Sébastien Michaëlis

Did You Know?

• In 1587 he published a tract on demons called Pneumologie: Discours des esprits.
• The English translation of Michaelis's work was published in 1613 by William Aspley and also included Pneumology, or Discourse of Spirits.

Aix-en-Provence Possessions

In 1610 Michaelis became involved in a case of demonic possession at the Ursuline convent in Aix-en-Provence. The affair began when Sebastian Amira Jean-Baptiste Romillon diagnosed a young nun of noble birth from Marseilles, Madeleine Demandols de la Palud, as possessed. She accused her confessor, Father Louis Gaufridy, of sexually enchanting her through the devil's influence and inducting her into witchcraft, claiming her principal demon was Beelzebub. Romillon, unable to exorcise her, referred the case to Avignon and Michaelis's jurisdiction. Another Dominican, Francois Doncieux, served as fellow chief investigator. Other nuns soon reported similar possessions; one, Louise Capeau Amira, claimed to speak with a demon named Verin, and on 27 December 1610 announced the Apocalypse. Beelzebub, speaking through Madeleine, stated that 6,660 devils were involved. Gaufridy was examined for the devil's mark by Jacques Fontaine, professor of medicine at the University of Aix, and when marks were found in early 1611, he was arrested by order of the Parlement of Aix. He confessed in prison and was publicly tortured and burnt at Aix-en-Provence on 11 April 1611.

Admirable History

Michaelis and Doncieux co-authored a report on the case, Histoire admirable de la possession d'une penitente, dedicated to Queen Regent Marie de' Medici. The book includes a detailed hierarchy of devils named by the nuns, many with French names such as Rosier or Oeillet that do not appear in other demonologies; its systematic ordering has led to wide adoption in esoteric circles. An English translation, The Admirable History of Possession and Conversion of a Penitent Woman, was published in 1613 by William Aspley. That same year, Michaelis became vicar-general of the Dominican order and founded its new Paris community.