A Case of Witchcraft: The Trial of Urbain Grandier | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Rapley
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 348122
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 077352312X
Dewey Decimal Number: 133
EAN: 9780773523128
ASIN: 077352312X
Publication Date: March 2002
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Condition: Paperback. Minimal wear to cover. Some pages show wear. Slight water damage to pages. Text remains easily readable.
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Product Description
An extraordinary tale of passion, intrigue, and revenge, "A Case of Witchcraft" is the true story of Urbain Grandier, a seventeenth-century priest who was accused and found guilty of sorcery. Although popularised by Aldous Huxley's, "The Devils of Loudun", the story has never been told in its entirety. Robert Rapley provides a compelling new interpretation of the case, revealing startling evidence of a secret conspiracy to destroy the priest that went as high as Louis XIII. As a Catholic priest, Grandier was an influential figure in the Loudun community and local government. A brilliant speaker, he was popular with his parishioners. But he had enemies, including Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIII, who was trying to wrest political autonomy from local governors and centralise power in Paris.Grandier's support of the governor of Loudun meant that he was seen as an enemy of the crown. In addition, the debonair priest's romantic intrigues brought him into conflict with some of the town's most influential power brokers. When a nearby convent of Ursuline nuns began experiencing strange visions and hallucinations, Grandier's enemies seized the opportunity to orchestrate his downfall. These mass possessions, which spread through the convent despite attempts at exorcism, were regarded as witchcraft and Grandier was accused of having caused them. Condemned by Richelieu and the king, Grandier was tortured and burned at the stake for his alleged crimes. He maintained his innocence to the end. This tale of conspiracy, corruption, and mass hysteria provides a fascinating exploration of human behaviour and community dynamics.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Witchy Book January 14, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Urbain Grandier was a Catholic priest in the 1600s was an influential figure in Loudon, France. When Ursuline nuns in a nearby convent began experiencing strange visions and hallucinations, Grandier's enemies seized the opportunity to orchestrate his downfall. These mass possessions, which despite exorcism spread through the convent, were regarded as witchcraft and Grandier was accused of having caused them. Condemned by Louis XIII, Grandier was tortured and burned at the stake for his alleged crimes, but maintained his innocence to the end. This book helps show how witch trials were primarily motivated by men with their own motives.
 A fascinating and a disturbing historical account January 11, 2002
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
A Case Of Witchcraft by independent Canadian scholar Robert Rapley is the true story of Urbain Grandier, a priest who was accused of sorcery, tortured, and burned at the stake during the reign of King Louis XIII. a meticulously researched and scholarly look at mass hysteria and religious extremism at its worst, A Case Of Witchcraft is so compelling it cannot be put down - the thoughts and acts every character within are reconstructed from records, documented evidence, and sometimes oral legends that have survived the centuries. A Case Of Witchcraft is simultaneously a fascinating and a disturbing historical account.
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