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Article: THE POISONS AFFAIR.(poisoning scandals in French court of Louis XIV)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- March 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Reggie Oliver looks at the links between some of the highest-placed women in Louis XIV's court and some notorious Parisian dealers in drugs, death and the dark arts.
IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE Bastille there is a scrap of paper simply dated 1673 which marks the beginning of a scandal which was to reverberate widely touching Louis XIV himself. It reads:
The confessors of Notre Dame have given notice, without disclosing any
name, that for some time a great proportion of those who confessed to them
accused themselves of having poisoned someone. It is thought that Monsieur,
the Lieutenant of Police, should regulate the ease with which poisons are
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