Jeanne of the Angels
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Jeanne of the Angels was the Mother superior of the Loudun Ursuline convent at the time of the Loudun possessions which brought Father Urbain Grandier to the stake. She was played by Vanessa Redgrave in The Devils. She was called Jeanne de Belfieldin the version of the accounts by Dumas in Celebrated Crimes, where she is "daughter of the late Marquis of Cose, and relative of M. de Laubardemont."
Modern commentators on the case have argued that the accusations began after Grandier refused to become the spiritual director of the convent, unaware that the Mother Superior, Sister Jeanne of the Angels, had become obsessed with him, having seen him from afar and heard of his sexual exploits. It is claimed that Jeanne, enraged by his rejection, instead invited Canon Mignon, an enemy of Grandier, to become the director. Jeanne then accused Grandier of using black magic to seduce her. The other nuns gradually began to make similar accusations. Many modern scholars claim that this was a case of collective hysteria.
