The Procès des sorciers de Lyon ('The trial of the Wizards of Lyon') was a

witch trial A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...

which took place in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

between 1742 and 1745. It was the last big

in France and likely the last to result in death sentences. 14 people, mainly men, were charged with having made a pact with Satan and of using witchcraft to find hidden treasures. The trial resulted in three death sentences and three men being condemned to the galleys.

History

On 21 July 1742, two male travellers from Maréchaussée and a man by the name Benoit Michalet were arrested in Caluire. Benoit Michalet was arrested in possession of

grimoire A grimoire ( ) (also known as a "book of spells" or a "spellbook") is a textbook of magic, typically including instructions on how to create magical objects like talismans and amulets, how to perform magical spells, charms and divination, and ...

s, and clerical objects such as candles from the church. He was interrogated on 23 July and confessed to be a member of a secret society to which he was introduced by Claude François Charbonnier. The goal of the society was to use the figures of

Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...

and the

Theurgy Theurgy (; ) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting wi ...

and call upon the angel

Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is mentio ...

in order to find hidden treasures. Witch trials were no longer common in France, but witchcraft was still forbidden as a religious crime, and the men were charged with witchcraft. On 14 February 1743 Benoit Michalet was subjected to

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

. He was transferred to Dijon as the process progressed.

Bertrand Guilladot Bertrand Guilladot or "Guillaudot" (died 1743) was a French priest and an alleged sorcerer. Guilladot was among the last people to be executed for witchcraft in France. He was the central figure in the Lyon witch trials that lead to the execution o ...

identified twenty-nine other individuals, all of them male, who reportedly had participated in a Satan's pact with him. 14 people were put on trial for

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

, five of them

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

.Didier Mathias Dupas, « Un procès de magiciens au XVIIIe siècle », Histoire, économie et société, vol. 20, no 2, 2001, p. 219–229 (ISSN 0752-5702, DOI 10.3406/hes.2001.2223 Guillaume Janin and Jean Ferroussat were hanged on place du Morimont, after which their bodies were publicly burned. The priest

Louis Debaraz Louis Debaraz (died 1745), was a French Roman Catholic priest. He was executed in Lyon on the charges of witchcraft after having performed sacrilegious masses and a deal with the Devil, pact with the Devil in order to find hidden treasures. He was ...

was the only one to be burned alive at the stake. Carat and Lambert were executed in absentia. Michalet, Tissot and Charbonnier were condemned to be

galley slave A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar ('' French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, often a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing. In the ancient Mediterran ...

s. The women involved, Isabeau Gay, Jeanne Chanat and Jeanne Chabert, were banished from France. Romi(y)eux were sentenced to do public penance. These were the last witchcraft sentences in France.

References

{{Witch Hunt Witch trials in France 1742 in law 1743 in law 1742 in France 1743 in France 18th century in Lyon 18th-century trials