Loudun
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Loudun is a small town and commune of approximately 9,000 inhabitants in the Vienne département of France. It is located 30 km south of the town of Chinon and 25km to the east of the town Thouars.
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Geography
- Approximate Latitude= 46-47 degrees N. Latitude
- Approximate Longitude= 0-1 degrees E. Longitude
Sights
An ancient town, Loudun contains numerous old streets, and buildings and monuments of which five are Government listed monuments. It is also the location of a vicus type archaeological site.
Miscellaneous
The 1952 book titled The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley tells the story of the trial of Urbain Grandier, priest of the town who was tortured and burned at the stake in 1634. He was accused of being in league with the devil and having seduced an entire convent of nuns, in what is seen by many scholars as one of the most sensational cases of mass possession and sexual hysteria in recorded history.
Based on Huxley's book, in 1969, Krzysztof Penderecki created an opera of the same name. The following year, Ken Russell directed the film The Devils, also based on Huxley's book.
Births
Loudun is the birthplace of:
- Jean Salmon Macrin (1490-1557), Neo-Latin poet
- Théophraste Renaudot (1586-1653), medical practitioner
- Ismael Bullialdus (1604-1694), astronomer