Sorcery and publicity: the Cadiere Girard scandal of 1730 1731

The Cadière–Girard trial of 1730–1731 isan early example of a sensational, nationally publicized Frenchtrial in which the major parties were private individuals. Cadière,a female penitent, accused Girard, her Jesuit confessor, ofbewitching and raping her; Girard claimed that Cadièrewas guilty of slander. It was to be the last witchcraft trialin the francophone world. Another notable feature of the trialwas its publicity, in which the contesting parties almost immediatelybecame stand-ins for the Society of Jesus and for its Jansenistadversaries. This paper argues that certain anti-Jesuits, particularlyCadière's defence team and in the Parlement of Aix-en-Provence,acted to prolong the trial with the aim of creating as muchbad publicity as possible for the Society of Jesus; it alsoshows how Jansenist publicists took advantage of the lengthyprocess, creating literature that ‘burned Girard in spirit’,and with him, the Jesuits as a whole.