Superstition in France--Pope John XXII. celebrated in
the History of Sorcery and Magic--A Bishop skinned
alive and torn by Horses for Witchcraft--King Philippe
and Superstition--Springs poisoned by Lepers and
Jews--Extracting Teeth without Pain--A Dentist
strangled by a Demon--Berne Witch--Charmed
Ointment--Sorcerers in Navarre--Demoniacal
Operations--Voice in the Air--Witch Flying--Witches
meeting their Deserts--Maria Renata's
Witchcrafts--Nuns possessed of Devils--Promise of Life
by Satan--End of Renata--Jeanne D'Arc--Credulity of
France and England--Fairies of Domremi--Charmed
Tree--Sparkling Spring--Mandrakes--Jacques D'Arc and
his Wife--Jeanne D'Arc in Childhood--Converse with
Spirits and Angels--France under Tyranny--Jeanne's
Heavenly Mission communicated to the Dauphin--Maid at
the head of Troops--Her Achievements--Siege of
Orleans--Great Victories--Dauphin Crowned--Jeanne's
Desire to retire into Private Life--Opposition to her
Retirement--The Maid's Feats of Valour--Heroine
Betrayed--Charmed Sword--Jeanne's Surrender--King's
Ingratitude--Great Rejoicing at the Maid's
Downfall--Attempt to Escape--Trial and
Condemnation--Maid Burned--A white Dove rising from
her Ashes--Imitators--Unreliable Reports.
France, like her neighbouring nations, entertained strong opinions in
regard to superstition; and so did the high dignitaries of Rome. Pope
John XXII. is celebrated in the history of sorcery and magic. He
believed that sorcery had been resorted to to procure his untimely
death, soon after his accession to the Papacy, by the Bishop of
Chahors, the Pope's native place. The bishop being brought before the
College of Cardinals, was, after deposition from his holy office,
delivered to the secular powers in Avignon to receive punishment. A
cruel fate awaited him; the unfortunate bishop being first skinned
alive, next torn by horses, and then burned. Pope John continued to
persecute persons suspected of sorcery, and many an unhappy creature
suffered at his suggestion.
In the spring of 1321 King Philippe summoned the States-General to
meet at Poictiers, and proceeded in person to Poitou to hold his court
there. Soon after the assembly of the Estates, information was given
to the king that the lepers, of whom there were many in the place, had
entered into a conspiracy to poison and bewitch the springs throughout
Aquitaine, in order to kill the Christians, or reduce them to the same
state of loathsome disease as they themselves suffered. Some who were
arrested admitted, under torture, the accusation. The king became so
greatly alarmed that he fled from Poitou, after giving orders to
arrest and imprison all the lepers in France. Multitudes of them were
condemned and burned; still the king thirsted for more blood. Jews
were also accused of aiding to poison and bewitch the wells. At Chinon
upwards of one hundred Jews suffered the extreme penalty of the law
for such groundless crimes. After a show of trial, and trumped-up
charges equally false, many more Jews and lepers were put to death in
Paris.
Dentists will be surprised to learn that in bygone days none but those
acquainted with occult science were supposed capable of extracting
teeth without pain. In the seventeenth century an astrologer in
France, who sold talismans and extracted teeth without pain, was
strangled in bed by a demon.
A woman, executed at Berne, stated she belonged to a sect who had
sworn eternal subjection to the devil, and that she knew how to
prepare a decoction which, when swallowed by any one, would convert
the novice into a witch equal in knowledge and power to the older
members of her fraternity.
Here is a case exhibiting the power of charmed ointment. In the year
1527 a band of one hundred and fifty sorcerers, says Llorente, greatly
disturbed Navarre. The sect held "Sabbath" orgies, where demons were
adored, and transformations of witches and wizards took place, after
anointing themselves with a compound made from the grease of
reptiles. One witch, on condition of receiving a pardon, agreed to
show the demoniacal operations gone through at the "Sabbath" meetings.
Provided with a box of witch ointment, she ascended a high tower,
accompanied by a commissioner of the royal council. In the sight of a
vast concourse of people, she applied the ointment to various parts of
her person. Having done this, she exclaimed in a loud voice, "Are you
there?" From the air a voice answered, "Yes, I am here." The woman
then descended the tower to its centre, crawling down the outside of
the wall on her hands and feet. Suddenly she flew away, and vanished
out of sight beyond the horizon. Her one hundred and forty-nine
companions were brought to trial, and met their deserts.
Maria Renata, sub-prioress of a convent at Unterzell, proved to be a
witch. She tormented the nuns at night, and, to assist her in the
black art, she kept a considerable number of cats. General alarm
prevailed; five of the nuns became possessed of devils. Renata avowed
to her confessor that she was a witch, that she had often been carried
bodily to witch Sabbaths, and presented to the prince of darkness. Her
name appeared in a black book, and she consented to be the devil's
property. In return, she received the promise of life for seventy
years. After trial by the civil judges, they condemned Renata to the
flames; but at the appointed time of execution, by way of showing a
little mercy, her head was struck off before the flames kindled around
her body. This tragedy took place in the year 1749--strange to say, in
the seventy-first year of Renata's age.
We next give a more extraordinary story illustrative of superstitious
sentiments in France, viz. the world-wide one of Jeanne D'Arc
(sometimes called Johan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans), who fell a
victim to the credulity prevalent in that country and in England. The
small village of Domremi is a retired spot, where popular
superstitions have been almost religiously preserved. Fairies were
believed to frequent the neighbourhood of Domremi. Near to it stood a
large ancient beech-tree, known as the charmed tree of Bourlemont,
supposed to be a favourite haunt of elves. Beneath the spreading
boughs gushed a sparkling fountain, of which people drank to preserve
them from fevers. Witches went thither at night to dance with the
fairies. Young men and maidens also resorted to the spot, to dance
round the tree and fountain. Garlands were made there, and presented
as offerings to our lady of Domremi. The priests of the village said
mass once a year over the fountain, to strengthen its healing
qualities. Under a hazel-tree, not far from the charmed tree, grew
mandrakes, one of which never failed to add wealth and domestic
happiness to any person who possessed it.
In the village lived a labouring man, named Jacques D'Arc, who, with
his wife, the villagers looked upon with respect. They had several
children, boys and girls. The youngest daughter, named Jeanne, was
born in the year 1410. At childhood she assumed a reserved and pensive
disposition, and often sought solitude within the village church.
Having but a limited education, the superstitions of her time were
implicitly believed in by her. In addition to dancing round the
charmed tree and fountain with other young maidens, she often went
there alone. She grew up to be an attractive young woman, of peculiar
mind. Subject to fits or trances, she became prostrated by them; and
she had, according to her own account, converse with angels and the
spirits of dead saints.
At an early period of life Jeanne D'Arc received the impression that
providence intended her to achieve great feats in behalf of her
country. More than once she exclaimed, "Nobody but me can recover the
kingdom of France!" At this time, it should be observed, France
groaned under the tyranny of contending factions; and so low had the
Dauphin sunk, that not a single place remained in his power except
Orleans; and even it the English closely besieged. After various
unsuccessful attempts, the Maid obtained permission to communicate her
heavenly mission to the Dauphin. Assuming male attire and warlike
equipments, including a white banner, she placed herself at the head
of the French troops, who, through her example, became inspired with
new enthusiasm. On the 29th April 1429 she threw herself, with
supplies of provisions, into Orleans. Soon after arriving there she
attacked Fort St. Loup, which she carried, while wielding a sword that
had lain more than a century in a knight's tomb behind the altar of
St. Catherine at Fierbois. In an assault on the English, Jeanne
received a severe wound on the neck, from which a large quantity of
blood flowed; but she said it was not blood, but glory, that streamed
out. The siege of Orleans being raised on 8th May, Jeanne D'Arc
carried the news to the Dauphin, and entreated him to come and be
crowned at Rheims, then in possession of the English. The siege of
Gergeau was next undertaken. Jeanne boldly went into the ditch,
standard in hand, at a part most vigorously defended. The soldiers
followed, and soon the town fell by the courageous woman's hands. She
next took possession of Auxerre, Troyes, and Chalons, thus opening for
the Dauphin the road to Rheims. Thither he proceeded, and on 17th July
was crowned. Jeanne D'Arc (or the Maid of Orleans, as she is now
called) assisted at the ceremony. The Maid having accomplished, so
far, the object of her mission, wished to return home; but, seeing her
presence inspired great confidence in the army, the king, and others
of influence, opposed her departure. She therefore stuck to her post
of military leader. She accompanied the king to Crepi, Senlis, and
Paris. In the siege of Compeigne, in the year 1430, Jeanne made a
sally, at the head of a hundred men, over the bridge, and twice
repulsed the besiegers. The king's troops were surrounded, yet, after
performing feats of valour, the Maid disengaged her company, who
re-entered the town. The heroine remained in the rear to facilitate
the retreat, and, when she wished to enter the town, the gates were
shut. She again charged her pursuers, but finding herself unsupported
she exclaimed, "I am betrayed!" It turned out as supposed: the
shutting of the gates while Jeanne remained exposed to danger did not
take place through accident. Jealousy and treachery were at work: her
pretended friends had conspired to bring her bright career to a speedy
end. Many brave soldiers fell under the Maid's charmed sword; but as
one sword and a single hand could not mow down a whole army, she
surrendered to Lionel Vasture of Vendome, who gave her up to John of
Luxembourg. The latter nobleman basely sold Jeanne to her enemies--the
English--for ten thousand livres; and, what appeared most cruel, the
king did not attempt to redeem the heroine, to whom he and his kingdom
owed much.
The ingratitude of Charles VII. has remained a blot on his memory.
Even those who refuse to admit that Jeanne D'Arc possessed
supernatural powers, regard his conduct with abhorrence. On Jeanne
being made prisoner, the English rejoiced exceedingly. The Duke of
Bedford thought it proper to disgrace her, in order to reanimate the
courage of his countrymen. In Paris, the authorities, to evince their
joy at her downfall, ordered salvoes of artillery to be fired. A _te
deum_ was sung in the church of Notre Dame; and preachers returned
thanks to the Most High, for his mercy in bringing to an end the
influence of such a wicked sorceress.
Jeanne, in an effort to escape from a high tower (her place of
confinement), cast herself from its summit to the ground, yet, strange
to say, sustained little injury. To guard against another attempt to
gain liberty, iron chains were put round her legs and body. A court of
French bishops met to try the Maid. The charge embraced seventy
articles of impeachment. Questions were asked concerning politics; her
belief in and intercourse with fairies; her favourite spiritual
visitants, St. Catherine and St. Margaret; the devices of her banner;
and the sacred sword.
A formula of sentence, after fifteen separate examinations, was read,
declaring her guilty of apostacy, sorcery, etc., and setting forth
that, lest the culprit should corrupt others, she should be cast out
of the church, and delivered to the temporal authorities, praying them
to deal mildly and humanely with her, and to rest satisfied with the
death of her body. Burning the body only, the ecclesiastics considered
mild treatment. Had they delivered their victim to Satan, loaded with
the fearful curses contained in the greater excommunication, who can
tell when her guilt would be expiated? As the secular powers were
merely instruments of the ecclesiastical authorities, sentence of
death by burning against the Maid of Orleans soon became an
accomplished fact. Fastened to a stake, without much delay, the flames
consumed her fair form, at the age of nineteen years. To the very last
she believed in the reality of her visions, and intercourse with the
spirits of departed saints. Her dying agonies were witnessed by a
pitying crowd, who separated to proclaim abroad, that at the moment
her breath went out a pure white dove rose from the pile and soared up
to heaven.
Subsequent to this heroine's death several women emerged from
obscurity, and feigned to be inspired in the same way as Jeanne D'Arc
had been. Two young maids residing near Paris pretended that her
mantle had fallen on them. The clergy interfered. The young women were
apprehended, tried, and declared guilty of holding communication with
evil spirits. One of them recanted, and thereby saved her life; the
other remained firm, and perished at the stake.
After the real or unreal execution of Jeanne D'Arc, the report became
current that she was alive, and playing a conspicuous part in society
at a considerable distance from the scene of her triumphs and
degradation. Some would have it that she escaped punishment through
the interference of her admirers; but the general belief remained,
that she really suffered in terms of her sentence. Another report
represents the Maid's persecutors as being overtaken by more than
ordinary misfortunes in their estate, in addition to suffering the
torments of accusing consciences.
SUPERSTITION IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.