Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux
Encyclopedia
Gédéon Tallemant, Sieur des Réaux (7 November 1619 – 6 November 1692) was a French
writer
known for his Historiettes, a collection of short biographies.
, he belonged to a wealthy middle-class Huguenot
family; the name des Réaux was derived from a small property he purchased in 1650. When he was about eighteen, he was sent to Italy
with his brother François, abbé Tallemant. On his return to Paris
, Tallemant took his degrees in civil law
and Canon law
, and his father obtained for him the position of conseiller au parlement
. Disliking his profession, he decided to seek an alternative income by marriage with his cousin Elisabeth de Rambouillet. His half-brother had married a d'Angennes, and this connection secured for Tallemant an introduction to the Hôtel de Rambouillet
.
Madame de Rambouillet
was no admirer of King Louis XIII
, and she gratified Tallemant's curiosity with stories of the reigns of Henry IV
and Louis XIII that were of real historical value. The society of the Hôtel de Rambouillet opened a field for his acute and somewhat malicious observation. In the Historiettes he gives finished portraits of Vincent Voiture
, Jean Louis Guez de Balzac, Malherbe
, Jean Chapelain
, Valentin Conrart
and many others; Blaise Pascal
and Jean de la Fontaine
appear in his work; and he chronicles the scandals of which Ninon de l'Enclos
and Angélique Paulet were centres.
The Historiettes are invaluable for the literary history of the time. It has been said that the malicious intention of Tallemant's work may be partly attributed to his bourgeois extraction and that the slights he received are avenged in his pages, but independent testimony has established the substantial correctness of his statements. In 1685 he was converted to Catholicism
. It seems that the change was not entirely disinterested, for Tallemant, who had suffered considerable pecuniary losses, soon after received a pension of 2,000 livres. He died in Paris.
, but it is by his Historiettes that he is remembered. The work remained in manuscript until it was edited in 1834-6 by MM. de Châteaugiron, Jules Taschereau and LJN de Monmerqué, with a notice on Tallemant by Monmerqué. A third edition (6 vols. 1872) contains a notice by Paulin Paris
. Tallemant had begun Mémoires pour la régence d'Anne d'Autriche, but the manuscript has not been found.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
known for his Historiettes, a collection of short biographies.
Biography
Born at La RochelleLa Rochelle
La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
, he belonged to a wealthy middle-class Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
family; the name des Réaux was derived from a small property he purchased in 1650. When he was about eighteen, he was sent to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
with his brother François, abbé Tallemant. On his return to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Tallemant took his degrees in civil law
Civil law (legal system)
Civil law is a legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...
and Canon law
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
, and his father obtained for him the position of conseiller au parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
. Disliking his profession, he decided to seek an alternative income by marriage with his cousin Elisabeth de Rambouillet. His half-brother had married a d'Angennes, and this connection secured for Tallemant an introduction to the Hôtel de Rambouillet
Hôtel de Rambouillet
The Hôtel de Rambouillet was the Paris residence of Madame de Rambouillet, who ran a renowned literary salon there from about 1607 until her death in 1665...
.
Madame de Rambouillet
Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet
Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet , known as Madame de Rambouillet, was a society hostess and a major figure in the literary history of 17th-century France.-Biography:...
was no admirer of King Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
, and she gratified Tallemant's curiosity with stories of the reigns of Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and Louis XIII that were of real historical value. The society of the Hôtel de Rambouillet opened a field for his acute and somewhat malicious observation. In the Historiettes he gives finished portraits of Vincent Voiture
Vincent Voiture
Vincent Voiture , French poet, was the son of a rich merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Claude d'Avaux, to Gaston, Duke of Orléans, and accompanied him to Brussels and Lorraine on diplomatic missions.Although a follower of Gaston, he won the favour of Cardinal...
, Jean Louis Guez de Balzac, Malherbe
François de Malherbe
François de Malherbe was a French poet, critic, and translator.-Life:Born in Le-Locheur , his family was of some position, though it seems not to have been able to establish to the satisfaction of heralds the claims which it made to nobility older than the 16th century.He was the eldest son of...
, Jean Chapelain
Jean Chapelain
Jean Chapelain was a French poet and writer.-Biography:Chapelain was born in Paris. His father wanted him to become a notary; but his mother, who had known Pierre de Ronsard, had decided otherwise...
, Valentin Conrart
Valentin Conrart
Valentin Conrart was a French author, and as a founder of the Académie française, the first occupant of seat 2.-Biography:He was born in Paris of Calvinist parents, and was educated for business. However, after his father's death in 1620, he began to move in literary circles, and soon acquired a...
and many others; Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
and Jean de la Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
appear in his work; and he chronicles the scandals of which Ninon de l'Enclos
Ninon de l'Enclos
Anne "Ninon" de l'Enclos also spelled Ninon de Lenclos and Ninon de Lanclos was a French author, courtesan and patron of the arts.-Early life:...
and Angélique Paulet were centres.
The Historiettes are invaluable for the literary history of the time. It has been said that the malicious intention of Tallemant's work may be partly attributed to his bourgeois extraction and that the slights he received are avenged in his pages, but independent testimony has established the substantial correctness of his statements. In 1685 he was converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
. It seems that the change was not entirely disinterested, for Tallemant, who had suffered considerable pecuniary losses, soon after received a pension of 2,000 livres. He died in Paris.
Works
Des Réaux was a poet and contributed to the Guirlande de JulieGuirlande de Julie
The Guirlande de Julie is a unique French manuscript of sixty-two madrigaux.The salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet , wife of Charles d'Angennes, marquis de Rambouillet , was the first and most brilliant Parisian literary salon of the first half of the 17th century, at its...
, but it is by his Historiettes that he is remembered. The work remained in manuscript until it was edited in 1834-6 by MM. de Châteaugiron, Jules Taschereau and LJN de Monmerqué, with a notice on Tallemant by Monmerqué. A third edition (6 vols. 1872) contains a notice by Paulin Paris
Alexis Paulin Paris
Alexis Paulin Paris , was a French scholar and author.He was born at Avenay . He studied classics in Reims and law in Paris. He published in 1824 an Apologie pour l'école romantique and took an active part in Parisian journalism...
. Tallemant had begun Mémoires pour la régence d'Anne d'Autriche, but the manuscript has not been found.
External links
- Historiettes (in 17th century FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
)