Orléans' Seven Sleepers

A medieval houseA medieval house | ©Anecdotrip.com / CC-BY-NC-SA

It's a very old street near Orléans' first medieval wall. It was called rue des Sept-Dormants ("Seven Sleepers") in 1543 and a 1640's map also mentioned it.

Do you want to know origins of that street's name? It's about the legend of the Seven Sleepers in Ephesus: young Christians martyred in 250, who fell asleep in a cave for a long, long time.

Well, all right, but... what's the link between Orléans and Ephesus?! Let me explain! We think it was the name of a sign located in the street...

But we could also find another explanation: the street was located in a district where Crusaders confined their Muslim prisoners.

Among them, we found entertainers, maybe conjurers. They made magic tricks, as for instance sinking into a catalepsy state... so they could get one or two coins!

Oh, have a look on the house on the corner: did you know the wood framing technique is attested in Orléans since Antiquity?