Urbain Grandier (1590 in
Bouère,
Mayenne -
18 August 1634 in
Loudun) was a
French Catholic priest who was
burned at the stake after being convicted of
witchcraft.Grandier served as priest in the church of Sainte Croix in
Loudun, in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Poitiers. Ignoring his vow of
priestly celibacy, he is known to have had sexual relationships with a number of women and to have acquired a reputation as a philanderer. 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. Modern commentators on the case have argued that the accusations began after Grandier refused to become the spiritual director of the convent, unaware that the Mother Superior, Sister Jeanne of the Angels, had become obsessed with him, having seen him from afar and heard of his sexual exploits. It is claimed that Jeanne, enraged by his rejection, instead invited Canon Mignon, an enemy of Grandier, to become the director. Jeanne then accused Grandier of using black magic to seduce her. The other nuns gradually began to make similar accusations. Many modern scholars claim that this was a case of
collective hysteria. Grandier was arrested, interrogated and tried by an ecclesiastical tribunal, which acquitted him.
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