POISONS AND BLACK MASSES

 

BEYOND THE COURT OF MIRACLES "THE STREET AT THE END OF THE WORLD"* SHOWS HOW DISTANT THAT OUTSKIRT SEEMED

*La Rue du Bout du Monde

The area was much more sinister than that of the Court of Miracles: "To get rid of your husband, give him bouillon of Saint-Denis," was a 1670's rumor.

-- The Affair of the Poisons by Arlette Lebigre, 1989 (in French)

Adapted from a map of 1676 / zoom

The red arrow shows our walk. The yellow one shows the street.

Users of dangerous substances — alchemists and counterfeiters — settled there (toward 1660):

    An Alchemist's Family by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1558 / zoom

Wives of former craftsmen* joined them, fortune-telling and selling aphrodisiacs...

*At least that is what we know of two women mentioned on the next page: Marie Bosse, whose drunken boasting triggered the police inquiry, was the spouse of a counterfeiter sent to the galleys and La Voisin's husband was a failed craftsman.

...then proximity to the alchemists / counterfeiters led to making poisons, which did not require strength and needed only a kitchen to produce.

Black masses needed only money. 

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At the same time Louis XIV imposed a stifling ceremonial: A courtier said he loved watching dogs fight over a bone, because they were spontaneous. 

-- The Court Society by Norbert Elias, 1969

Louis XIV Grants the Cross of Saint Louis in 1693 (detail) by François Marot, 1709, zoom

Courtiers needed royal gifts to hold their rank, making the unbending ballet a bottomless pit of expense.*  

* It required constant changes of court outfits, an overpriced rental in Versailles or an impressive residence in Paris, a coach, horses, servants, liveries, sumptuous dinners to become part of a clan, gambling for the high stakes that the king encouraged... .

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At about the same time,* vast boulevards built on the sites of demolished ramparts gave direct access to Versailles, avoiding the center's maze of streets

* Louis tore down the ramparts in 1674, and transferred the court and seat of government to Versailles in 1682.

Boulevard Bonne Nouvelle by Edouard Leon Cortes, toward 1900 / zoom 

Courtiers came to the edgy hinterland to slum, have their fortunes told, obtain aphrodisiacs and for the thrill of danger.

They learned of "succession powders" that could dispose of jealous spouses, rivals in love or at court or hasten the demise of relatives from whom to inherit:

For a drama that is still remembered, 

please click on.

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Next,

Crime that shook the Sun King's court