POISONS AND BLACK MASSES

 

BEYOND THE COURT OF MIRACLES "RUE DU BOUT DU MONDE" SHOWS THAT OUTSKIRT'S DISTANCE 

*"The street at the end of the world" 

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

-- L'Affaire des poisons by Arlette Lebigre, 1989

Adapted from a map of 1676 / zoom

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

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

Women whose husbands had run into trouble* joined them. 

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

They told fortunes and sold aphrodisiacs. Proximity to the alchemists / counterfeiters led to making poisons, an activity that  did not require strength and required only pots and pans.   

Black masses came next. 

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

-- The Court Society by Norbert Elias, 1969

Louis XIV offre la Croix de Saint Louis en 1693 (detail) by François Marot, 1709, zoom

Courtiers depended on royal gifts to hold their rank. The immutable court ballet became both a necessity and a source of endless expense.* 

*It required constant changes of exceptional 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 Louis had the ramparts demolished (in 1674). The vast boulevards that replaced them were a prerequisite to moving the court and seat of government to Versailles (in 1682), because they allowed a to and fro that skipped the center city's maze of streets. 

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

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

They learned that the fortune tellers could provide "succession powders" that could hasten obtaining inheritances to allow bribes or dispose of jealous husbands or rivals... .

Priests whispered that at confession they heard of terrible crimes.

For a drama that is still remembered, 

please click on.

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Next,

Crime that shook the Sun King's court