L'horrible secret de Saint Guignefort by Roger Bevand (review)

The opening pages and others of this tale recall scenes in the novels of Georges Bernanos, where faith, evil, superstition, and despair are dominant themes. The name of the protagonist, Bernardin, seems to suggest a link as well. The newly ordained priest is searching his way to his first parish, a remote and poor village in the Lyonnais. His superiors believe his peasant origins will facilitate a relationship with the villagers of Sandrans. It is, however, 1250 and not the 1920s of Sous le soleil de Satan. Bevand's novel is based on an actual event related in a Latin report by the inquisitor Étienne de Bourbon who investigated the devotion to the purported Saint Guignefort in Sandrans. Bernardin learns shortly after arrival that the saint's remains, buried under a pile of stones in the neighboring forest, have miraculous power: namely, curing ill and infirm infants. The villagers want to build a chapel over the stones, and the idealistic priest and the archbishop of Lyon concur, the latter envisioning a lucrative pilgrimage site. But first, the bones would have to be disinterred, authenticated, and enshrined in a proper reliquary. To reveal the first secret of what is found would spoil the story. Suffice it to say, Bernardin finds the cult a threat to salvation. Étienne de Bourbon is dispatched to Sandrans to extinguish the heresy, through preaching, confession and penitence, states the narrator, and not the torture and executions of the later Inquisition, although this is contradicted in the tale. The inquisitor's fire and brimstone sermons on eternal suffering have no effect on bringing the parishioners to the confessional, so he threatens the town with excommunication. Finally, after several weeks, a penitent arrives. She reveals the voodoo-like rituals that take place when a child is brought to the forest, which she states is inhabited by fauns and other evil spirits that need to be placated to bring about a cure. This naturally calls for a sorceress, who terms herself a healer. De Bourbon sees the devil in all this and believes he found a way to permanently eradicate the practice. Again, it would be unfair to divulge the penance inflicted on the town. Years later, the guérisseuse requests last rites from Bernardin. She relates that there were many fewer miracles than believed and exposes the second horrible secret of Saint Guignefort. Bevand captures the tone of medieval tales which makes for fast, informative, and entertaining reading. His use of humor, irony, and puns enliven the text: the names of obscure saints, the description of Sandrans, a "contrée où la main du Bon Dieu n'a pratiquement jamais mis les pieds" (31), etc. The author highlights social structure: seigneur, clergé, and paysans, and especially the exploitation of the latter. He touches on popular beliefs quite removed from accepted Christianity, on miracles, monasticism, the Inquisition, and even priestly celibacy.