Case file · Witch trials
Pierre de Lancre's witch hunt in the Labourd
In 1609, judge Pierre de Lancre was sent by Henri IV to the French Basque Labourd and claimed the whole region was given to witchcraft; dozens were burned.
1609 CE · 43.36, -1.55 · status: official
The account
De Lancre described huge sabbaths on the coast and in villages such as Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle in his 'Tableau de l'inconstance des mauvais anges' (1612). The panic spread across the border to Zugarramurdi.