Urbain Grandier

Chapter three, Astrology, Alchemy, and Magic.

Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Joseph Francis Borri, Urbain Grandier, Dr.

D, Edward Kelly, John Darrel.

Superstition is a deformed monster who dies hard, and like Loki of the sagas, when the snake dropped poison on his forehead, his writhings shook the world and caused earthquakes.

His principal work was entitled La Chiave del Gabinetto del Cavaliere G.F. Borri, The Key of the Cabinet of Borri.

Certainly, the church showed him no mercy, but perhaps his hard fate was not entirely undeserved.

The tragic death of Urban Grandier shows how dangerous it was in the days of superstition to incur the displeasure of powerful men, and how easily the charge of necromancy could be used for the purpose of removing an obnoxious person.

Grandier was curate of the Church of Saint Peter at Loudun and canon of the Church of the Holy Cross.

Certainly, the Church showed him no mercy, but perhaps his hard fate was not entirely undeserved.

The tragic death of Urban Grandier shows how dangerous it was in the days of superstition to incur the displeasure of powerful men, and how easily the charge of necromancy could be used for the purpose of removing an obnoxious person.

Grandier was curate of the Church of Saint Peter at Loudun and canon of the Church of the Holy Cross.

He was a pleasant companion, agreeable in conversation, and much admired by the fair sex.

Then rising, he touched the church doors with his laurel branch, and they opened wide as if by magic, revealing the choir decorated and illuminated as if for one of the four great feasts of the year, and with all its scholars, choir-boys, singers, beetles, and vergers in their places.

glancing around he for whom they were waiting came up the nave passed through the choir knelt for a second time at the foot of the altar upon which he laid the branch of laurel then putting on a robe as white as snow and passing the stole around his neck he began the celebration of the mass before a congregation composed of all those who had followed him at the end of the mass a te deum was sung he who had just rendered thanks to god for his own victory with all the solemn ceremonial usually reserved for the triumphs of kings was the priest urbain grandier two days before he had been acquitted in virtue of a decision pronounced by m d'escable de sourdis archbishop of bordeaux of an accusation brought against him of which he had been declared guilty by a magistrate and in punishment of which he had been condemned to fast on bread and water every friday for three months and forbidden to exercise his priestly functions in the diocese of poitiers for five years and in the town of loudun for ever these were the circumstances under which the sentence had been passed and the judgment reversed urbain grandier was born at rovere a village near sable and a little town of bahman having studied the sciences with his father pierre and his uncle claude grandier who had learned astrologers and alchemists he entered at the age of twelve the jesuit college at bordeaux having already received the ordinary education of a young man The professors soon found that beside his considerable attainments he had great natural gifts for languages and oratory.

They therefore made of him a thorough classical scholar, and in order to develop his oratorical talent encouraged him to practice preaching.

They soon grew very fond of a pupil who was likely to bring them so much credit, and as soon as he was old enough to take holy orders they gave him the cure of souls in the parish of Saint-Pierre-in-Laudan, which was in the gift of the college.

The result was that the case, when fully got up, appeared to be so serious that it was sent to the bishop of Poitiers for trial.

Now the bishop was not only surrounded by the friends of those who were bringing the accusations against Grandier, but had himself a grudge against him.

it happened some time before that urbain the case being urgent had dispensed with the usual notice of a marriage and the bishop knowing this found in the papers laid before him superficial as they were sufficient evidence against urbain to justify him in issuing a warrant for his apprehension which was drawn up in the following words henri louis chatanier de la roche-pesaille by divine mercy bishop of poitiers in view of the charges and informations conveyed to us by the arch-priest of loudun against urbain grandier priest in charge of the church of st pierre in the market-place at loudun in virtue of commission appointed by us directed to the said arch-priest or in his absence to the prior of in view also of the opinion given by our attorney upon the said charges have ordered and do hereby order that urbain grandier the accused be quietly taken to the prison in our palace in poitiers if it so be that he be taken and apprehended and if not that he be summoned to appear at his domicile within three days by the first apparitor priest or tonsured clerk and also by the first royal sergeant upon this warrant and we request the aid of the secular authorities and to them or to any one of them we hereby give power and authority to carry out this decree notwithstanding any opposition or appeal and the said grandier having been heard such a decision will be given by our attorney as the facts may seem to warrant given at dessein the twenty second day of october sixteen twenty nine and signed in the original as follows henry louis bishop of poitiers grandier was as we have said at paris when these proceedings were taken against him conducting before the parliament his case against du thibault the latter received a copy of the decision arrived at by the bishop before grandier knew of the charges that had been formulated against him and having in the course of his defence drawn a terrible picture of the immorality of grandier's life he produced as a proof of the truth of his assertions the damning document which had been put into his hands the court not knowing what to think of the turn affairs had taken decided that before considering the accusations brought by grandier he must appear before his bishop to clear himself of the charges brought against himself consequently he left paris at once and arrived at loudun where he only stayed long enough to learn what had happened in his absence and then went on to poitiers in order to draw up his defence he had however no sooner set foot in the place than he was arrested by a sheriff's officer named chatry and confined in the prison of the episcopal palace it was the middle of november and the prison was at all times cold and damp yet no attention was paid to grandier's request that he should be transferred to some other place of confinement convinced by this that his enemies had more influence than he had supposed he resolved to possess his soul and patience and remained a prisoner for two months during which even his warmest friends believed him lost while du thibault openly laughed at the proceedings instituted against himself which he now believed would never go any farther and barreau had already selected one of his heirs a certain ismael balliot as successor to urbain as priest and a prebendary it was arranged that the costs of the lawsuit should be defrayed out of a fund raised by the prosecutors the rich paying for the poor for as all the witnesses lived at loudun and the trial was to take place at poitiers considerable expense would be incurred by the necessity of bringing so many people such a distance but the lust of vengeance proved stronger than the lust of gold the subscription expected from each being estimated according to his fortune each paid without a murmur and at the end of two months the case was concluded In spite of the evident pains taken by the prosecution to strain the evidence against the defendant, the principal charge could not be sustained, which was that he had led astray many wives and daughters in Loudon.

No one woman came forward to complain of her ruin by Grandier.