Normandy witch trials

Witch trials in Normandy, France (1669–1670)

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The Normandy witch trials of 1669–1670, which took place in the province of Normandy in France, belong to the most famed of French witch hunts. In parallel with the witch trials of Guyenne and Bearn in 1670–72, it was one of the two last great witch hunts in France. It has an important role in the history of French witch trials, because together with the witch trials of Guyenne and Bearn, it resulted in an intervention from king Louis XIV of France, who stopped them, and introduced an edict designed to limit the persecution of witchcraft in France.

## Background

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The province of Normandy were under the jurisdiction of the Parlement of Rouen, which were much more severe than the Parlement of Paris in its attitude toward witchcraft. In contrast to the Parlement of Paris, which often refused to confirm death sentences for witchcraft and therefore restricted witchcraft persecution under its domains, the situation was reversed in Normandy, were Parlement of Rouen normally confirmed all death sentences for witchcraft.[1] In contrast to the rest of France, the majority of witches in Normandy - two thirds - were male, often shepherds.[1]

## Witch trials of 1669-1670

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In 1669, a particularly large witch hunt took place in Normandy. It was caused by professional witch hunters, with the support of the Parlement of Rouen. In 1670, twelve death sentences were confirmed by the Parlement of Rouen. Another 24 death sentences were awaiting confirmation from the Parlement of Rouen, when the families of the 12 condemned appealed for royal pardon. King Louis XIV, who wished to curb the independence of the local parlements and strengthen royal central power, issued a pardon and transformed all of the death sentences to banishment, as well as restored their confiscated property, all under the opposition of the Parlement of Rouen. This stopped the witch hunt in Normandy. In 1672, only two years later, Louis XIV again stopped another large witch hunt, this time in Guyenne and Bearn, by overturning the authority of the Parlement of Bordeaux and Bearn in the same manner.

## Legacy

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The two interventions of Louis XIV against the witch hunts in Normandy and in Guyenne and Bearn in the 1670s has been taken as an example of how the witch hunt were stopped or limited in different parts in Europe by intervention of a central power against witch trials conducted by local authorities. Louis XIV's policy against witch trials by these two interventions were followed by the Edict of 1682. This Edict did not abolish witch trials, but it did restrict them by defining witchcraft as criminal superstition rather than real, and punishable only if combined with poisoning and blasphemy. After 1682, witchcraft persecutions in France were limited to small and rare cases, with the exception of the Trial of the Wizards of Lyon (1742–1745), and the last case took place in 1768.

## References

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1. ^ a b Monter, William (1997). "Toads and Eucharists: The Male Witches of Normandy, 1564-1660". French Historical Studies. 20 (4): 563–595\. doi:10.2307/286912. JSTOR 286912.

## Sources

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* Levack, Brian P. (2015). The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315685526. ISBN 978-1-315-68552-6.
* Gijswijt-Hofstra, Marijke; Levack, Brian P; Porter, Roy (1999). Witchcraft and magic in Europe. Athlone. ISBN 978-0-485-89005-1. OCLC 746854908.
* Fiske, John (1904). "Witchcraft in Salem Village". New France and New England. pp. 121–180.

## External links

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* "Hunting hags in La Haye-du-Puits". Normandy Then and Now. 27 June 2014.

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Witch trials

In the British Isles|

* Witchcraft in early modern Britain
* Channel Islands Witch Trials
* Witch trials in England
* Witchcraft in Orkney
* Witch trials in early modern Scotland
* Witchcraft in early modern Wales
* Windsor Witches (1579)
* St Osyth Witches (1582)
* Witches of Warboys (1589–1593)
* North Berwick witch trials (1590)
* Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1597
* Pendle witches (1612)
* Northamptonshire witch trials (1612)
* Samlesbury witches (1612)
* Witches of Belvoir (1619)
* Bury St Edmunds witch trials (1645, 1662, 1655, 1694)
* Great Scottish witch hunt of 1649–50
* Alloa witch trials (1658)
* Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661–62
* Bute witches (1662)
* Bideford witch trial (1682)
* Paisley witches (1696)
* Pittenweem witches (1704)
* Islandmagee witch trial (1711)

In Eastern Europe|

* Witch trials in Hungary
* Witch trials in Poland
* Kasina Wielka witch trial (1634)
* Northern Moravia witch trials (1678)
* Szeged witch trials (1728–29)
* Doruchowo witch trial (1783)

In France|

* Witch trials in France
* Labourd witch-hunt of 1609
* Aix-en-Provence possessions (1611)
* Loudun possessions (1633–34)
* Louviers possessions (1647)
* Normandy witch trials (1669–70)
* Affair of the Poisons (1679–1682)
* Trial of the Wizards of Lyon (1742–1745)

In Germany|

* Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire
* Rottweil Witch Trials
* Derenburg witch trials (1555)
* Wiesensteig witch trial (1562–1563)
* Rottenburg witch trials (1578–1613)
* Trier witch trials (1581–1593)
* Pappenheimer family witch trial (1600)
* Fulda witch trials (1603–1606)
* Ellwangen witch trial (1611–1618)
* Eichstätt witch trials (1617–1630)
* Würzburg witch trials (1626–1631)
* Bamberg witch trials (1626–1631)
* Baden-Baden witch trials (1627–1631)
* Mergentheim witch trials (1628–1631)
* Esslingen witch trials (1662–1666)
* Witch trial of Fuersteneck (1703)

In Northern Europe|

* Witch trials in Denmark
* Witch trials in Estonia and Latvia
* Witch trials in Finland
* Witch trials in Iceland
* Witch trials in Norway
* Witch trials in Sweden
* Põlula witch trials (1542)
* Copenhagen witch trials (1590)
* Gyldenstierne-sagen (1596)
* Køge Huskors (1608–1615)
* Finspång witch trial (1617)
* Vardø witch trials (1621)
* Akershus witch trials (1624)
* Ramsele witch trial (1634)
* Rosborg witch trials (1639–1642)
* Vardø witch trials (1651–1653)
* Kirkjuból witch trial (1656)
* Vardø witch trials (1662–63)
* Kastelholm witch trials (1665–1668)
* Mora witch trial (1669)
* Torsåker witch trials (1675)
* Katarina witch trials (1676)
* Rugård witch trials (1685–86)
* Thisted witch trial (1696–1698)

In Southern Europe|

* Witch trials in Italy
* Witch trials in Catalonia
* Witch trials in Portugal
* Witch trials in Sicily
* Witch trials in Spain
* Val Camonica witch trials (1505, 1518)
* Mirandola witch trials (1522–1525)
* Navarre witch trials (1525–26)
* Lisbon witch trial (1559–60)
* Benandanti (1575–1650)
* Witches of Laspaúles (1593)
* Basque witch trials (1609)
* Terrassa witch trials (1615–1619)
* Witch trial of Nogaredo (1646–47)

Elsewhere
in Europe|

* Witch trials in the Netherlands
* Witch trials in the Spanish Netherlands
* Stedelen witch trial (1397–1407)
* Valais witch trials (1428–1447)
* Geneva witch trials (1571)
* Amersfoort and Utrecht witch trials (1591–1595)
* Bredevoort witch trials (1610)
* Roermond witch trial (1613)
* Spa witch trial (1616)
* Lukh witch trials (1656–1660)
* Salzburg witch trials (1675–1681)
* Liechtenstein witch trials (1679–1682)

Outside of Europe|

* Witch trials in Virginia (1626–1730)
* Connecticut Witch Trials (1647–1663)
* Maryland Witch Trials (1654–1712)
* Witch trials in New York (1642–1790)
* Salem witch trials (1692–1693)

Texts|

* Witchcraft and divination in the Old Testament (8th–2nd centuries BC)
* Directorium Inquisitorum (1376)
* De maleficis mulieribus (1440)
* Formicarius (1475)
* Summis desiderantes affectibus (1484)
* Malleus Maleficarum (1487)
* De Lamiis et Pythonicis Mulieribus (1489)
* Laienspiegel (1509)
* De praestigiis daemonum (1563)
* The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584)
* Newes from Scotland (1591)
* A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcrafts (1593)
* Daemonolatreiae libri tres (1595)
* Daemonologie (1597)
* Magical Investigations (1599)
* Compendium Maleficarum (1608)
* A Guide to Grand-Jury Men (1627)
* The Discovery of Witches (1647)
* Treatises on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants (1751)

Related|

* Witch hunt
* accusations against children
* Drudenhaus
* Werewolf witch trials
* Witchcraft Acts
* Witchcraft Act 1735 (Great Britain)

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