The Trial of Jeanne Catherine: Infanticide in Early Modern Geneva

by Sara Beam

Overview

In 1686 in Geneva, a single mother named Jeanne Catherine Thomasset is charged with poisoning two young children: her own illegitimate daughter and the son of a rural wet nurse. So begins a harrowing criminal trial during which authorities interrogate Jeanne Catherine several times, sometimes with torture, to determine the truth.

The Trial of Jeanne Catherine is a suspenseful historical mystery that offers students the opportunity to learn about motherhood, child rearing, gender, religion, local politics, and the practice of criminal justice in early modern Europe. This edition provides the complete trial transcript as well as the deliberations of the Genevan authorities and relevant correspondence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487587697
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	02/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	166
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Sara Beam is a professor of History at the University of Victoria.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

a. City of Geneva
b. Map of the Centre of the City
c. Map of Region around Geneva including the Village of Laconnex
d. Birthing Room with Midwife
e. Sample Manuscript from the Trial

Introduction

1. Historical Background

Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
Protestant Republic of Geneva
Laconnex
Court Officers and Criminal Procedures
Proving a Crime: Torture and Punishment
Good Mothers and Bad Mothers
Prosecuting Poisoning and Infanticide

2. Understanding the Text

The Archival Source
Notes on the Translation

3. List of Important Characters
4. Glossary

5. The Trial 

May 6, 1686: Report of auditeur Humbert
May 6, 1686: Statement of Jeanne Thomasset
May 6, 1686: First Interrogation of Jeanne Thomasset after Arrest
May 7, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council  
May 7, 1686:  Interrogation of Abraham Clerc
May 7, 1686: Interrogation of Pierre Quiby
May 7, 1686: Testimony of Jeanne Vautier
May 7–17, 1686: Witness Testimony Collected at Laconnex
May 7, 1686: Second Interrogation of Jeanne Thomasset 
May 8, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 8, 1686: Report of auditeur Bagueret 
March 4, 1685: Letter Written by Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
April 13, 1685: Letter Written by Samuel Thomasset
May 8, 1686: Third Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
May 10, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 10, 1686: Fourth Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
May 10, 1686: Interrogation of Louise Ducré
May 10, 1686: Interrogation of Jeanne Marie Favre
May 10, 1686: Interrogation of Pierre Favre of Avully
May 10, 1686: Confrontation between Louise Ducré and Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
May 11, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 11, 1686: Fifth Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
May 14, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 15, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 15, 1686: Sixth Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset (with torture)
May 17, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 17, 1686: Seventh Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset (with torture)
May 17, 1686: Deposition of châtelain Sarasin
May 17, 1686: Reports of Physicians and Surgeons
May 17, 1686: Testimony of Daniel de la Flechère 
May 18, 1686: Testimony of Jeanne Vautier
May 19, 1686: Eighth Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset (with torture)
May 22, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 24, 1686: Letter Written by Jean François Thomasset and Other Relatives
May 24, 1686: Letter from the Bailiff of Nyon, Nicolas Steiguer
May 24, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 24, 1686: Report regarding Evidence of Powder Found inside the Corpses of the Two Dead Children
Undated Invoice Submitted by the Two Surgeons
Undated Invoice Submitted by the Two Physicians 
May 24, 1686: Ninth Interrogation of Jeanne Catherine Thomasset 
May 24, 1686: Declaration of Surgeons regarding the Death of Samuel Thomasset
May 25, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 26, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
May 28, 1686: Letter Written by Jean François Thomasset and Other Relatives
May 28, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
June 2, 1686: Letter Written by Romier Laisné, a Relative of Jeanne Catherine 
July 5, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
July 16, 1686: Summary of the Trial against Jeanne Catherine Thomasset 
July 18, 1686: Letter from Romier Laisné
July 19, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
July 23, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
Late July 1686: Letter Written by Jean François Thomasset
July 23–24, 1686: Four Letters Exchanged between the Bailiff of Nyon and the Small Council
July 24, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
July 26, 1686: Final Sentence against Jeanne Catherine Thomasset
July 26, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
July 26, 1686: Report of auditeurs Perdriau and Master of the Keys
July 27, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
July 27, 1686: Report of the Ministers Who Heard Jeanne Catherine’s Final Confession
July 31, 1686: Deliberations of the Small Council
July 31, 1686: Testimony of Pierre Seure

References

What People are Saying About This

Nicholas Terpstra

"Sara Beam skillfully marshals the testimony of family, neighbours, doctors, and magistrates and traces the brisk and unrelenting path from a mother's visit to her execution. With sharp and poignant strokes Beam articulates the social codes that hedged her, the judicial processes that condemned her, and the questions that remain."

William G. Naphy

"This is an example of the best of modern scholarship. It provides English-speaking readers access to a lengthy early modern case of infanticide. For those wanting access to ideas about gender, motherhood, and the voices of peasants, they will find all this and more in this book. Anyone will be enthralled by the story found in this trial."

Allyson M. Poska

"Jeanne Catherine's trial for infanticide vividly reveals the expectations of women and motherhood and the workings of the law in early modern Geneva. Not only are the documents evocative and the people complex, but Beam's clear introduction, careful translation, and useful accompanying materials make the trial ideal for use in the classroom."

Editorial Reviews

"The real value of this book lies in the transcription, as translated by Beam, who is to be commended for bringing it into print. It offers rare insight into the thinking processes of people involved in a criminal trial three and a half centuries ago, as well as glimpses of the lives of real people trying to represent themselves honestly, or to their own advantage, before the law."—John Lepage, The Ormsby Review
"Sara Beam skillfully marshals the testimony of family, neighbours, doctors, and magistrates and traces the brisk and unrelenting path from a mother's visit to her execution. With sharp and poignant strokes Beam articulates the social codes that hedged her, the judicial processes that condemned her, and the questions that remain."—Nicholas Terpstra, University of Toronto
"Jeanne Catherine's trial for infanticide vividly reveals the expectations of women and motherhood and the workings of the law in early modern Geneva. Not only are the documents evocative and the people complex, but Beam's clear introduction, careful translation, and useful accompanying materials make the trial ideal for use in the classroom."—Allyson M. Poska, University of Mary Washington
"This is an example of the best of modern scholarship. It provides English-speaking readers access to a lengthy early modern case of infanticide. For those wanting access to ideas about gender, motherhood, and the voices of peasants, they will find all this and more in this book. Anyone will be enthralled by the story found in this trial."—William G. Naphy, University of Aberdeen

From the Publisher

"The real value of this book lies in the transcription, as translated by Beam, who is to be commended for bringing it into print. It offers rare insight into the thinking processes of people involved in a criminal trial three and a half centuries ago, as well as glimpses of the lives of real people trying to represent themselves honestly, or to their own advantage, before the law."

The Ormsby Review - John Lepage