The castle | ©Thierry de Villepin / CC-BY-SAThe struggle!
In 1732, Ratilly owner was Louis-Basile Carré de Montgeron! Councillor in the parliament of Paris, Jansenist, he transformed his castle into a Jansenism headquarters.
A French religious movement created in the 17th c.
Jansenists were Catholics, but Catholics with special ideas… Kings and popes were upset and condemned this heresy with an edict.
But Jansenists refused that edict: pockets of resistant people were created everywhere, supported by the mother house, Port-Royal abbey.
In Burgundy, those resistant ones gathered in castle of Ratilly, with Montgeron!
Clandestine activities
In fact, Montgeron bought the castle in order to get closer to priest of Treigny, abbot Gaspard Terrasson: THE Jansenist guru.
He dreamt of transforming Ratilly into a second Port-Royal, where persecuted persons could take shelter…
Montgeron was never short of something to do: he secretly printed the newspaper Les Nouvelles ecclésiastiques (“The ecclesiastic News”), then he sold it in the neighbouring forest.
But after 3 years of illegal and secret activities, the abbot and Montgeron were busted… They locked this one in La Bastille, then, he finally sold Ratilly in 1740…