Tableau de l’inconstance des mauvais anges et démons

Abstract

Pierre de Lancre’s Tableau de l’inconstance des mauvais anges et démons (1612) deservedly ranks, as its editor Jean Céard observes, among the ‘grands textes de la démonologie de la Renaissance’. In fact, it was probably the last of the great demonologies. In the wake of the Louis Gaufridi affair, France, as even de Lancre himself realized, was becoming obsessed with demonic possession instead. The Tableau was more, however, than just one judge’s account of a bout of Basque witch-hunting. As the title suggests, the text had clear philosophical aspirations. A preoccupation with inconstancy was the one constant thread throughout the author’s literary career. Indeed, the literary merits of de Lancre’s output should not be underestimated. Rich in metaphors and allusions, de Lancre’s language was ‘toujours souple et aisée’. The text is also a cornucopia of examples and stories. Céard is certainly right that de Lancre ‘visiblement prend plaisir à conter’—a fact that usually goes unnoticed by witchcraft historians on the look-out for expressions of horror and fear, but that is entirely in keeping with the milieu of the Bordeaux Parlement from which he hailed. The Tableau is a display of erudition and good manners. It is perhaps not surprising that in France, de Lancre, a relative of Michel de Montaigne, is principally studied in literature departments.

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