Loudun (; ; Poitevin: ''Loudin'') is a commune in the Vienne department and the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

, western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is located south of the town of

Chinon Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...

and 25 km to the east of the town

Thouars Thouars () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in western France. On 1 January 2019, the former communes Mauzé-Thouarsais, Missé and Sainte-Radegonde were merged into Thouars. It is on the River Thouet. Its inhabitants are known ...

. The area south of Loudun is the place of origin of a significant portion of the

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

, one of the early settlers of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

in Canada.

Demographics

Sights

Loudun, an ancient town, contains numerous old streets, buildings and monuments of which five are Government-listed monuments. It is also the location of a

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

type archaeological site.

History

* The Treaty of Loudun, negotiated and signed in Loudun on May 3, 1616, temporarily resolved the power struggle for control of the French government between the

Prince of Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The f ...

(next in line for

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

's throne) and queen mother

Marie de Medici Marie de' Medici (; ; 26 April 1575 – 3 July 1642) was Queen of France and Navarre as the second wife of King Henry IV. Marie served as regent of France between 1610 and 1617 during the minority of her son Louis XIII. Her mandate as regent ...

's favorite Concino Concini, Marquis of Ancre. * Loudun was also the site of

mass hysteria Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...

surrounding the supposed mass possession of Ursuline nuns by the Devil in 1634 (see Loudun possessions).

Loudun in art

* Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz's 1942 (published in 1946) short story which transposes the story to Poland * Eyvind Johnson's 1949 novel '' Drömmar om rosor och eld'' was based on the Loudun possessions. *

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction novel, non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the ...

's 1952 non-fiction novel '' The Devils of Loudun'' was also based on the Loudun possessions. * John Whiting's 1961 theatre play '' The Devils'', commissioned by Sir Peter Hall for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

, was based on Aldous Huxley's novel. * A Polish film, '' Mother Joan of the Angels'' (1961), is based on

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz (; also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter; 20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJ ...

short story. *

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best-known works include '' Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', '' Polish Requiem'', '' ...

's 1969 opera '' The Devils of Loudun'' (''Die Teufel von Loudun''), which premiered at the

Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...

, was based on Huxley's novel and Whiting's play. *

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...

's 1971 film '' The Devils'' was based on Huxley's novel and Whiting's play.

Notable people

Loudun is the birthplace of: * Jean Salmon Macrin (1490–1557),

Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Théophraste Renaudot Théophraste Renaudot (; December 158625 October 1653) was a French physician, philanthropist, and journalist. Born in Loudun, Renaudot received a doctorate of medicine from the University of Montpellier in 1606. He returned to Loudon where he ...

(1586–1653), medical practitioner, inventor of the French written press, journalist, and philanthropist * Ismaël Bullialdus (1604–1694),

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

Jean-Charles Cornay Jean-Charles Cornay (; 27 February 1809 – 20 September 1837) was a French missionary of the Paris Foreign Missions Society who was martyred in Vietnam. He was executed in Ha Tay, Tonkin, now Vietnam,''A New Dictionary of Saints: East and Wes ...

, martyr. * Marie Besnard, accused of poisoning in the 1950s in what was a very mediatized trial; her story was the subject of a successful TV movie and several books * René Monory, mayor of Loudun, senator of Vienne, president of the French Senate, Minister of Education, president of the Vienne General Council, and founder of the Futuroscope Park of

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

* Nicolas Ghesquière (born 1972), creative director of the French fashion house

Balenciaga Balenciaga SA ( , , ) is a Spanish Basque luxury fashion house currently headquartered in Paris. It designs, manufactures and markets ready-to-wear footwear, handbags, and accessories, and licenses its name and branding to the American cosmeti ...

was born in 1972 in Comines,

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

but was always raised in Loudun where his parents own a golf course. Loudun is the place of death of: *

Urbain Grandier Urbain Grandier (1590 – 18 August 1634) was a French Catholic priest who was execution by burning, burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft, following the events of the so-called "Loudun possessions". Most modern commentators ha ...

(18 August 1634), French Catholic priest who was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft. * André Andrejew (16 March 1967), French-Russian classic film production designer, built decor for movies produced in Germany, France, England and the US.

Twin towns

Ouagadougou Ouagadougou or Wagadugu (, , , ) is the capital city of Burkina Faso, and the administrative, communications, cultural and economic centre of the nation. It is also the List of cities in Burkina Faso#Largest cities, country's largest city, wi ...

, Burkina Faso * Audun le Tiche, France * Shippagan, Canada * Leuze, Belgium *

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...