Château de Tracy: The Seigneurs of Assay
Walter Stutt de Laggan settled in France, married Elisabeth de Herries and had four sons, their names Gallicised to Gaulthier II, Thomas, Jean and Guillaume. Of the four it is Thomas Stutt (died 1480) who is relevant to this tale. Like his father and his three brothers he took up military service, joining the Garde Écossaise, an elite unit of Scottish soldiers created by Charles VII in 1418 to act as the personal bodyguards to the French monarchy. Thomas was an archer (as were Gaulthier II and Jean, while Guillaume was a cranequinier, a mounted crossbowman), and he worked in the service of Louis XI (1423 – 1483, and pictured below), who succeeded Charles VII to the throne (and who, in wine circles at least, is probably better known for his relevance to the Savennières crus than to Pouilly-Fumé).
No doubt as a consequence of his loyal service Thomas Stutt received his lettres de naturalité, official confirmation of his French citizenship, in 1474. Just two years later he married Agnès Le Roy (c.1460 – 1513) in Bourges, where Charles VII had once held court. Agnès was the daughter of Jacques le Roy (c.1410 – 1468), seigneur of Saint-Florent-sur-Cher. In taking Agnès for his wife Thomas had married into a family of some nobility, and perhaps in keeping with this in 1489 he took possession of the seigneurie of Assay, situated in the parish of Beaulieu, in Berry, which had originally been given to one of his brothers by Charles VII. Thomas went on to have a number of children, including three sons, Alexandre, François and Michelet. After his death in 1480 his sons were taken in by their uncle Guillaume.
