Urbain Grandier | Page 8

de la Rochepezai, by divine mercy Bishop of
Poitiers, in view of the charges and informations conveyed to us by the
archpriest of Loudun against Urbain Grandier, priest-in-charge of the
Church of Saint-Pierre in the Market-Place at Loudun, in virtue of a
commission appointed by us directed to the said archpriest, or in his
absence to the Prior of Chassaignes, in view also of the opinion given
by our attorney upon the said charges, have ordered and do hereby
order that Urbain Grandier, the accused, be quietly taken to the prison
in our palace in Poitiers, if it so be that he be taken and apprehended,
and if not, that he be summoned to appear at his domicile within three
days, by the first apparitor-priest, or tonsured clerk, and also by the first
royal sergeant, upon this warrant, and we request the aid of the secular
authorities, and to them, or to any one of them, we hereby give power
and authority to carry out this decree notwithstanding any opposition or
appeal, and the said Grandier having been heard, such a decision will
be given by our attorney as the facts may seem to warrant.
"Given at Dissay the 22nd day of October 1629, and signed in the
original as follows:
"HENRI-LOUIS, Bishop of Poitiers."
Grandier was, as we have said, at Paris when these proceedings were
taken against him, conducting before the Parliament his case against
Duthibaut. The latter received a copy of the decision arrived at by the
bishop, before Grandier knew of the charges that had been formulated
against him, and having in the course of his defence drawn a terrible
picture of the immorality of Grandier's life, he produced as a proof of
the truth of his assertions the damning document which had been put
into his hands. The court, not knowing what to think of the turn affairs
had taken, decided that before considering the accusations brought by
Grandier, he must appear before his bishop to clear himself of the
charges, brought against himself. Consequently he left Paris at once,
and arrived at Loudun, where he only stayed long enough to learn what

had happened in his absence, and then went on to Poitiers in order to
draw up his defence. He had, however, no sooner set foot in the place
than he was arrested by a sheriff's officer named Chatry, and confined
in the prison of the episcopal palace.
It was the middle of November, and the prison was at all times cold and
damp, yet no attention was paid to Grandier's request that he should be
transferred to some other place of confinement. Convinced by this that
his enemies had more influence than he had supposed, he resolved to
possess his soul in patience, and remained a prisoner for two months,
during which even his warmest friends believed him lost, while
Duthibaut openly laughed at the proceedings instituted against himself,
which he now believed would never go any farther, and Barot had
already selected one of his heirs, a certain Ismael Boulieau, as
successor to Urbain as priest and prebendary.
It was arranged that the costs of the lawsuit should be defrayed out of a
fund raised by the prosecutors, the rich paying for the poor; for as all
the witnesses lived at Loudun and the trial was to take place at Poitiers,
considerable expense would be incurred by the necessity of bringing so
many people such a distance; but the lust of vengeance proved stronger
than the lust of gold; the subscription expected from each being
estimated according to his fortune, each paid without a murmur, and at
the end of two months the case was concluded.
In spite of the evident pains taken by the prosecution to strain the
evidence against the defendant, the principal charge could not be
sustained, which was that he had led astray many wives and daughters
in Loudun. No one woman came forward to complain of her ruin by
Grandier; the name of no single victim of his alleged immorality was
given. The conduct of the case was the most extraordinary ever seen; it
was evident that the accusations were founded on hearsay and not on
fact, and yet a decision and sentence against Grandier were pronounced
on January 3rd, 1630. The sentence was as follows: For three months to
fast each Friday on bread and water by way of penance; to be inhibited
from the performance of clerical functions in the diocese of Poitiers for
five years, and in the town of Loudun for ever.

Both parties appealed from this decision: Grandier to the Archbishop of
Bordeaux, and his adversaries, on the advice of the attorney to the
diocese, pleading a miscarriage of justice, to the Parliament of Paris;
this last appeal being made in order to