Tonight, France 2 is broadcasting two new episodes of the series Filles du feu in which Pierre de Lancre, judge and demonologist, will lead one of the most deadly witch hunts in the history of France. Did this character really exist?
Witch hunts did exist! The series Daughters of Fire, two new episodes of which will be broadcast tonight on France 2, also retraces that which took place in the Basque Country in 1609. One of the deadliest in France.
Freely inspired by this period of history, the series tells us the fate of Jeannette (Anabel Lopez), Catherine (Lizzie Brocheré) and Morguy (Zoé Adjani), three sisters from a long line of healers. Very quickly, the latter see their lives put in danger by the arrival of Pierre de Lancre (Bruno Debrandt). Mandated by King Henry IV, this judge passionate about demonology will lead what will be the deadliest witch hunt in our country.
Glacial and deeply misogynistic, Pierre de Lancre multiplies atrocities over the episodes to impose his vision of the world, torturing and then executing many women in passing.
DID LANCRE JUDGE REALLY EXIST?
Pierre de Lancre is indeed a character that is part of our history. If Giulia Volli and Maïté Sonnet, the screenwriters of the series, created many characters including those of Catherine, Jeannette and Morguy for the needs of the fiction, Pierre de Lancre meanwhile really existed.
Born in 1553 in Bordeaux, Pierre de Lancre was a French judge and magistrate who was commissioned in 1609 by King Henry IV to “purge the country of all wizards and witches under the influence of demons“. For four months, he worked actively to instruct and judge. It was in the small province of Labourd in the Basque Country that Pierre de Lancre then had between 70 and 200 women arrested and then executed for witchcraft.
The only trace that remains of this part of history is the book “Tableau de l’inconstance des mal anges et demons” written by Pierre de Lancre himself in 1612. In it, he talks about his long field investigation and recounts all the interrogations and trials he conducted during this period.
“It’s a really interesting book because it really reads the thought of the judge“, Maïté Sonnet explained to us during a press conference before continuing: “It is a very colorful thought. When he arrives in the Basque Country and sees these women, the first thing he writes is: “They only eat apples, only drink apple juice. No wonder they are all witches since they bite the apple of transgression”.
If the work of Pierre de Lancre was a starting point for the series, the will of the scriptwriters was above all to give a voice to all these forgotten women. It must be said that today, all that remains of them are the testimonies of their executioners.
On this subject, Maïté Sonnet specified: “Our desire was to give voice to these women and to tell their point of view because they did not give it. They were illiterate so we will never have their testimonies. That’s why we obviously invented characters. These are suppositions and projections that nevertheless start from stories that we have read in history books.“
In this terrible witch hunt, Pierre de Lancre became famous. According to Stéphanie Carrère, the producer, “He got a promotion. He became a king’s adviser. It was a highway to success for him. The only voice we’ve heard for decades is his. It has been translated in many countries.“.
Through this work, Pierre de Lancre has inspired many demonologists in the world and remains today one of the most famous in history.