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Urbain Grandier Burned at Stake, 1634

The Loudun possessions was a notorious witchcraft trial in France in 1634. Urbain Grandier (1590-1634) was a French Catholic priest who served in the church of Sainte Croix in Loudun. In 1632, a group of nuns from the local Ursuline convent accused him of having bewitched them, sending the demon Asmodai, among others, to commit evil and impudent acts with them. He was arrested, interrogated and tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal, which acquitted him. Grandier had gained the enmity of Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of France, after a public verbal attack against him. Richelieu ordered a new trial, conducted by his special envoy Jean de Laubardemont. After torturing Father Grandier, the judges introduced documents purportedly signed by Grandier and several demons as evidence that he had made a diabolical pact. Despite torture, Grandier never confessed to witchcraft. He was burned alive at the stake.
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Title:
Urbain Grandier Burned at Stake, 1634
Caption:
The Loudun possessions was a notorious witchcraft trial in France in 1634. Urbain Grandier (1590-1634) was a French Catholic priest who served in the church of Sainte Croix in Loudun. In 1632, a group of nuns from the local Ursuline convent accused him of having bewitched them, sending the demon Asmodai, among others, to commit evil and impudent acts with them. He was arrested, interrogated and tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal, which acquitted him. Grandier had gained the enmity of Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of France, after a public verbal attack against him. Richelieu ordered a new trial, conducted by his special envoy Jean de Laubardemont. After torturing Father Grandier, the judges introduced documents purportedly signed by Grandier and several demons as evidence that he had made a diabolical pact. Despite torture, Grandier never confessed to witchcraft. He was burned alive at the stake.
Credit:
Album / NYPL/Science Source
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Image size:
2717 x 3724 px | 28.9 MB
Print size:
23.0 x 31.5 cm | 9.1 x 12.4 in (300 dpi)
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