Demandols De La Palud, Madeleine (fl. 17th Century)

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Demandols De La Palud, Madeleine (fl. 17th Century)

Accused of witchcraft. Main victim in an episode of possession lasting 1609–1611.

As a young nun in Aix-en-Provence, claimed she had been bewitched by her confessor, Louis Gaufridy; was subjected to several public sessions of exorcism, and the priest was tried and executed; lived a saintly life on her estate as a recluse until Feb 1653, when she found herself accused of bewitchment; held responsible for illness of a neighbor's daughter, was indicted by a tribunal and condemned to life imprisonment.

See also Women in World History.

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