Case file · Witch trials
Marthe Brossier, the possessed of Romorantin
In 1599, Marthe Brossier, a draper's daughter from Romorantin, was exhibited in Paris as possessed; League preachers used her demon to attack Henri IV's Edict of Nantes.
1599 CE · 47.36, 1.74 · status: disputed
The account
The royal physician Michel Marescot examined her and concluded 'nothing from the Devil, much fraud, a little illness'. The Parlement confined her and she was sent home.
The sceptical view
The medical report is one of the earliest naturalistic debunkings of a possession.