This website requires JavaScript.

Tallemant des Réaux's little names troubles

The castle | Manfred Heyde / CC-BY-SA
Castle of the Loire Valley Castle Les Réaux castle

This nice little castle, with its pink bricks and white stone, is so gorgeous!

In the 15th century, it belonged to Antoine de Bueil, count of Sancerre.

In 1651, a lord crippled with debts, François de La Béraudière, tried to sell his land of Plessis-Rideau: a land with a medieval castle raised by Jean Briçonnet, mayor of Tours in the reign of Louis XI.

Tallemant des Réaux, famous French columnist who wrote Les Historiettes ("Small Stories"), owned it for 115 000 livres.

But at the same time the Tallemant family had to sell his own land of Réaux, in the Bourbonnais.

If Tallemant did this, he would lose his noble name of Réaux... But there was one way to keep his name!

He had to change the name of his new estate, the "Plessis-Rideau", as "Plessis-Réaux"! He gave money to the King and this one allowed him, of course, in June 1653!

In 1660, poor Tallemant get money problems, followed by religious troubles: his wife, who was Protestant, changed religion and went in a convent... later, one of his daughter did the same thing...

In the 18th century, Taboureau lords added a wing to the entrance detached house. In 1897, the castle was owned by Julien Bradois, who raised the lower Renaissance wing, on the right of the detached house.

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!