Lusignan

Lusignan in Poitou grew beneath the castle of the Lusignan family, whose members acquired crowns in the eastern Mediterranean during the crusading era. The stronghold and the family are associated with the legend of Mélusine. Its position above the Vonne made the castle a prominent feature of the town.

During the French Wars of Religion Protestant forces occupied Lusignan in 1569, although they were obliged to surrender it later that year. In 1574 the Duke of Montpensier besieged the town and castle; the garrison capitulated in January 1575. The castle was subsequently dismantled, and the town's fortunes increasingly rested on its position along the route between Paris and La Rochelle.