Urbain Grandier (1590 – 18 August 1634) was a French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun possessions". Most modern commentators have concluded that Grandier was the victim of a politically motivated persecution led by the powerful Cardinal Richelieu. The circumstances of Father Grandier's trial and execution have attracted the attention of writers Alexandre Dumas père, Eyvind Johnson, Aldous Huxley and the playwright John Whiting, filmmaker Ken Russell, composers like Krzysztof Penderecki and Peter Maxwell Davies, as well as historian Jules Michelet and various scholars of European witchcraft. Life Grandier attended the Jesuit college of La Madeleine in Bordeaux. His uncle was a priest who held some influence with the Jesuits there. They held the right to appoint the parish priest for the Church of Saint-Pierre-du-Marche in Loudun, and in 1617 chose Grandier. They also had the right to name a canon to the collegiate Church of Sainte Croix, also in Loudun, and Grandier was appointed to that as well. Thus, as the eldest son, he was able to support his widowed mother and siblings. That he should receive both valuable positions over a local candidate caused some resentment. Both benefices were in the Diocese of Poitiers. Sometime around 1629 or 1630, Philippe Trincant, daughter of Louis Trincant, the king's prosecutor and a friend of Grandier, gave birth to a son. It was widely suspected that Grandier was the father. He was also believed to have had intimate relations with a number of women. Allegations of sorcery In 1632, a group of nuns from the local Ursuline convent accused him of having bewitched them, sending the demon Asmodai, among others, to commit evil and impudent acts with them. Aldous Huxley, in his non-fiction novel, The Devils of Loudun, argued that the accusations began after Grandier refused to become spiritual director of the convent, unaware that the Mother Superior, Jeanne des Anges, had become obsessed with him after having seen him from afar and heard of his sexual exploits. According to Huxley, Mother Jeanne, enraged by his rejection, instead invited Canon Jean 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. However, Monsieur des Niau, Counsellor at la Flèche, said that Grandier applied for the position, but that