Twice ToldDu Breul, Le théâtre des antiquitez de Paris (1612), livre 2, pp. 452 to 456: the devil of Vauvert and the Carthusians
- Language
- French
- Reading
- transcribed from the page image
- Translation
- ours
- Retrieved
- 15 October 2026
Original
Spelling, punctuation and line-end hyphenation resolved as printed; the long s is written s; a tilde over a vowel (ã, ẽ) is kept as printed. Passages are marked A, B and C; each starts and ends where the sentence does.
A. Page 452
Et ce qui occasionna beaucoup l’execution de ce bon desir ( comme rapporte Pierre Sutor, au liure premier de la vie Cartusiane, traicté 3. chap. 2. Dorland liure 6. chapitre 32. de sa Chronique) fut que par plusieurs annees, auparauãt que le monastere des Chartreux fut basti, vn malin esprit appellé vulgairement, le diable de Vauuert, residoit audit lieu. Lequel par la permission de Dieu, tourmentoit & affligeoit grandement tous ceux qui passoient par ceste voye. Car personne n’y pouuoit passer qu’il ne fut frappé, offencé, ou nauré. Il faisoit aussi de grãds cris, & par ces voix horribles il effroyoit vn chacun. Ce qui fut occasion que la porte de l’Vniuersité ( pour lors dicte la porte de Gibard, comme nous auons dit cy deuant, & à present de sainct Michel ) fut nommee la porte d’enfer, comme aussi la rue qui tend de ladite porte vers nostre Dame des Champs, retient encore le nom d’Enfer. Parquoy le peuple de la ville estoit en grande crainte & soucy d’y apporter remede, iusques à ce qu’vne tres-deuote Religieuse recluse, qui estoit estimee auoir l’esprit de prophetie, manda aux Magistrats de la ville, que s’ils vouloiẽt estre deliurez des infestations & dangers de ce malin esprit, il estoit besoin d’edifier en ce lieu vne maison de Chartreux.
B. Page 454
Laquelle requeste de prime face le Roy ne voulant accorder, donnant à entendre audict Dom Ioceran que iceluy hostel de Vauuert estoit de long temps desert, inhabité & en ruine pour les malings esprits qui y faisoient residence : & qu’il l’auoit au precedant donné à d’autres Religieux qui ny auoient peu demeurer, parquoy conseilloit lesdicts Religieux de se contenir en leur hostel de Gentilly. Ledit Dom Ioceran fist responce au Roy que sa volonté fust faicte, & qu’ils estoient bien contens de l’hostel de Gentilly : Toutefois requeroient sa Majesté, qu’elle ne laissast leur donner ledit lieu de Vauuert pour la peur ou doute des mauuais esprits, l’asseurant que moyennant la grace de Dieu & les prieres de l’ordre, il y ameneroit tels personnages que lesdits esprits n’auroient puissance deuant eux.
C. Pages 455 to 456
Or en ces trois iours ( chose admirable ) iceux Religieux & autres de leur famille & domestiques, & mesmement aucuns en la ville de Paris, ouyrent tonner & brouyr le temps en autre maniere qu’ils n’auoiẽt accoustumé. Et virent aussi en icelle maison comme la terre trembler, & aussi par endroits de la maison s’esleuer des fumees, & comme brouillards noirs & puants qui corrompirent l’air, dont aucuns de leur famille en furent griefuement malades. Car les malins esprits s’esforçoient d’empescher le dessein desdicts Religieux, & leur nuire ou mesfaire. Mais en fin ils n’eurent aucune puissance sur eux, furent contraints de quitter la place & s’esuanoüirent comme fumee par la grace de Dieu, & intercession de Nostre Dame, laquelle ils reclamoient & inuoquoient continuellement de tout leur cœur.
Translation
Ours. Period terms are kept where they carry meaning (“hostel”, a town house).
A. Page 452
What did much to bring this good wish about (as Pierre Sutor reports in the first book of the Carthusian life, treatise 3, chapter 2, and Dorland in book 6, chapter 32 of his Chronicle) was this. For many years before the Carthusian monastery was built, an evil spirit commonly called the devil of Vauvert lived in that place. By God’s permission it tormented and badly harmed everyone who went by that road, for nobody could pass without being struck, hurt or wounded. It also let out great cries, and with those dreadful voices it frightened everyone. For this reason the gate of the University (then called the Gibard gate, as we said above, and now the Saint-Michel gate) was named the gate of Hell, and the street that runs from that gate towards Notre-Dame-des-Champs still keeps the name of Hell. The townspeople were in great fear and anxiety to find a remedy, until a very devout nun living in seclusion, who was thought to have the gift of prophecy, sent word to the city magistrates that if they wanted to be freed from the attacks and dangers of this evil spirit, a house of Carthusians had to be built on the spot.
B. Page 454
At first the king would not grant the request. He told Dom Joceran that the hostel of Vauvert had long been deserted, uninhabited and in ruins because of the evil spirits that lived there, and that he had given it before to other monks who had not been able to stay; so he advised the monks to keep to their house at Gentilly. Dom Joceran answered the king that his will be done, and that they were well content with the house at Gentilly. Yet they asked His Majesty not to refuse them the place of Vauvert out of fear of the evil spirits, assuring him that by God’s grace and the prayers of the order he would bring men there before whom the spirits would have no power.
C. Pages 455 to 456
Now in those three days (a marvel) the monks, the others of their household and servants, and even some in the city of Paris heard thunder and the sky roaring in a way they were not used to. In the house they also saw the earth seem to shake, and in places smoke and what looked like black, stinking fogs rise that fouled the air, so that some of their household fell gravely ill. For the evil spirits were trying to block the monks’ plan and to do them harm. But in the end they had no power over them, were forced to leave the place, and vanished like smoke, by God’s grace and the intercession of Our Lady, whom the monks called on continually with all their heart.
Notes
Jacques Du Breul, a monk of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, printed the Théâtre des antiquitez de Paris in 1612 (Paris, Pierre Chevalier). This is the Getty Research Institute’s copy on archive.org. The OCR misreads several dates, so the transcription and every date quoted were read on the page images: 4 August 1257 (p. 453), 21 November 1257 (p. 455), May 1259 (p. 458).
Du Breul names his authorities in the first sentence: Pierre Sutor’s De vita Cartusiana and Dorland’s Chronicon Cartusiense. We read Dorland (see the Dorland file); we have not read Sutor. The story is told as fact, as the order’s own account of why the king gave them the place, about 355 years after the events.
Du Breul has the king alone decide, after hearing the monks, to give Vauvert (p. 457). Du Breul is Sauval’s and Jaillot’s starting point: Sauval sends the reader to him, and Jaillot calls the story pious credulity.
Reading: some line-end splits are rejoined; “recluse” is printed with a long s and means “recluse”. Uncertain readings: none in A to C. Passage B’s “ny” (“qui ny auoient peu demeurer”) is printed so and means “n’y”.