Des Eschelles Manseau
Des Eschelles Manseau, also known as Trois-Eschelles, was a French magician who was executed for witchcraft.
Biography
Trois-Eschelles was from Maine. He appears to have been performing as a magician and claimed to be able to perform magic. He performed before the king, Charles IX of France, at the royal court, where he attracted a lot of attention. He was however exiled from the royal court by the king.He was arrested and charged with sorcery. He was accused of having performed "impossible acts". Gaspard II de Coligny commented that Trois-Eschelles was arrested after having poisoned the bed of two male courtiers. He was sentenced to death of witchcraft. The king pardoned him on condition that he revealed his accomplices. He exposed 150 people for witchcraft by identifying the Devil's mark on their bodies. Only a handful of those people he identified where actually arrested and executed, among them Honoré or Honorat de Quinze-Vingts.
The king brought him back to court, where he was made to entertain the courtiers with stories about witchcraft, the witche's sabbath, sorcery and poison. His tenure at court does not appear to have lasted long, however, and he was reportedly eventually executed by hanging despite the initial clemency of the king.