Catherine Monvoisin, born in about 1640 (maiden name Deshayes), lived during the reign of Louis XIV and was commonly known as La Voisin. She was a French merchant, a poisoner and an alleged sorceress, who was seriously into black magic and devil worship._1680.jpg)
Monvoisin's husband was a jeweller with a shop at Pont-Marie, not far from the Louvre. After her husband went bankrupt, she began practising palm-reading and face-reading (physiognomy). She was a midwife but she became an abortionist, with many wealthy and aristocratic clients. Soon, Monvoisin added the selling of love potions and aphrodisiacs to fortune telling, and then, other potions were created by her for the purposes of bringing about the death of an enemy or a spouse. Theses potions would contain such things as toad bones, human blood, ground up mummies and moles' teeth.
Business was booming and Monvoisin wanting to really look the part of the successful sorceress, purchased an extravagant red velvet dress embroidered with gold eagles for the price of £ 1 500, which was a small fortune in those days.
With many clients among the aristocracy, like Olimpia Mancini, Countess de Soissons; Maria Anna Mancini, Duchess of Bouillon; Elizabeth, Countess of Gramont ("the beautiful Hamilton") and François-Henri de Montmorency, Catherine Monvoisin was raking in the money.
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| Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Gramont |
Monvoisin's abortion business grew and she had others working for her performing abortions; such as the midwife, Catherine Lepère, who was later exposed and executed by hanging. Claims were also made that the aborted fetuses were burned in a furnace and buried in the garden of Monvoisin's home.
Black masses were conducted by Monvoisin where the blood of babies would be gathered in a bowl over an altar and people would pray to the devil to fulfil their wishes. It was alleged that Monvoisin paid prostitutes for their infants to use in her rituals.
Adam Lesage, a professional occultist and alleged sorcerer, also helped with the magical rituals; like the one with the royal mistress, Madame de Montespan, who requested that Satan help her gain the king's love. Montespan did subsequently become the official mistress of the King, and after this, she employed Catherine Monvoisin whenever she had a problem in her relationship with the King.
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| Louis XIV. He first met Madame de Montespan at the Palais du Louvre. |
The priest Étienne Guibourg also performed Black Masses with Catherine Monvoisin. The English clergyman and author, Montague Summers, gave this account of one of the masses:
A long black velvet pall was spread over the altar, and upon this the royal mistress laid herself in a state of perfect nudity. Six black candles were lit, the celebrant robed himself in a chasuble embroidered with esoteric characters wrought in silver, the gold paten and chalice were placed upon the naked belly of the living altar [...] All was silent save for the low monotonous murmur of the blasphemous liturgy [...] An assistant crept forward bearing an infant in her arms. The child was held over the altar, a sharp gash across the neck, a stifled cry, and warm drops fell into the chalice and streamed upon the white figure beneath. The corpse was handed to la Voisin, who flung it callously into an oven fashioned for that purpose which glowed white-hot in its fierceness.
In 1673, the king Louis XIV lost interest in Madame de Montespan and in 1679, he entered into a relationship with Angélique de Fontanges. Madame de Montespan then requested that Catherine Monvoisin have both the King and Fontanges killed. However, before Catherine Monvoisin could make an effective murder attempt on the king and his new mistress, a public riot took place where people accused witches of abducting children for the black masses. This led to the arrest of various famous fortune tellers of Paris and then, to the arrest of Catherine Monvoisin herself.
The affair of the poisons : murder, infanticide, and Satanism at the court of Louis XIV by Anne Somerset.
The Affair of the Poisons: Louis XIV, Madame De Montespan and One of History's Great Unsolved Mysteries by Frances Mossiker.
Athenais: The Real Queen of France by Lisa Hilton.
Baneful Sorceries or The Countess Bewitched by Joan Sanders
The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley
Strange Revelatios: Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIV's France by Lynn Wood Mollenauer
A long black velvet pall was spread over the altar, and upon this the royal mistress laid herself in a state of perfect nudity. Six black candles were lit, the celebrant robed himself in a chasuble embroidered with esoteric characters wrought in silver, the gold paten and chalice were placed upon the naked belly of the living altar [...] All was silent save for the low monotonous murmur of the blasphemous liturgy [...] An assistant crept forward bearing an infant in her arms. The child was held over the altar, a sharp gash across the neck, a stifled cry, and warm drops fell into the chalice and streamed upon the white figure beneath. The corpse was handed to la Voisin, who flung it callously into an oven fashioned for that purpose which glowed white-hot in its fierceness.
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| Mme de Montespan, by Pierre Mignard, c 1670 |
Monvoisin was executed in Paris on 22 February 1680.
Books featuring Catherine Monvoisin
Books featuring Catherine Monvoisin
The affair of the poisons : murder, infanticide, and Satanism at the court of Louis XIV by Anne Somerset.
The Affair of the Poisons: Louis XIV, Madame De Montespan and One of History's Great Unsolved Mysteries by Frances Mossiker.
Athenais: The Real Queen of France by Lisa Hilton.
Baneful Sorceries or The Countess Bewitched by Joan Sanders
The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley
Strange Revelatios: Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIV's France by Lynn Wood Mollenauer
