a sort of provincial interlude in the world of conferences, study days and seminars on the Renaissance.
Each year, specialists from this period present works or studies in progress, certain reflections or avenues of research, confront questions or discoveries, raise hypotheses or echo innovative postures.
Note: the majority of presentations will be given in French.
CONFERENCES 2025
20-21 May
‘The Virtue of Justice’
under the direction of Violaine Giacomotto-Charra, Xavier Prévost, Jean-Pierre Dupouy and François
Roudaut (Montpellier)
This symposium will focus on Justice from the Renaissance to the Classical Age. Defined by the
ancient philosophers, in particular Plato and Aristotle, justice became one of the four cardinal virtues and was at the heart of the thinking of the early Church Fathers, first and foremost Augustine of Hippo. Thomas Aquinas defined it as ‘a constant and perpetual will
to give to each what belongs to him’.
The symposium, like the book that will be produced from it, will be multidisciplinary and will call on historians,
legal historians, art historians, philosophers and literary scholars.
Pass for 20 to 22 May with lunches on 20 and 21 May:
Adults €60 – Under 18s €50
27 September
‘Dire et composer la musique à la Renaissance’
13 th Rencontres de Bournazel
under the direction of Thierry Verdier (Montpellier)
This 13th edition of the Rencontres de Bournazel will explore the musical universe of the Renaissance from a multidisciplinary perspective. Although music has always accompanied the daily lives of men and women, and although the musical Renaissance of the 15th-16th centuries is now increasingly well known, the socio-cultural dimensions of music (both learned and popular) are never seen in a holistic way. That’s why it seemed important that a fresh, more inclusive approach should be taken to this subject, making it a genuine object of study.
This new conference will bring together researchers and lecturers, musicologists and art historians from several European countries. Italian colleagues will discuss the place of popular music in neo-Latin and vernacular literature in the humanist circles of the great cities of the peninsula and the Viceroyalty of Naples. French and Spanish researchers and musicians will be presenting the development of the religious repertoire and instrument making in Occitania. Other speakers, specialists in the history of painting and sculpture (Italian, Rhenish, Iberian and Nordic), will focus on the ‘musical atmospheres’ proposed by court artists and itinerant ‘imagiers’. Finally, there can be no discussion of music in the Renaissance without an ethnographic and anthropological investigation into the place of song in the world of cities and the countryside.
Pass for 27 September with lunch:
Adults €30 – Under 18s €25
Themes from previous years:
«The Quest for Fortune in the Renaissance», 2012
«The passion for ornament in the Renaissance», 2013
«The taste of travel in the Renaissance», 2014
«The part of the gesture in the Renaissance», 2015
«Games and entertainment in the Renaissance», 2016
«Flesh and good food in the Renaissance», 2017
«The world of objects in the Renaissance», 2018
«Presence and imagination from death to the Renaissance», 2019
«Portraits of Renaissance Women» 2021
«Birth and creation in the Renaissance» 2022
«The City in Celebration during the Renaissance» 2023
“The Bird in the Renaissance” 2024
Proceedings of the conferences
These works are on sale at the reception desk of the château. For a shipping quote, please contact us by email: chateau.de.bournazel@gmail.com
Individual Price: 15 €
Purchase of seven: 70 €
Colloque 2012, 162 p. – 15 €
Colloque 2014, 134 p. – 15 €
Colloque 2016, 174 p. – 15 €
The Association of the Friends of Château de Bournazel was created in January 2012 with the aim of promoting this exceptional Historic Monument, by organising cultural events contributing to the enhancement of the artistic heritage of the Renaissance. The association, through its actions, aims to encourage the reception of the public but also of researchers specialising in the period. In the same way, the association provides human, material and financial support for the conservation, restoration, protection and accessibility of the château.
To support the association and participate in the development of the Château de Bournazel, become a member.