- **Epistemic status:** #seedlings The Affair of the Poisons (French: _l'affaire des poisons_) was a major murder scandal that took place in France between 1677 and 1682 that lead to mass hysteria surrounding claims of poisoning and witchcraft. It included the French aristocracy and members of King Louis XIV's court. Over 400 people were named suspects, and 36 were ultimately executed over charges of poisoning and witchcraft. Some of them were renegade priests and others were soothsayers. After the trial of Madame de Brinvilliers who was accused of having conspired with her lover, army captain Godin de Sainte-Croix of poisoning her father and two of her brothers in order to inherit their estates. This sparked the French public and the police into investigating what was believed to be a mass commerce of poisons widespread through Paris. Authorities quickly revealed that the main source of the poisons was an obscure underground network of abortionists, potion makers, alchemists, fortune-tellers, and magicians that [[Catherine Monvoisin, The Voisin]] was the head of. This led to arrests, interrogations, and accusations of witchcraft and/or illegal activity. The accused confessed under torture, giving their list of clients that involved high-ranking members of the aristocracy and even the King's mistress, who he had five children with. The king eventually dissolved the commission in 1682 because the king did not want to risk the publicity of such scandal and enacted a new decree making the sale of magical potions a crime. --- ## References - “Affair of the Poisons.” In _Wikipedia_, August 17, 2022. <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Affair_of_the_Poisons&oldid=1104809643>. - “Non-Ordination (Coursework Only) - Satanic Ministry.” Accessed August 27, 2022. <https://ordained.satanicministry.com/courses/take/non-ordination-track/lessons/27016424-6-1-proto-satanism>.