# An Examen of Witches

An Examen of Witches
[Discours D E S Sorciers]
An Examen of Witches
Henry Boguet
chief Judge in the said county • translated by E. Allen Ashwin • edited by the Rev. Montague Summers
John Rodker • 1929
Edition Limited to 1275 copies. This copy is number 560
Printed in Great Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Ltd. Bungay Suffolk
* Editor's Preface
* To Monseigneur
* To Monsieur
* Author's Preface
The Various Chapters
Comprising the Present Examen
Loyse Maillat, eight years old, is possessed of five devils and later delivered of them, and Françoise Secretain made prisoner for casting the spell.Chap. I
the means by which the truth was drawn from Françoise SecretainII
the principal points in the confession of Françoise SecretainIII
the reasons for imprisoning Françoise SecretainIV
Whether it be possible for one to send demons into the body of anotherV
Whether one witch can harm anotherVI
Of the bodies of spirits and devilsVII
The means whereby Satan wins us to himVIII
Of the witch’s renunciation of God, baptism and chrismIX
Of the voice of demonsX
Of the copulation of the Devil with male and female witchesXI
Whether such copulation exists in the imagination onlyXII
​Whether the copulation of Satan with a witch can bring to birth a living beingXIII
Of the transvection of witches to the SabbatXIV
How and in what fashion witches are conveyed to the SabbatXV
Witches sometimes go on foot to the SabbatXVI
Whether witches go in spirit to the SabbatXVII
The Sabbat is generally held at nightXVIII
Of the day of the SabbatXIX
Of the place of the SabbatXX
Of what happens at the Sabbat, and of the burning of candles, the kiss, the dances, the copulation of the Devil with witches, the feasts, the accounts rendered by them to him, the beating of water to produce hail, the Mass which is said by them, and how Satan consumes himself in flames and burns to ashesXXI
Whether witches can produce hailXXII
Of the powder used by witchesXXIII
Of the unguents and ointments used by witchesXXIV
Whether witches kill by their blowings and their breathsXXV
Whether witches afflict with wordsXXVI
Whether witches afflict with lookingXXVII
How witches afflict with the handXXVIII
How witches afflict with a wandXXIX
Of the images used by witchesXXX
​How midwives, if they are witches, kill the children they deliverXXXI
By what ills witches particularly afflict peopleXXXII
How witches afflict the herdsXXXIII
How witches do hurt to the fruits of the earthXXXIV
Whether witches are able to healXXXV
that for the cure of maladies Satan and his demons must on no account be appealed to, but God onlyXXXVI
Whether it is permitted to menace a witch in order to heal or ward off harmXXXVII
That he who is bewitched can avail himself of physiciansXXXVIII
the rosaries used by witches generally lack the Cross, but in any case the Cross is always imperfect in some particularXXXIX
Witches are unable to shed tears in the presence of the judgeXL
The eyes of witches are continually bent upon the ground when in the presence of the judgeXLI
Witches when they renounce the Devil spit three times upon the groundXLII
Witches must be shaved and their clothes changedXLIII
The marks borne by witchesXLIV
Satan often kills witches when they are in prison, or else he inspires them to kill themselves. sometimes he reveals what will happen to them at their deathsXLV
​that Satan companies with his witches when they are in prison and even assists them in the presence of the judgeXLVI
Of the metamorphosis of men into beasts, and especially of lycanthropes or loups-garouxXLVII
that witches generally consecrate their children to Satan; and of the pain suffered by Groz-Jacques and certain other sorcerersXLVIII
of Guillaume Vuillermoz known as le Baillu, of his confrontation with Pierre his son, and the causes of his condemnationXLIX
Whether one accused of witchcraft and dying in prison may be buried in consecrated soilL
the causes and reasons of the sentence condemning Clauda GaillardLI
of Pierre Vuillermoz and of Christofle of the village of Aranthon, and how they were treated leniently on account of their youth and for certain other reasonsLII
of Rollande du Vernois and how she was possessed of demons in prison, and of her deliveranceLIII
Against those who mock at the exorcisms and conjurations of our priestsLIV
Of the power and virtue of the Cross against demons and their subjectsLV
Of the might and virtue of holy water against demonsLVI
Of the perfumes used by priests in their conjurationsLVII
​against those who assert that Satan pretends merely to fear the cross, holy water and exorcism; and that in reality he cares notLVIII
continuation of the replies of Rollande du Vernois; and of her condemnationLIX
whether the Eucharist may be administered to one accused of witchcraftLX
if one accused of witchcraft be but found guilty of assisting at the Sabbat, even though he has done no other ill, the secular judge may pass sentence of death upon himLXI
Manner of procedure of a judge in a case of witchcraftLXII
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.