by Holly Tucker
see also specific marriages
Marseilles, 64
Marsh, James, 33
Maxims (La Rouchefoucauld), 157
Mazarin, Jules, 15, 17, 45–46, 156
medical treatment:
to ensure continuance of torture, 173–74, 196, 213, 271
for prisoners, 172
seventeenth-century procedures for, 13, 33, 62, 70, 74, 137, 147, 173, 251, 256
Meilleraye, duke de la, 46
menstruation, menstrual blood, 32, 48, 70, 147, 211
Mercure Galant, 25
mercury chloride, 85
regulation of, 228
metal plating, 167
Meuse river, 90
midwives, 31, 113, 162, 174, 196, 210, 261
military:
administration of, 15
expenditure on, 58
see also Louvois, marquis de
Ministry of War, 15
mistresses, of Louis XIV:
Louis’s fickleness in, 46, 50–54, 55, 60, 104, 151, 153–54, 182, 187, 207, 218, 236
Louis’s love for, 74, 76, 94, 104, 236
Louis’s ongoing sense of loyalty to former, 187, 190, 206, 211, 229, 238
Louis’s refusal to believe ill of, 206–8, 211–12
protocol for, 44, 57, 108, 153–54, 182
see also specific individuals
Molière, 104, 185
Mollenauer, Lynn, 235
Mollien-Ravaisson, François, Affair of the Poisons documents organized and catalogued by, 233–34
Monstreux (servant), 142–44, 172
Montespan, Françoise-Athénaïs de, 44, 61, 103–10, 181, 243, 268
accusations dropped against, 224, 225
Colbert’s alliance with, 155–56
Colbert’s defense of, 221–24
conflict between Louvois and, 154–57
death of, 229–30
declining influence of, 151–57, 207, 229, 260
departure from Versailles of, 229
dismissed by Louis, 155–56
gambling of, 151–53
implicated in spells and poisoning plot, 182, 205–8, 209, 213–14, 215, 217–18, 221–24, 235–37, 244
Louis’s anniversary celebration for, 59–60
Louis’s devotion to, 105–7, 109, 152–53
as Louis’s mistress, 55–57, 59–60, 61–62, 103–10, 155, 179, 206, 229, 252, 260
Louis’s refusal to believe ill of, 206–8, 238
manipulations and intrigues of, 154–57
marriage of, 53–54
as participant in black mass, 210–13
pregnancies and children of, 62, 103–6, 108–10, 179, 255
rivalry between La Valliêre and, 52–54, 106
rivalry between Maintenon and, 107–8, 153–54, 207
Rohan’s attempt to court, 123
temper of, 155–56, 255
as “the Torrent,” 54, 207
weight gain of, 110
Montespan, marquis of, 53–54
belligerent tirade, arrest, and exile of, 61–62, 155, 255
Montlhéry, 210, 214
Montmartre, as pilgrimage site, 161
Montmorency tower, 96
Montorgeuil neighborhood, as center of poverty and crime, xvii, 26–34, 35, 105, 112, 114, 132, 167, 170, 201, 206, 218
Montpensier, Mademoiselle de, 56, 61, 64, 73
moral reform, 24–25, 151–52, 186, 270
Morel, Monsieur, 196, 271
mort-aux-rats (arsenic), 33
Mortemart, duke of, 53
mouches (flies; spies), 84
mud tax, 20
Nail, Abbé Léonard, see Launay
Netherlands, 44, 120, 123, 228
newborns, sacrificed in black masses, 32, 209–10, 213–15, 217, 221, 236, 237, 273–74
Nijmegen, Treaty of, 120, 135
nobility:
affairs among, 31
civil war (Fronde) uprisings of, 17, 19
as C. Voison’s clientele, 28–33, 37, 113
de as indication of, 130
deportment of, 172–73
extravagance and debts of, 53–54
family honor of, 11, 29
hidden crimes of, xxi–xxiii, 99, 114, 130, 142, 161, 164–65, 167–68, 204
Louis as protective of, 2–6–207, 164, 167, 168, 182, 187, 190, 191, 206–8, 231, 238
Louis’s control over, xix–xx
opposed to Chambre Ardente investigations, 192, 194
privileges of, 24, 95, 142, 167, 171–73, 178, 192, 204
as victims of con games, 126–27
Notre-Dame cathedral, 7, 38, 97, 122, 141, 162, 163, 171, 198, 214
Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, Church of, 158
novenas, 160–61
NVivo (qualitative data-analyis software), 236
Oeillets, Claude de Vin des:
accusations dropped against, 224
death of, 275
departure from court of, 153, 218
identification of, 219, 222
implicated in crimes, 196, 211–12, 215, 221, 244
interrogation of, 218–19, 222, 274
as Louis’s mistress, 104–5, 109, 153, 154, 179–80, 260
Louis XIV as incredulous of charges against, 191
Louvois’s interrogation of, 244
as Woman with Two Tails, 203
Offémont, D. Aubrey’s château at, 12–13
Oise region, 13
opium, 33, 85, 88, 163
Orfèvres, quai des, 7
Orléans, 13
Orléans, Philippe “Monsieur,” duke of, 44, 50, 53, 95, 152, 153, 243, 253
conflict between Louis and, 47–49
homosexuality of, 48, 62–64
marital problems of, 62–65, 74
rumored involvement in death of Henrietta Anne, 74–76, 256
Orléans (miscreant), 24
pain-killing drugs, 88
Palais de Justice, marketplace at, 122
Palais-Royal, 153, 218
Palatine, princess of, 153, 208
palm reading (chiromancy), 28, 126, 130, 160, 168, 177, 182
Paluau, Monsieur, 97
Paré, Ambroise, 30
Paris, 77, 78, 84, 91, 114, 161
as City of Light, 23
clean-up and sanitation initiatives in, 20–23, 25, 230
as crime capital, 3–14, 19, 22, 26–34, 58; see also Montorgeuil neighborhood
crime initiatives for, 23–25
filthy conditions in, 3–4, 7, 26, 28, 248
governor of, 154
lighting of, 19, 22–23, 228
Louis’s expensive construction projects in, 92–93
map of, ii–iii
moral reform initiatives for, 24–25
transformation of, xxii, 15–25, 58, 60, 134, 186
violence in, 4–5, 23
see also specific districts
Paris Commune, siege of, 233
Paris Faculty of Medicine, 7, 71
Paris police force:
commissioner system of, 5–6
reform of, 15–20, 243
parlement courts, 16–17, 60, 92–94, 106, 116, 120, 122, 124–25, 126, 134, 135, 136, 145, 164, 188, 223
particule (de), use of, 130
Patin, Guy, 7, 40
Pelletier, Madame, 202
Perrin, Monsieur, 126–27, 130, 131, 132, 142
Pewter Kettle inn, 12
Phèdre (Racine), 185
Phèdre et Hippolyte (Pradon), 186
Philbert, Madame:
arrest of, 244
implicated in poisoning, 161, 162, 163, 166, 267
trial and verdict of, 204
Philbert, Monsieur, poisoning death of, 171
Philip IV, king of Spain, 44
Philippe (Louis’s brother), see Orléans, Philippe “Monsieur,” duke of
Picard, Sébastien Camuset, 80–82, 84, 265
Pierre-Encise Prison, 63–64
pigeons, 36, 39
place D’Armes, xx
place de Grève, as execution site, 98, 123, 141, 171, 174, 198, 214
place de Vosges, 121
placentas, 32, 210, 215
placet, 203–6, 221, 267
poison:
antidotes to, 70–71, 243
as difficult to detect and confirm, 33, 79, 86
discovered in Bosse’s home, 145–48
ingredients in, 34, 36, 129, 228
marketing and distribution of, 35–40
overdose of cantharis as, 30
testing of, 129
vehicles for, 33–34, 74, 78–79, 89, 143–45, 161, 163, 179, 204
see also specific poisons
poisoning:
burgeoning number of suspects in, 165, 167, 168, 173, 175, 212, 220
death penalty imposed for, 228
debunking of, 187
denial of, 137
Louis’s edict against, 227–28
monetary motive in, 143
public interest in, 168
revenge motive in, 33
romance motive in, 127, 131, 142–43, 159, 161, 172, 178, 183, 197, 205
suspicion of, 13, 74–76, 79, 94
symptoms of, 30, 33–34, 73–75, 78–79, 86, 94–95
see also specific victims
Poitiers, 71
Poland, queen of, 54
Police and Safety Established in Paris, The (Le Brun), xxi–xxii
police reform:
Colbert in, 15–19
La Reynie in, 18–20, 243
Poncet, Nicolas, 117–19, 124
pseudonyms of, 117
Pontchartrain, Louis de, Affair of the Poisons documents delivered to and destroyed by, xx–xxiii
Pont-Marie, 160, 265
Pont Neuf, 11, 24
porcelain, 105–6
potassium salt (Glaser’s salt), 259
Poulaillon, Marguerite de, 126–27, 130–32, 263
incarceration of, 167
poison administered by, 142–45, 148, 161
sentencing of, 172–73, 175
trial of, 172–73, 244, 261
Poulaillon, Monsieur, 127, 131
poisoning death of, 144–45, 171
Pradon, Jacques, 186
Prayer Man (La Prieur), see Guibourg, Etienne
Prest, Julia, 235
priests, in conjuring of the devil, 37
Princesse de Clèves, La (La Fayette), xi
prisoners:
burgeoning number of, 165, 167, 168, 173, 175, 212
evaluation and release of, 223, 225, 245
networks of, 116–18
retained as dangerous, 223, 225, 245
rights of, 193
prisons, 123
poor supervision in, 237–38
privileges of nobility in, 167–68, 171–72, 178, 192
supervision of, 19
see also specific institutions
prostitutes, 35, 214
public criers, 22–23
Pyrenees, Treaty of the, 46–47
Question, the:
administration of, 96–97, 125, 134–41, 170, 172, 173, 174, 195–97, 212–14, 224, 258
deaths during, 244
question d’eau (water torture), 87–88, 138, 171, 258
Question extraordinaire (Extraordinary Question), 87–88, 212, 214, 258
Question ordinaire (Ordinary Question), 87–88, 258
Question prepáratoire (Preliminary Question), 87, 258
quicksilver, 33
Quillebeuf, 123
Racine, Jean, 49, 104, 185
rack (torture device), 88–89
Rainssant, Pierre, 139
rapporteur, 169
recette de Glaser, la (Glaser’s recipe), 95
recipes:
for abortions, 32
for aphrodesiacs, 30
of Glaser, 95
for poison, 235
for witches’ brooms to fly, 273
Red Rose, The, 95
religion:
importance of confession in, 96, 98, 99, 121–22
magic and, 28
perversion of, 38–39, 112, 161, 201–2, 209–11, 215, 267
role of mistresses as defined by, 108–9
robe battante, la, 62, 255
Robert, Claude, 146, 169, 172, 184, 187, 195
Rochechouart, Louis de, 155
Rochefoucauld family, 157
duke of, 228
Rohan, chevalier de, 123
roller coaster, 58
Romani (C. Voison’s cohort), 203, 204, 205
life imprisonment and death of, 225
Roquelaure, duke of, 23–24
Roussel, Françoise, 94–95
Royal Library, archive at, 16
rue au Bout du Monde, la (the Street at the End of the World), 27
rue Courtauvilain, 126
rue du Beauregard, 34, 183
rue du Bouloi, La Reynie’s estate on, 19, 85, 232, 250, 257
rue Quincampoix, 226
rue Saint-Antoine, 122, 198
rue Saint Denis, 105
rue Saint-Jacques, 107
rue Vivienne, 16
sabine, 147
Sagot, Jean, 130, 146, 173, 193, 197–98, 212, 224
black leather box entrusted to, 226–27, 232
death of, xxiii, 226–27
Sagot, Madame, 225, 232
Saint-Chapelle, 140–41
Saint-Cloud, Château of, 51, 63, 73, 106
Saint-Denis church, 209
Sainte-Croix, Gaudin de, 95, 97, 265
arrest of, 11–12
black leather box found among belongings of, 81–83, 85–87, 95, 100, 257
burning of confession of, 81
death of, 80–83, 84, 90, 100, 243
Marie-Madeleine de Brinvilliers affair with, 10–11, 81–83, 89, 127
widow of, 80–83
Saint-Germain-en-Laye:
Louis’s audiences held at, 191–92
poisonings linked to, 173–74, 179, 196
royal residence at, 17, 39, 57, 62, 105, 166, 184, 190, 203–4, 221
Saint-Paul Church, 209, 233
Saint-Séverin, Church of, 37–40
“salt of viper” (snake venom), 70
sanitation, 21–22
Scarron, Paul, 103
Scorailles, Marie-Angélique de, see Fontanges, Marie-Angelique, duchess of
séances, 209, 217
Séguier, Pierre, 19
Seignelay, marquis of, 134, 140
Seine, 38, 39
flooding of, 160, 265
Left Bank of, 6–7, 53, 135, 185
Right Bank of, 9–10, 141, 168
sellette (interrogation stool), 170, 188–89
semen, 211
Senlis, 12
Sévigné, Madame de, 92, 94, 99, 107, 192, 198, 207, 227, 253–54, 264, 270
sigils (charms), 28
silver, 165
Simon, Guy, 146
Simon, Madame, 210, 213, 273
smallpox, 168
snakes, 209
medicinal use of, 69–71, 255
social class, inequities of, 7, 9, 21, 95, 99–100, 156–57, 167, 178, 186, 204
Soissons, count of, 46, 156
death of, 183
Soissons, Olympe, countess of, 45–46, 156–57, 253
exile and return of, 182
in flight from Chambre Ardente, 187–88, 206–7
implicated in crimes, 182–83, 196
trial in absentia of, 190, 194
Somerset, Anne, 235
Somme river, 44
Sorbonne, 95
Spain:
French foreign policy with, 44–49, 56–57, 90–91, 120, 135, 228
marquis de Montespan’s flight to, 155
spells, 203, 235
love, 205, 211, 212
protective, 132
spies, 84, 117–20
strapado (torture method), 87
suicide
, 225, 235, 244
attempts at, 91–92
sulfur, 33, 188
supernatural, superstitious belief in, 28
surgeons, 79
Surqualin, Madamoiselle, 5
Sweden, 65
syphilis, poisoning disguised as, 33
tabouret, 156
Tardieu, Jacques, murder of, 7–9, 15, 17, 243
taverns, in Paris, 5
technology, for research, 236
Terode, Monsieur, 173–74, 271
theater, 104–5, 185–87
special effects in, 186, 269
Théâtre de Bourgogne, 104–5
theft, strategies for, 27–28, 35
theriac, preparation of, 70–72, 243, 255
Thianges, marquise of, 53
toads, 147, 173
venom of, 34, 145, 252
torture:
devices of, 88–89, 212
in interrogation and confession procedure, 87–89, 96–97, 125, 136, 138–40, 258, 271
post-sentencing, see Question, the
skepticism of confessions made under, 236
Touchet, René and François, 7–8
Tournelle tribunal, 94
travel, royal extravagances in, 43–45, 55–56
treason, threat on royal family as, 122–24
Treatise (Glaser), 259
Trianon, Catherine, 205–6, 221
suicide of, 225
Trianon of Porcelain, 105–6
Tuileries Gardens, 103
Ursula, Saint, 161
Valentinay, Monsieur de, 131
Vallot, Antoine, 75
vandalism, 23
Vanens, François, 209
Vardes, marquis de, 269
Vautier, Madame, 34
Vêndome, duke of, 183, 187–88
Vendosme, Nicolas de, 6
Versailles palace and grounds, xix–xxi, 15, 65, 73, 74, 105–7, 112, 113, 130, 196, 218, 227
extravagant “royal entertainment” held at, 58–60
Louis’s construction plan for, 57–60, 93, 228, 254
as royal residence, 52, 109, 228–29
Vertemart, Madame, 180, 268
Vezou, Monsieur, 173–74, 196, 212, 213
Vigoureux, Marie, 142, 145, 147, 160, 163, 172, 173, 183, 267
arrest of, 128–29, 244
death of, 170–71, 172, 244
dinner party of, 126–27, 131, 132, 244
interrogation of, 129–33, 220, 244, 261
Vigoureux, Marie (continued)
torture of, 171
tried in Chambre Ardente, 170–71
Villars, duke of, 108
Villequoy, 77
Villers-Cotterêts, 64
Vincennes prison, 19, 128–32, 145, 147, 158, 163, 166, 167, 168, 171–72, 180–81, 190, 201, 211, 212, 218, 219, 222, 234, 237–38, 266
decommissioning of, 275–76
evaluation and release of prisoners in, 225
prisoner records from, 232–33, 275–76
Visconti, Primi, 110, 190, 259, 270
Visé, Jean Donneau de, 185
vitriol, 86
Vivonne, duchess of, 181, 209
Vivonne, Louis-Victor de, 154–55, 157, 181, 265