Belloc, Jeanne (ca. 1609)
An alleged witch of the Labourd district in the Basque region
of France, who in the reign of Henry IV was indicted for
sorcery at the age of 84 years. In answer to Pierre De Lancre
who interrogated her, she stated that she first attended the sabbatic
meetings of Satan in winter 1609, where she was presented
to the Devil, who kissed hera mark of approbation that
he bestowed upon the greatest sorcerers only. She described
the Sabbat as a masked ball to which some came in their ordinary
forms, while others joined the dance in the guise of dogs,
cats, donkeys, pigs, and other animals.
However, no reliance can be placed on the confessions of
any victims of De Lancre, as he used torture and believed that
most of the 30,000 inhabitants of Labourd, including the
priests, were infected with witchcraft.
