Royal authority was represented at Caen by a high steward, who embodies the judicial power of the King. In addition captain of the Château de Caen, he resides in the King’s residence (‘Logis du roi’). Jacques de Silly, also grand master of the artillery of France, occupies this position at the end of the XV and beginning of the XVI century. His son François succeeds him as high steward in 1503, then as governor in 1515. With the progress of the artillery in evidence, he decides to reinforce the walls of the Château de Caen, by building enormous earth embankments along the ramparts, inside the fortress. It is also to François de Silly that we owe the reconstruction of the choir of the church of Saint-Georges, where he has his arms affixed to one of the keystones. The works undertaken by François de Silly are part of a larger construction site, which sees the Château de Caen become a citadel.
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