Officers in the royal entourage played an important part in introducing the new style of furnishing.
Most of them came from the rich bourgeoisie and their important work for the King opened the possibility of climbing the social ladder. They were usually good business people or valiant military men who wanted to demonstrate their social ascension by building a chateau, along with the most fashionable interior décor.
Rigaud d’Aureille (sometimes spelt Rigault d’Oureille or Rigault d’Oreille), baron of Villeveuve, was a perfect example of this new trend.
He was the governor and royal officer of Agen and Gascony, serving as Maître d’hôtel, which involved managing the household for four French kings. Three of these – Charles VIII, Louis XII and François I – had a major focus on claims to land in Italy . All three kings were all impressed with the “modern” style they had seen in Italy, and set about introducing these ideas into France in varying degrees.
In the late 1400’s Rigaud d’Aureille started building the magnificent Château de Villeneuve-Lembron on his land in central France. He died in 1517, two years after François became king. 
Rigaud’s son Maximilien inherited the château. On July 15, 1533 François I stayed there on his way to Marseille for the wedding of his son Henri to Catherine de Medici. Visitors to the Château de Villeneuve-Lembron can visit the “François I bedroom” which has been set up to commemorate this event.
RIGAUD D’AUREILLE’S BED – THE ORIGINAL!
It is surprising to find that Rigaud d’Aureille’s oak bed, along with some other original pieces of his furniture, remained in his Villeneuve-Lembron chateau for centuries. A well known architect/collector who had purchased the bed and other original furniture from the room bequeathed it to the Decorative Arts Museum in 1905.
This is one of the very rare surviving examples of a “lit à dais” , the new style for royal and noble residences from the end of the Middle Ages. The “chambre” or bedroom was still a public room at that era, which explains the trestle table set up for dining, although eating in bed was also common.
The four poster sculptured bed still has Rigaud d’Aureille’s coat of arms.
