There was a witch hunt! The series Daughters of Fire, with two new episodes broadcast tonight on France 2, also relives what happened in the Basque Country in 1609. One of the deadliest in France.
Loosely inspired by this period in history, the series follows the fortunes of Jeanette (Annabel Lopez), Catherine (Lizzy Broschere) and Morgue (Zoe Ajan), three sisters from a long line of healers. Very quickly, the latter find their lives in danger due to the arrival of Pierre de Lancre (Bruno Debrandt). Mandated by King Henry IV, this demonology-obsessed judge presides over our nation’s deadliest witch hunt.
Glacial and deeply misogynistic, Pierre de Lancret reproduces episodes of brutality to enforce his vision of the world, torturing and then executing many women.
Did Lancre the judge really exist?
Pierre de Lancre is truly a character that is part of our history. If Julia Volley and Mayte Sonne, the screenwriters of the series, created many characters, including Catherine, Jeanette and Morgue, for the needs of fiction, Pierre de Lancre really existed in the meantime.
Born in Bordeaux in 1553, Pierre de Lancri was a French judge and magistrate commissioned in 1609 by King Henry IV.Cleanse the country of all witches and sorcerers under the influence of demonsFor four months he was actively employed in instructing and judging. It was in the small province of Labourd in the Basque Country that Pierre de Lancre had between 70 and 200 women arrested and then executed for witchcraft.
The only trace that remains of this part of history is the book “Tableau de l’inconstance des mal anges et Demons”, written by Pierre de Lancre himself in 1612. In it he talks about his long field investigation and recounts all the interrogations and trials he conducted during this period.
“It’s a really interesting book because it really reads the judge’s mind“, Maite Sone explained at the press conference, before continuing:It’s a very colorful thought. When he goes to the Basque country and sees these women, the first thing he writes is: “They only eat apples, they drink only apple juice. No wonder they are all witches, because they bite the apple of crime.”.
If the work of Pierre de Lancri was the starting point of the series, the will of the screenwriters was above all to give a voice to all these forgotten women. It must be said that today only the testimonies of their executioners have survived.
On this subject, Maite Sone elaborated: “Our desire was to give these women a voice and say what they thought, because they didn’t give it. They were illiterate, so we will never have their testimonies. So we obviously invented the characters. These are assumptions and predictions that still start from stories read in history books.“
In this terrible witch hunt, Pierre de Lancre became famous. According to producer Stephanie Carrera, “He got promoted. He became an adviser to the king. This was the path to success for him. The only voice we’ve heard for decades is hers. It has been translated into many countries.“.
Through this work, Pierre de Lancre inspired many demonologists around the world and remains one of the most famous in history.
Source: Allocine
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