The Loudun possessions began in 1634, in Loudun, France, not long after the plague had swept through the town killing 3,700 of the 14,000 population.
A group of Protestant nuns were allegedly possessed by demons, which resulted in them convulsing, swearing and blaspheming. They saw visions, spoke in tongues and had erotic dreams.
Father Jean-Joseph Surin attempted to exorcise the women and invited the demons to enter his body. However, he soon plunged into a mad state, performing injuries to himself and attempting suicide.
The Mother Superior, Jeanne des Ange, claimed that Father Urbain Grandiehas, a handsome and arrogant priest, had caused the demonic possessions by bewitching them and sending demons when he tossed a bouquet of roses over the convent walls.
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| The pact allegedly signed between Urbain Grandier and the Devil. Written backwards in Latin. |
Libertine and Licentious Behaviour
Father Urbain Grandier was hated, he had many enemies and there were many rumours about his libertine and licentious behaviour. He tried to laugh off these crazy claims, that he was a necromancer, who had instigated the demonic phenomena.
Father Urbain Grandier was hated, he had many enemies and there were many rumours about his libertine and licentious behaviour. He tried to laugh off these crazy claims, that he was a necromancer, who had instigated the demonic phenomena.
Father Grandier was put in prison at the Castle of Angea. His body was shaved and "devils marks" were found. A devil's pact was presented to the court, allegedly written between the Devil and Father Grandier. Supposedly, the pact was spotted with Grandier's blood.
Grandier wrote a letter to King Louis XIII protesting his innocence. However, because Louis was a Catholic, he did not intervene. And so, Father Grandier was convicted of the crime of magic, maleficia and of causing demoniacal possession of the nuns.
First Grandier was tortured, by using a method called brodequin, which would cause the bones of the legs to burst and leak bone marrow.
After his legs were crushed, he was dragged to his execution calling upon God to save him. He was then drenched in "holy water" and burned alive.
Most modern scholars today conclude that Grandier was the victim of politically motivated persecution, which was led by the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
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Grandier wrote a letter to King Louis XIII protesting his innocence. However, because Louis was a Catholic, he did not intervene. And so, Father Grandier was convicted of the crime of magic, maleficia and of causing demoniacal possession of the nuns.
First Grandier was tortured, by using a method called brodequin, which would cause the bones of the legs to burst and leak bone marrow.
After his legs were crushed, he was dragged to his execution calling upon God to save him. He was then drenched in "holy water" and burned alive.
Most modern scholars today conclude that Grandier was the victim of politically motivated persecution, which was led by the powerful Cardinal Richelieu.
