Demonic Possession in 17th-Century Canada

Not Just the Tudors

History Hit

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4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2023

⏱️ 59 minutes

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Summary

When strange signs appeared in the sky over Quebec in 1660, the French settlers started to worry about evil forces in their midst. Then, a teenaged servant called Barbe Hallay started to act as if she were possessed by demons. She accused a local miller of bewitching her and, the following year, he was imprisoned and executed. Priests and nuns tried to drive the demons away - but in the end it was something else that worked.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Dr. Mairi Cowan, author of The Possession of Barbe Hallay: Diabolical Arts and Daily Life in Early Canada, a fascinating account of a case of demonic possession in early modern North America.

This episode was edited by Anisha Deva and produced by Rob Weinberg.

The subject of this podcast was suggested by listener Mike Old, a descendent of Barbe Hallay. If you have an idea for an episode, please send it via our Twitter feed @NotJustTudors or by email to [email protected].

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Transcript

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0:00.0	When strange signs appeared in the sky over Quebec in 1660, the French settlers started
0:09.4	to worry about evil forces in their midst.
0:13.7	Then a teenage servant, called Barre Barale, started to act as if she were possessed by demons.
0:20.2	She accused a local miller of bewitching her, and the following year he was imprisoned
0:25.1	and executed.
0:27.2	Though whether on these charges or others is hard to say, priests and nuns tried to
0:32.5	drive the demons away, but in the end it was something else that worked.
0:37.1	The possession of Barre Barale in early Canada, then called New France, is an anomaly.
0:43.2	Although witchcraft and demonology were common in Europe and 30 years later would manifest
0:47.9	in Massachusetts, there is an absence of such accusations in New France.
0:53.6	It is the dog that didn't bark in the night.
0:56.5	So this case promises to shed light on a fascinating part of early colonial North America, religious
1:01.7	beliefs, social history, and the precarity of European settlers in a small town on the
1:07.9	St Lawrence River.
1:09.4	I'm delighted that today's podcast is a suggestion by a listener.
1:14.5	Michael tells me that Barre Barale, the possessed servant girl, was his eight times great grandmother.
1:21.4	And what luck that a fine scholar has just published a book on Ale's case.
1:26.5	My guest today is Dr. Mary Cowan, who is an associate professor at the University of Toronto,
1:31.8	Mrs. Algar.
1:32.8	She's written about 12th century Glasgow, the quarter of King James IV of Scotland, and
1:37.4	most recently, in this book published in 2022, about bewitchment in New France.
1:43.4	The book, which is a wonderful scholarly and eminently readable micro-history, is called
	...

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