During his years in the Middle East, Richard had experienced the Siege of Acre in 1191 and would have seen or heard about the castles being built by Crusader barons in Outremer, as Palestine was then known to Europeans. Among the innovations known to Middle Easterners, including machicolations, or holes built in the parapet of a castle to allow boiling water or oil to be flung down on attackers. Richard would also have seen European castles, such as Durnstein in Germany, that would've surpassed anything in England. Though fortresses such as the Tower and Windsor Castle existed, castles built on a concentric motte-and-bailey plan were usually a mix of wood and stone, easily captured if one were lucky enough to set them on fire. Richard wasn't about to let that happen to Chateau Gaillard.
Building began in 1297, to the tune of 12,000 pounds. However, as usual with the Plantagenet family, Richard forgot to cover his bases with the French before starting his project. In addition to being King of England, he was also Duke of Normandy, which he felt gave him all the authority in the world to build a castle to guard against French invasion of Normandy. However, per the terms of the Treaty of Louviers, Richard and Phillip II of France had agreed to undertake no further castle building in the region. As soon as Phillip II heard what Richard was up to, he had the Arcbishop of Rouen issue an interdict on Normandy. Richard wasn't deterred and kept building. His construction called for a central motte or keep, surrounded by three concentric walls, overlooking the Seine. The three enclosures or baileys contained dry moats or ditches, further buttressing the castle's defense. Despite the enormity of the project, it was completed in just 2 years, being finished in 1198, the year before Richard's death.
When Richard died, Chateau Gaillard passed into the possession of King John, who didn't adequately garrison this or any other fortress against the French onslaught. In 1202, Phillip Augustus laid siege to Chateau Gaillard. It would take him two years to conquer the castle, in 1204. This defeat, in particular, stung the pride of the England and there were numerous attempts to retake the castle and keep it during the decades of war that followed. By 1314, however, Chateau Gaillard was firmly in French control and would serve as the final backdrop for another bit of family drama tangentially involving the Plantagenets. Isabella of France, wife of Edward II, had no use for her three sisters-in-law at the French court, Jeanne, Margaret and Blanche of Burgundy, who had married French princes. She started rumors that they were unfaithful to their respective husbands. All three women were arrested. Jeanne's husband stood by her, and she was ultimately released. Margaret and Blanche each were confined to Chateau Gaillard, which by this time was beginning to decay. Margaret would live only two years and Blanche eight years, each dying from the rigors of their imprisonment.
In 1333, a Plantagenet princess would find refuge at the Castle. David II of Scotland, a child-king fleeing the English takeover of Scotland during the Second War of Independence, was offered Chateau Gaillard as a place to live, along with his tiny queen, Joan of the Tower, daughter of Edward II. David would later return to Scotland to claim his rightful inheritance. Henry V temporarily recaptured Chateau Gaillard in 1419, but in the ensuing years it was reclaimed by the French. By 1599 it was a total wreck and Henry IV of France ordered portions of the structure pulled down to avoid collapsing and injuring local inhabitants. Capuchin monks repurposed some of the stone. Today, portions of the castle ruin are open to the public for tours at certain times the year.
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