Compare And Contrast The Vais Witch Trials

Accusations of witchcraft, witches, and sorcerers were a major topic of discussion in France for hundreds of years in the past. Various witch trials took place in which an unjust verdict would be reached most of the time. Two specific witch trials that took place in France were the Valais Witch Trials of 1428-1447 and the Aix-en-Provence Witch Trials of 1611). Both of these trials exhibit wrongly accused people of being forced into admitting guilt, but differed greatly. The Valais Witch Trials that began in 1428 claimed the lives of at least 367 people who were accused of witchcraft. Initially, the trials took place in French-speaking Valais before spreading to the German-speaking Valais called Wallis, and finally reaching both the French

Some of the accusations recorded from the trials included: “flying through the air and plundering wine cellars; the killing of cattle in the shapes of werewolves; invisibility by the use of herbs; the curing of sickness and paralysis by sorcery, where the sickness was passed on to someone else; cannibalism and the abduction and consumption of children; meeting with Satan, who would teach them magic if they renounced Christianity; curses and conspiracy.” (Mastin). If someone did not comply and confess as the judges wanted, they would be tortured until they confessed to something they did not do. It did not take long for word to get out about these

In these trials, Father Louis Gaufridi was accused of engaging in sexual perversions with and sending demons into Ursuline nuns located in Aix. Of course Gaufridi did no such thing, but was accused of this based on the emotional and mental instability of a young nun named Madeleine. Madeleine and Father Gaufridi were lovers around the year of 1609, until others found out about the relationship and she was sent to a convent far from him. It seemed that the situation between the two was solved and had dissipated until two years later when news of Madeleine being possessed by demons reached Father Gaufridi. Madeleine accused him of being a devil worshipper who had been sleeping with her since she was 17 years old. Shortly after these accusations, other nuns in the convent fell into similar demonic possession and also provided accusations against Father Gaufridi, this time more severe saying he was a sorcerer and a cannibal and performed unspeakable acts on her. At this time he was taken in front of a court in Aix and was from innocent but wanted his name cleared so he was taken back in front of the court. Here, the testimony of Sister Madeleine and Sister Louise were heard despite them being possessed for the first time ever. Because of this Father Gaufridi was taken to prison where he was tortured both physically and mentally. After a long