Le sabbat des sorcières. La répression de l’hérésie sorcellaire à Millau au XVe siècle

Abstract

Witches’ Sabbath. The repression of sorcery heresy in Millau during the XVth century ; In the town of Millau, as in several other towns, sorcery heresy and demonic practices were implacably repressed at the XIVth and XVth century. In 1317, Hugues Olivier, a leather tanner, was burnt alive for «horrible and harmful magic spells». More than a century later, the town happened to be «infested with witches». From October 1444 to February 1445, at a time when Millau was firmly opposed to the Armagnac plots, about ten women were arrested and sent to royal prisons. In 1492, proceedings have been taken against three women and one man for the sorcery crime of having given children a deadly beverage. We wonder about the real motives behind the sorcery and demon worshipping accusations which brought to appeal at the Parliament in Toulouse, by enhancing the contents of these proceedings, the inquisitorial practice implementation, the current reflections about witches’sabbath by historian Carlo Ginsburg. The field of research then widens out to various regions in the Massif Central (Auvergne, Vivarais, Cévennes...).