Murder of Saint Belina

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Saint Belina was a young woman who was murdered and made into a saint. In 1203 she was canonized by Pope Innocent III and was venerated in Troyes. Some of her relics were lost during the French Revolution, but some of her bone particles and her head are stored in a bust at the Mores Abbey in Launderville. Her feast day is February 19th. She is known both as Belina of Troyes, and Belina of Launderville due to the location of her murder. 

 There is little known about her life, but she was born to religious serfs of John Paterne, the Lord of Pradines and D'Arcy in Landerville, France. It was unknown when she was born. She was known as a gentle soul caring for others. In 1153 she was engaged to another young man of similar rank in the village. 

Her parents would ask Lord Paterne for his blessing. He would reject the proposal. He was also interested in having a beautiful girl. It was said that Belina rejected him and was disgusted with that idea. She wanted to marry the man she loved. She was not interested in the Lord or his position of power. 

Sometime after Belina would be tending to her father's sheep. This was when Lord Paterne would show up surprising her. He would try to force himself on her, but she would fight back and defend herself. During the struggle, Lord Paterne would bring out his sword and beheaded her. He would leave her body in the field.

It's not stated how the people knew it was known that it was him, but there was a revolt. The peasants were so outraged that they rose up against him. They would burn down his castle. He would escape with his life as he had disguised himself.

He however did not escape unfazed. Pope Anastasius IV excommunicated him and took away his titles. The king confiscated his land, and the French parliament condemned him to permanent exile.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Catholic Readings

Catholic Online

UNIDENTIFIED: October 14, 1923 Boistfort, Belgium Jane Doe

 

On October 14, 1923, an unknown woman was found shot dead in the Sonian Forest near Boistfort, Belgium. Due to the items on her person, it was likely she was a foreigner from France or Italy. There is little information on this case. It's not stated whether or not her murder was solved.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Wikimedia

MONSTERS: Camacrusa

 

A Camacrusa is a french bogey that habitats Aire-sur-L’Adour in the Landes. The creature is a disembodied leg and is a terrifying appearance as sometimes it's flayed. It is very rapid in movement and is capable of hiding behind haybales, jumping over ditches and hedges, and easily running after prey. It typically goes after children and eats them. It's unspecified how it eats the children.

SOURCES: 

Cryptid Wiki

Myths and Folklore

MONSTERS: Cheval Mallet

 

Photo by Janosch Diggelmann

A Cheval Mallet (meaning Mallet Horse) is evil but fabulous horse in French folklore. It's seen around Vendée, Poitou, and Pays de Retz, near Lac de Grand Lieu. It's described as a beautiful white or black horse saddled and bridled. It tempts exhausted travelers and the unwary who choose to ride the horse are said to never be seen again. The only thing to protect the traveler from the horse is a protection spell as a medal of St. Benedict or have them n the price of traveling.


SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Monsters Wiki

Myths and Folklore Wiki

UNIDENTIFIED: October 26, 1856 Stockton, California Antione

On October 24, 1856, a man around 36-years-old named Antoine was admitted to Ward No 2. to Stockton State Hospital in Stockton, California. He would die 2 days later on the 26th from Epilepsy. There is little information in this case. He was described as being an "idiot" and was French.  He was also a Charity Patient. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Find a Grave

Murdered Saints: Saint Solange

Solange was born into a poor, but devout family in the town of Villemont, France near Bourges. She was devoted and consecrated her virginity at 7-years-old. Solange was popular and very beautiful some even said her mere presence cured the sick and exorcised devils. She caught the eye of many including the son of the count Poitiers who was highly taken.

In 880 the man would come to Solange as she tended her sheep. He would get rejected by the shepherdess. He did not take the rejection well and planned to take her for himself. One night he would kidnap her by force. She would struggle against him. While they were crossing a stream she struggled greatly and fell from the horse. She would then try to flee him for him to catch up. He would then behead her with his sword. 

Legend states that Solange's severed head invoked three times the Holy Name of Jesus and she was able to pick up her head and walk to the church of Saint-Martin (now Saint-Solange) in the village of Sain-Martin-du-Crot and dropping dead there. 

Immediately there was a cult surrounding her grew. Many miraculous cures were attributed to her intercession. In 1281 an altar was erected in her honor at that church, now known as the church of Saint-Solange. Her head is preserved there as a relic. A nearby field where she prayed is referred as the field of Saint Solange and locals would go there during great times of stress to form a procession through Bourges with the reliquary head to invoke her against drought. 

Her feast day is May 10th. She is the patron saint of Berry, France, Bourges, France, for rain, rape victims, and shepherds.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Catholic Online

Catholic Readings

GHOSTS: The Midnight Washer Women

 

The Washer Women of the Night are Breton-Celtic ghost women in France that are connected to death. They wash clothes in the banks of rivers around midnight. Typically they will be isolated areas of water. It's believed that they are washing the clothes of those to die soon or their own clothes. Sometimes they are washing the clothes of those they've done wrong.

The Washer Women are typically women who are tall and gaunt, and strong. They most likely died a violent death and or were punished for being greedy and stingy with clothes. In some areas, they are three old women. In Chantepie a stingy woman who buried her husband in a dirty shroud is punished by washing it every night. In Noes Gourdais, near Dinan, the asher women have skulls

The women call out to passers-by in hopes of helping to wring out the laundry. So it's recommended if you hear the sounds of laundry being washed to high-tale it out of there. There are those who accept to help or refuse to.

If you agree to help out of ill will their arms will be broken and those who refuse are drowned. Another way to die from them is to wring the sheet or clothing wrong. In order to survive, you must wring the same way they do, but it will last all night doing so. The Washer Women do not tire easily. One wrong move equals the person being crushed and wrung out as the Washerwomen have great strength.

Another way to get out is to tell them "Diwasket ho poan ha me diwasko ma hini" or in English "Wring out your sins, and I will wring out mine". You will then have to run at top speeds to get away to the nearest recently plowed field as they cannot cross them.

In some legends of the Washer Women, they make you clean your own death clothes before they kill you. Or if you pass all the tests they give you, you will be granted three wishes.

SOURCES:
A Book of Creatures
Michigan Publishing
Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology Pg 150

FOLK TALES: Blue Beard

In the 1600's Blue Beard is a wealthy and powerful nobleman and a well-desired groom in idea, but his unusual blue beard made him unattractive. Though many women and girls found him repulsively ugly he was able to marry several beauties. The problem with that is that each one would mysteriously disappear.

One of his neighbors, a noble lady, had two beautiful daughters. Bluebeard asked the woman to allow him to wed one of the daughters of her choice. The girls were, of course, repulsed by him and his blue beard. They also didn't want to become another wife that would mysteriously disappear.

Blue Beard had a plan to win their affection. He would take them, their mother, and several of their friends to one of his country houses. They would spend a whole week of parties, hunting, fishing, dancing, mirth, and feasting. Everyone would spend the nights joking and enjoying each other.

The younger of the two sisters began to fall in love with him and was starting to think he was a mighty civil gentleman. The two would soon wed. A month after Blue Beard would tell his young bride that he was obliged to take a country journey of about 6 weeks. It was about affairs of great consequences. He told her she should invite her friends to their home if she pleased.

He would give her keys to his treasures and she was allowed to each one except for a certain closet. He told her she could not go to the closet at the end of the great hall on the ground floor. He warned her if she did she would receive his anger and resentment. She would promise to do that, and her friends would come.

Her friends would tell her that they would not come while her husband was there because they feared him. They would see and look at all the riches of the home and be impressed and happy for their friend's newfound life.

At the party, the door haunts her, and her desire to open it increases. The treasures she had access to were so grand and she wondered what was so magnificent that was hidden behind the door. Her impatience allowed her to slip from the party and to the forbidden door. She would take the key out and opened the door with trembling hands.

What lied behind it was horrible. The floors were covered in clotted blood, and along the walls were the missing wives. Each one had been brutally murdered. She thought she would die from the shock it scared her so much. She would drop the key in the blood. She would go back to her senses and lock the door and went to her room to think.

This is when she noticed the key was stained with blood. She tried to clean it off, but would not as the key was magical and evidence of her betrayal was stained upon it. To her surprise, Blue Beard would return home that night. He stated that while he was on the road letters came telling him the affair he was going to deal with was concluded. She pretended to be excited and not show she was terrified that she was the next wife to disappear.

The next morning Blue Beard asked for his keys back. He asked her what had happened to the forbidden room's key. She had hoped he wouldn't notice. She would tell him it was upstairs on the table, and he requested her to bring her the key.

She was terrified as she brought down the blood-stained key. He automatically knew of her betrayal of his trust.

"Why is there blood on the key"

"I do not know." She cried.

"You do know!" Blue Beard was angry, "I very well know. You went into the closet, did you not? Very well, madam; you shall go back, and take your place among the ladies you saw there."

She would throw herself down on her feet and begged for forgiveness. He had a heart of stone and her pleads did not change his mind. He's heard this all before.

"You are to die Madam."

"Since I am to die give me time to pray alone." She cried. He would answer her wish.

"I give you a quarter of an hour nothing more." He demanded.

When she was alone she called out to her sister Anne. She asked her to go to the top of the tower to look for their brothers and to give them a sign of haste. Anne would go up the tower and be on the lookout for their brothers.

She could feel her time ticking and would call up to Anne occasionally. But there were no signs of their brothers when the impatient Blue Beard called up to her demanding her to come down with a sword in hand. His threats kept coming and she kept telling him one moment more. That was when Anne spotted their brothers coming. His anger seemed to shake the home and the young wife came down the stair unwillingly.

She would throw herself on his feet again begging for forgiveness and keep her life. It still did not work on his stone-cold heart. He would grab her hair with one hand and raise his sword with the other. She asked to collect herself. He was about to refuse and was about to strike her when a knock on the gates stopped him.

Two horsemen were her brothers and would enter with their swords drawn. With one brother was a dragoon the other a musketeer and Blue Beard knew he had no chance. He would flee without killing his young bride and the brothers would pursue him. They would overtake him on the porch and ran their swords through him. The girl had no strength to greet her brothers. Blue Beards' crimes would be known and she'd be known as the one who survived.

The young bride was now a widow and her husband's estate was hers. She was able to allow Anne to marry the man she loved, She married a man she loved, and she bought Captains' commissions for her brothers. She would eventually forget her nightmare with Blue Beard.

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Blue Beard by Charles Perrault

Possible Murder of Constance of Normandy

Constance of Normandy was born between 1057 to 1061 and was one of nine children of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She was considered a favorite by her mother and was considered well accomplished and gifted. Though it wasn't noted the order of birth's of the daughters a monk, William of Jumièges, noted that she was the second oldest among the daughters. 

In 1086 William the Conqueror invaded the Duchy of Britanny and forced its Duke Alan Fergant into submission. He would then arrange a marriage between Constance and the duke. Like her mother, Constance became an administrator. 

There are two contradictory reports on her time as a duchess. William of Malmesbury, an early 12th-century historian, stated that she was unpopular. That she was severe and conservative manner made her unlikable. But according to another, Orderic Vitalis, she was caring, considerate, and well-liked by subjects. Constance would die on 13 August 1090. 

William of Malmesbury would allege that her husband had the lady poisoned through their servants. Constance would be buried at the church of St. Melans, Rhedon, Bretagne, France.  

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

My Heritage

Find a Grave

The History Jar

Joan of Arc and her execution

15th Century miniature of Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc who was also known as the Maid of Orléans was seen as a Military Leader, Heroine, and Martyr all before she was 19 years old.  

She was born in 1412 in Domrémy, Bar, France to poor tenant farmers. Joan grew up learning piety and domestic skills from her mother. Their home was also Joan never ventured far from home and was in charge of taking care of the animals. Joan also had a deep love for the Catholic Church. 

Joan was blessed with remarkable mental and physical courage. She was said to have had great common sense.  Joan eventually claimed to have extreme personal piety. She said she had direct communication with the saints. This was what allowed to make her the leader she became.

At the time she was born France was already fighting England in what was known as the 100 Year War. The war was over who would take over the French Throne. By the 15th century, Northern France was lawless and frontier for marauding armies. 

In 1415, King Henry V of England invaded northern France. England had gained support from Burgundians in France after they defeated French forces. 1420 a treaty called Treaty of Troyes, granted the French throne to Henry V and disinherited Charles of Valois.

Henry expected to inherit the throne after Charles IV's death. Both died months apart in 1422. This left Henry's infant son as ruler of both places. 

By 1422 England occupied northern France. Joan's village, like many others, were forced to leave their homes. In France, there were supporters for Charles's son to take the French Throne. Charles VII thought this was a good opportunity to do so. 

At 13 Joan had started to hear voices of Saints. She knew that she was given a task be God that was very important. She knew she had to save France by installing Charles as kind and kicking out their enemies. 

At 16 her father had tried to arrange her marriage. Joan stood in front of the court and fight the reason they weren't a match. She had convinced the court and won. 

In May of 1428, Joan made her way to Vaucouleurs. It was a nearby stronghold of those who were loyal to Charles and supported him. She was rejected by the local magistrate. Joan had attracted a small number of followers who believed she was to save France. They believed that a prophecy of a young Virgin saving France was of Joan. 

They eventually gave her a horse for her journey. Joan cropped her hair and dressed in men clothes. She made an 11-day journey across enemy territory to Chinon. It was where the crown prince's palace was and she was determined to help. 

Joan asked for an audience and announced she was to save France. Charles was unsure of what to think of her. She correctly identified him in disguise and spoke the future King Charles VII and won him over. She supposedly revealed to him only things God could have known and he believed her claims. No one knows what she revealed to him.

Joan promised him she would see him crowned king at Reims, and asked him for an army to lead to Orléans. Orléans was at the time under siege from England. Charles went against the advice given by his counselors and generals and granted Joan her army. 

In March of 1429, she set off to Orléans dressed in white armor and riding a white horse. Joan led several French assaults against them. This had caused the Anglo-Burgundians from the bastion and forced them to retreat across the Loire River. 

Charles did accept Joan's mission but didn't fully trust her judgment and advice. After her victory, she kept trying to hurry him to Reims to be crowned. He and his advisors were more cautious. However, Joan's reputation had spread far and wide among French forces. She and her followers escorted Charles across enemy territory into Reims. He was crowned Charles VII on July 18, 1429. Joan was by his side and occupying a visible place at the ceremonies. 

Joan tried to convince Charles that the French should press their advantage. That they should attempt to retake Paris. Charles wavered even though many warned him Joan was getting too powerful. 

In the spring of 1430, Joan was ordered to confront a Burgundian assault on Compiegne. In her effort to protect the town she was thrown from her horse. She was left outside the gates as they closed and was taken captive by the Burgundians. 

They took her to the castle of Bouvreuil, which was occupied by the English commander at Rouen. The Duke of Burgandy was ecstatic to have captured the girl of legend. In 1431 Joan went to trial under 70 charges that included witchcraft, dressing as a man and hearsay. 

The Burgundians were looking to get rid of Joan and discredit Charles. Charles, who owed her for getting him crowned, began to distance himself. He made no attempt to negotiate for Joan's freedom. She had even attempted to protect Charles by refusing to answer questions about him. 

Joan had spent a year in captivity by May 1431. She relentlessly signed a confession denying she never got messages from saints.  She defied the document days later by sporting men's clothes. This allowed them to announce her death sentence. 

On the morning on May 30th Joan was taken to the old marketplace of Rouen to be executed. There were estimated to have been around 10,000 people. Joan did not want to be burned to death. she would have preferred to have been beheaded. She was terrified and one guard noticed and gave her a small wooden cross. When she was tied to the stake and burned someone held up a cross for her to gaze at as she died. 

In the end, she claimed that the voices were real. That they were divine and had allowed her to save France and crown Charles as king. As Joan burned she called out to her three favorite saints and before she lost consciousness she screamed for Jesus. 

The 100-Year War lasted for 22 more years. Charles VII kept his crown and in 1456 he had Joan of Arc declared innocent of all charges and a martyr On May 16, 1920, she was canonized as the Patron Saint of France. 

SOURCES:
History
Britannica
Biography
National Geographic
Spark Notes