“ITEM. that on several different occasions, at unsuitable hours both day
and night, I had seen women and girls disturb the said Grandier by going
into his bedroom, and that some of the said women remained with him from
one o’clock in the after noon till three o’clock the next morning, their
maids bringing them their suppers and going away again at once.
“ITEM. that I had seen the said Grandier in the church, the doors being
open, but that as soon as some women entered he closed them.
“As I earnestly desire that such reports should cease, I declare by
these presents that I have never seen the said Grandier with women or
girls in the church, the doors being closed; that I have never found him
there alone with women or girls; that when he spoke to either someone
else was always present, and the doors were open; and as to their
posture, I think I made it sufficiently clear when in the witness-box
that Grandier was seated and the women scattered over the church;
furthermore, I have never seen either women or girls enter Grandier’s
bedroom either by day or night, although it is true that I have heard
people in the corridor coming and going late in the evening, who they
were I cannot say, but a brother of the said Grandier sleeps close by;
neither have I any knowledge that either women or girls, had their
suppers brought to the said room. I have also never said that he
neglected the reading of his breviary, because that would be contrary to
the truth, seeing that on several occasions he borrowed mine and read
his hours in it. I also declare that I have never seen him close the
doors of the church, and that whenever I have seen him speaking to women
I have never noticed any impropriety; I have not ever seen him touch
them in any way, they have only spoken together; and if anything is
found in my deposition contrary to the above, it is without my
knowledge, and was never read to me, for I would not have signed it, and
I say and affirm all this in homage to the truth.
“Done the last day of October 1630, “(Signed) G. MECHIN.”
In the face of such proofs of innocence none of the accusations could be
considered as established and so, according to the decision of the
presidial court of Poitiers, dated the 25th of May 1634, the decision of
the bishop’s court was reversed, and Grandier was acquitted of the
charges brought against him. However, he had still to appear before the
Archbishop of Bordeaux, that his acquittal might be ratified. Grandier
took advantage of a visit which the archbishop paid to his abbey at
Saint-Jouin-les-Marmes, which was only three leagues from Loudun, to
make this appearance; his adversaries, who were discouraged by the
result of the proceedings at Poitiers, scarcely made any defence, and
the archbishop, after an examination which brought clearly to light the
innocence of the accused, acquitted and absolved him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account