Between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the 17th century, western Europe is the stage for one of history's demonological crisis. Many critics associated this witch hunt with an episode of collective delirium and perhaps also irrationality on the rise. Nevertheless, witchcraft is first and foremost an object of knowledge---demonology---, which many writers, jurists and theologians attempted to construct, define and constantly re-evaluate. Demonology was progressively elaborated in the midst of a culture where multiples beliefs and ideologies were interpreted to be the language, or the Christian testimony of a universe troubled by the signs of devil. / As we progress towards the 17th century, the demonological discourse tends to distance itself from the traditional knowledge, searching for its truth in facts and experience. Shifting towards empiricism, the witch's body becomes the privileged stage for a confrontation between the devil and the judge. However, in order for this body to reveal its monstrosity, the demonologist must become both exegete and producer of words, which in turn, he finds in the witch as tangible signs of her otherness. Moreover, in his desire to interrogate the witch, the scholar wishes mostly to question the feminine nature, cloaking her with an otherness of problematic and dangerous attributes. Through scholarly language, Renaissance demonology wishes to significantly organize the divided world of witchcraft and in the process, a certain feminine identity, diabolically other. / Through the works of two demonologists having had a direct experience with trials, the Discours execrable des sorciers by Henri Boguet (1602) and the Tableau de l'inconstance des mauvais anges et demons (1612) by Pierre de Lancre, we explore the link between malefic femininity and witchcraft: the images they convey, the fascination they trigger and their mirroring through and in writing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.79775 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Hotton, Hélène |
| Contributors | Desrosiers-Bonin, Diane (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Département de langue et littérature françaises.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001985370, proquestno: AAIMQ88649, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds