with what seemed like great pleasure and in minute detail. At the ceremonies there were also a number of little demons without arms who kindled a great fire, into which they threw the witches, who emerged unharmed. The grand master of the witches once threw himself in and was burned to a powder, which was then used by the other witches to enchant children and make them go willingly to the Sabbath. She also saw well-known priests, some of whom she named, celebrating mass at the Sabbaths, with the demons taking the place of saints on the altar. Sometimes the Devil pierced one of the celebrants under the little toe and sucked his blood, whereupon the individual could never again make confession. Jeanette named a priest called François de Bideguaray as one of these. She also named many other witches. Jeanette's escape Jeanette said, however, that she had made up her mind to escape the witches. For the last nine months she had tried to avoid being taken back and had sat up on the nights of the Sabbath. However, for the first three months the Devil had carried her away by day instead. For the next six months she spent the Sabbath in church, where the Devil could not reach her, and was only tricked into going with him twice. The last occasion was on 13 September 1609. She had sat up in the village church all Saturday night and at daybreak had gone home and fallen asleep. During high mass the Devil came to her, snatched off the protective amulet she wore around her neck (a higo, or piece of leather in the form of a hand, with the fist closed and the thumb passed between the first two fingers), and carried her off to the Sabbath. That was the last time she went to the Sabbath, claimed Jeanette. She was lucky – the judges believed her story that she had been coerced and had desperately tried to escape, and by confessing her sins and renouncing witchcraft she was spared execution. References 1590s births 17th-century deaths Witch trials in France Basque history