Customer Reviews

The Devils of Loudun

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The widespread, apparent demonic possession of nuns in a 17th-century convent: could there be a more intriguing topic? "The Devils of Loudon" gets about halfway there, but is ultimately unsatisfying. I rated this at three stars, but might have rated it even lower if I didn't have previous knowledge of the history of Urban Grandier, who is a truly intriguing figure. Grandier was a priest, tortured and forced to confess, then burned at the stake; this seems simple enough on the surface, until one realizes that in that time and place, monks and nuns regarded demonic possession not as something to be exorcised, but as almost a badge of their holiness. Possession highlighted their own goodness (because the Devil wanted to corrupt them) and their personal strength (because they never fully succumbed but fought, sometimes being lucid for weeks or months on end).

A very different psychology was at work in Loudon, one almost alien to modern understanding; I wish that had been not only better emphasized, but better explored. Further, the men investigating the goings-on at the convent were fully aware of this psychology; so how on earth did Grandier end up a scapegoat, especially since his death was not expected to be a cure? Why was he treated differently than the sisters? And how might ordinary, political infighting have influenced the proceedings? These issues are touched on - barely - but you won't find many answers here.