Louviers Possessions
Encyclopedia
The possessions
at Louviers
(Normandy, France), similar to those in Aix-en-Provence
, occurred at the Louviers Convent in 1647. As with both the Aix case and its later counterpart in Loudun
, the conviction of the priests involved hinged on the confessions of possessed demoniacs.
director, and Father Thomas Boulle, the vicar
at Louviers. Her confession to authorities claimed that the two men had abducted her and taken her to a witches' sabbat
. There, she was married to the Devil
, whom she called Dagon, and committed sexual acts with him on the altar
. Two men were allegedly crucified
and disemboweled
as these acts took place.
Madeleine's confession prompted the investigation, which found that other nuns were also victims of Picard and Boulle; they, too, had been taken to secret sabbats where sexual intercourse with demon
s, particularly Dagon, took place. The confessions of these nuns were accompanied by what investigators believed were classic signs of demonic possession: contortion
s, unnatural body movements, speaking in tongues (glossolalia)
, obscene insults, blasphemies
, and the appearance of unexplainable wounds that vanished without aid.
Beyond mere symptoms of possession, the body of Sister Barbara of St. Michael was said to be possessed by a specific demon named Ancitif.
s at Louviers were a public spectacle. Nearly every person present at the exorcisms was questioned by the inquisitor
s, and the entire town of Louviers began exhibiting symptoms of hysteria
as the cries of the nuns undergoing exorcism rose with the screams of Father Boulle, who was torture
d during the exorcisms. Mathurin Picard had died previous to the public display.
Father Bosroger recorded the proceedings, which he would publish in 1652. In his account, nuns were said to confess further evidence against Picard and Boulle. In addition to tempting them into sexual acts, Satan
(in the form of Picard and Boulle) had also tried leading the nuns down the road of heresy
. Appearing to the nuns as a beautiful angel
, the Devil
engaged them in theological
conversations so clever that they began to doubt their own teachings. When told that this was not the same information they had been taught, Satan replied that he was a messenger of heaven and had been sent to reveal the fatal errors in accepted dogma
.
Signs of possession continued throughout the exorcisms. One witness wrote that a nun "ran with movements so abrupt that it was difficult to stop her. One of the clerics present, having caught her by the arm, was surprised to find that it did not prevent the rest of her body from turning over and over as if the arm were fixed to the shoulder merely by a spring."
at Rouen
passed sentence: Sister Madeleine Bavent would be imprisoned for life in the church dungeon, Father Thomas Boulle would be burnt alive, and the corpse of Mathurin Picard would be exhumed and burned.
They also differ from later cases of possession and witch-hunt
hysteria like that in England
and Colonial America
in that they involve lurid sex themes. During the exorcisms at Louviers, nuns were seen to raise their habits and beg for sexual attention, use vulgar language, and make lascivious movements. In the earlier case at Loudun, a local doctor named Claude Quillet wrote, "These poor little devils of nuns, seeing themselves shut up within four walls, become madly in love, fall into a melancholic delirium
, worked upon by the desires of the flesh, and in truth, what they need to be perfectly cured is a remedy of the flesh.”
Most demonic possessions in France
of this period (from the early to late 17th century) were of young women and appeared most often in the convents. Physician
s and psychologist
s today attribute much of the activities to sexual hysteria, alluded to so long ago by Quillet.
Extreme seizure
s explained in the 17th century are today believed to point to epilepsy
and similar diseases. In the time-frame of the cases in France, demonic possession served as a catchall explanation for any personality anomaly.
Demonic possession
Demonic possession is held by many belief systems to be the control of an individual by a malevolent supernatural being. Descriptions of demonic possessions often include erased memories or personalities, convulsions, “fits” and fainting as if one were dying...
at Louviers
Louviers
Louviers is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen.-Population:-Sights:Its church, Notre Dame, has parts which date from the thirteenth century...
(Normandy, France), similar to those in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence Possessions
In 1611 at Aix-en-Provence , Father Louis Gaufridi was accused of causing demonic possession in the Ursuline nuns at Aix. He was found guilty and burned at the stake atop a pile of bushes, because they burned slower and hotter than logs. This case provided the legal precedent for the conviction and...
, occurred at the Louviers Convent in 1647. As with both the Aix case and its later counterpart in Loudun
Loudun
Loudun is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars...
, the conviction of the priests involved hinged on the confessions of possessed demoniacs.
Accusations at Louviers
Sister Madeleine Bavent was 18 years old in the year of 1625; the initial possession victim, she claimed to have been bewitched by Mathurin Picard, the nunnery'sAbbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
director, and Father Thomas Boulle, the vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
at Louviers. Her confession to authorities claimed that the two men had abducted her and taken her to a witches' sabbat
Sabbath (witchcraft)
The Witches' Sabbath or Sabbat is a supposed meeting of those who practice witchcraft, and other rites.European records indicate cases of persons being accused or tried for taking part in Sabbat gatherings, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later.- Etymology :The English word “sabbat”...
. There, she was married to the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, whom she called Dagon, and committed sexual acts with him on the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
. Two men were allegedly crucified
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
and disemboweled
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
as these acts took place.
Madeleine's confession prompted the investigation, which found that other nuns were also victims of Picard and Boulle; they, too, had been taken to secret sabbats where sexual intercourse with demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s, particularly Dagon, took place. The confessions of these nuns were accompanied by what investigators believed were classic signs of demonic possession: contortion
Contortion
thumb|upright|Contortionist performingContortion is an unusual form of physical display which involves the dramatic bending and flexing of the human body. Contortion is often part of acrobatics and circus acts...
s, unnatural body movements, speaking in tongues (glossolalia)
Glossolalia
Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. The significance of glossolalia has varied with time and place, with some considering it a part of a sacred language...
, obscene insults, blasphemies
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
, and the appearance of unexplainable wounds that vanished without aid.
Beyond mere symptoms of possession, the body of Sister Barbara of St. Michael was said to be possessed by a specific demon named Ancitif.
Exorcisms at Louviers
As in the decade earlier case at Loudun, the exorcismExorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
s at Louviers were a public spectacle. Nearly every person present at the exorcisms was questioned by the inquisitor
Inquisitor
An inquisitor was an official in an Inquisition, an organisation or program intended to eliminate heresy and other things frowned on by the Roman Catholic Church...
s, and the entire town of Louviers began exhibiting symptoms of hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
as the cries of the nuns undergoing exorcism rose with the screams of Father Boulle, who was torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d during the exorcisms. Mathurin Picard had died previous to the public display.
Father Bosroger recorded the proceedings, which he would publish in 1652. In his account, nuns were said to confess further evidence against Picard and Boulle. In addition to tempting them into sexual acts, Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
(in the form of Picard and Boulle) had also tried leading the nuns down the road of heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. Appearing to the nuns as a beautiful angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
, the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
engaged them in theological
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
conversations so clever that they began to doubt their own teachings. When told that this was not the same information they had been taught, Satan replied that he was a messenger of heaven and had been sent to reveal the fatal errors in accepted dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
.
Signs of possession continued throughout the exorcisms. One witness wrote that a nun "ran with movements so abrupt that it was difficult to stop her. One of the clerics present, having caught her by the arm, was surprised to find that it did not prevent the rest of her body from turning over and over as if the arm were fixed to the shoulder merely by a spring."
Punishment at Louviers
As hysteria rose, it seemed inevitable that a trial would occur and Father Boulle's fate would be sealed. During the exorcisms, though, parliamentParliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
at Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
passed sentence: Sister Madeleine Bavent would be imprisoned for life in the church dungeon, Father Thomas Boulle would be burnt alive, and the corpse of Mathurin Picard would be exhumed and burned.
Catalogue at Louviers
After the nuns at Louviers were afflicted, authorities undertook the task of cataloguing the symptoms of demonic possession. The treatise they developed included fifteen indications of true possession:- To think oneself possessed.
- To lead a wicked life.
- To live outside the rules of society.
- To be persistently ill, falling into heavy sleep and vomiting unusual objects (either such natural objects as toads, serpents, maggots, iron, stones, and so forth; or such artificial objects as nails, pins, etc.).
- To utter obscenities and blasphemies.
- To be troubled with spiritSpiritThe English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s ("an absolute and inner possession and residence in the body of the person"). - To show a frightening and horrible countenance.
- To be tired of living.
- To be uncontrollable and violent.
- To make sounds and movements like an animal.
- To deny knowledge of fits after the paroxysm has ended.
- To show fear of sacred relicRelicIn religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s and sacramentSacramentA sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
s. - To curse violently at any prayerPrayerPrayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
. - To exhibit acts of lewd exposure or abnormal strength.
Modern viewpoints
It is widely believed today that the Louviers Possessions, similar in many ways to those at Aix-en-Provence (1611), Lille (1613), and Loudun (1634) were part of a political and religious "show" in France.They also differ from later cases of possession and witch-hunt
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
hysteria like that in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Colonial America
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
in that they involve lurid sex themes. During the exorcisms at Louviers, nuns were seen to raise their habits and beg for sexual attention, use vulgar language, and make lascivious movements. In the earlier case at Loudun, a local doctor named Claude Quillet wrote, "These poor little devils of nuns, seeing themselves shut up within four walls, become madly in love, fall into a melancholic delirium
Delirium
Delirium or acute confusional state is a common and severe neuropsychiatric syndrome with core features of acute onset and fluctuating course, attentional deficits and generalized severe disorganization of behavior...
, worked upon by the desires of the flesh, and in truth, what they need to be perfectly cured is a remedy of the flesh.”
Most demonic possessions in France
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...
of this period (from the early to late 17th century) were of young women and appeared most often in the convents. Physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s and psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
s today attribute much of the activities to sexual hysteria, alluded to so long ago by Quillet.
Extreme seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s explained in the 17th century are today believed to point to epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
and similar diseases. In the time-frame of the cases in France, demonic possession served as a catchall explanation for any personality anomaly.
See also
- Aix-en-Provence possessionsAix-en-Provence PossessionsIn 1611 at Aix-en-Provence , Father Louis Gaufridi was accused of causing demonic possession in the Ursuline nuns at Aix. He was found guilty and burned at the stake atop a pile of bushes, because they burned slower and hotter than logs. This case provided the legal precedent for the conviction and...
- Loudun possessionsLoudun PossessionsThe Loudun possessions were a group of supposed demonic possessions which took place in Loudun, France, in 1634. This case involved the Ursuline nuns of Loudun who were allegedly visited and possessed by demons: Father Urbain Grandier was convicted of the crimes of sorcery, evil spells, and the...
- Malleus MaleficarumMalleus MaleficarumThe Malleus Maleficarum is an infamous treatise on witches, written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church, and was first published in Germany in 1487...
- Christian views on witchcraftChristian views on witchcraftChristian views on magic vary widely across denominational and individual barriers, and are often influenced by Biblical, theological, and historical considerations. Some Christians actively condemn any form of magic as Satanic while others simply dismiss it as superstition...
- Witchhunt
- Execution by burningExecution by burningDeath by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
- The Eye (King Diamond album)The Eye (King Diamond album)- Personnel :* King Diamond - vocals, keyboards* Andy LaRocque - guitars* Pete Blakk - guitars* Hal Patino - bass* Snowy Shaw - drums* Roberto Falcao - keyboards...