We, the mighty Lucifer, assisted by Satan, Beelzebub, Leviathan, Elimi, Astaroth, and others, have today accepted the covenant of Urbain Grandier, who belongs to us.
We promise him the love of women, the flower of virgins, the favor of nuns, honors, pleasures, and riches. He shall fornicate every third day, and drunkenness shall be dear to him.
Once each year he shall offer us a seal of blood. He shall trample the sacred things of the Church beneath his feet, and his prayers shall belong to us.
By this pact he shall live happily for twenty years upon the earth among men, and afterward he shall come among us to commit evil against God.
Done in Hell, in the council of demons.
Lucifer, Beelzebub, Satan, Astaroth, Leviathan, and Elimi.
The seals were placed by the master Devil and the demon princes, our lords.
Baalberith, scribe.
This is rough traslation of the pact as was used in the trial....The original document was written in backwards latin.
Looking at the alleged pact itself raises even more questions for me.
I understand pacts made for wealth, influence, protection, opportunity, knowledge, or stability. Love and sexual attraction can also be magical objectives, so their appearance alone does not prove fabrication. What seems strange is how perfectly this document reproduces the accusations already being made against Grandier.
It promises him “the love of women,” “the flower of virgins,” and “the favor of nuns.” It then adds fornication every third day, drunkenness, wealth, sacrilege, and twenty years of happiness. That reads less like a negotiated pact and more like a moral indictment written to portray him as every kind of corrupt priest at once.
The sexual promises are especially odd if the contemporary descriptions of Grandier are accurate. He was reportedly attractive, charismatic, and already successful with women. Why would access to women—and specifically nuns and virgins—become such a central part of what he supposedly requested? It appears designed to connect him directly to the convent and make the accusations emotionally persuasive.
Then we have the theatrical collection of signatures: Lucifer, Satan, Beelzebub, Astaroth, Leviathan, Elimi, and Baalberith as the scribe. Apparently the entire infernal senior staff attended the contract signing. I know everybodys practice is private but for those of us that are pacted how many of us have the entire infernal court in the signature blocks of the pact? Most pacts that I know of are personal amongst magician and spirit and not magician and many spirits.
None of this proves the pact was forged. But when a document perfectly reflects the accused man’s reputation, the prosecution’s theory, the Church’s moral concerns, and the audience’s expectations, its authenticity deserves serious scrutiny.
To me, it looks less like Grandier’s private agreement with spirits and more like a document written for other people to find.
Elimi
Didn't recognize this name.
Most of these names would be recognized by Bible-thumpers of their day - but a wider variety existed for those versed in ritual. This seems remarkably small to me if one was versed in the Lesser Key. Not to say all "Lesser Key"s were the same or consistent. But Forbidden Rites goes over many of these discrepancies better than I can. I own a printed copy, but others can use the link for free viewing via the Internet Archive.
What is interesting is that the European Inquisition largely didn't have heavily educated people doing the questioning. This was inconsistent (as was their education levels), but it wasn't unheard of for them to employ the advice of those who knew the Law and Scriptural Specialists in some areas. Look up the "Mendicants" and the "Mendicant Orders" with that topic for more info. Largely, this was the Franciscans and the Dominicans. Their own excesses are a spectacular study in human vice. Especially when generations of Popes cement their authority to in turn cement their own...