The circumstances surrounding the Adhémar family's settlement in Grignan remain unclear. The first lord known from an authentic document dating back to 1239 is Giraud Adhémar . His first name was subsequently passed down to eleven of his descendants. The Adhémar family was ubiquitous in the region ; its history is closely intertwined with the castle throughout the Middle Ages.
The Adhémar family would go on to achieve military honors and, during the Crusades, distinguish themselves in the art of war. It was at the end of the 15th century that Gaucher Adhémar inherited the Château de Grignan and became Baron of Grignan . He organized the first transformations of the building and commissioned the construction of the grand gallery.
Gaucher Adhémar died in 1516. His son Louis succeeded him. A gentleman of the bedchamber to King Francis I, he fought under his command in Italy. The king visited him at the castle in 1533. During his lifetime, Louis Adhémar radically transformed the castle. In 1535, he began the construction of the Church of Saint-Sauveur.
Gaucher, cupbearer and later squire to King Louis XI, became Baron of Grignan in 1478 upon the death of his brother Géraud. He paid homage for the barony of Grignan to the Angevin Counts of Provence until the annexation of Provence to the Kingdom of France in 1481. Married to Diane de Montfort, heiress of the Duchy of Termoli and the County of Campobasso, he led the first works aimed at transforming and developing the old fortress of Grignan.
Upon his death in 1516, the medieval castle began its transformation into a prestigious residence.
Luce RUNGETTELouis Adhémar inherited the title of Baron of Grignan upon the death of his father Gaucher in 1516. He was married to Anne de Saint Chamond, niece of Cardinal François de Tournon, who introduced Louis into the circle of King Francis I's inner circle.
Louis Adhémar held numerous positions: advisor to the king and gentleman of the bedchamber, governor of Marseille and the forts of Notre Dame and the Château d'If, and governor of Provence. In Rome, he served as ambassador of Francis I to Pope Paul III Farnese. The king visited him at the château in 1533.
For Grignan, he commissioned an architectural program that symbolized his success. In June 1558, a few months before Louis's death, Henry II raised the barony of Grignan to a county. His heirs would therefore bear the title of Count of Grignan.
