‎Jean de Nynauld ‎
‎De La Lycanthropie, Transformation, Et Extase Des Sorciers ‎

‎Paris, Jean Millot, 1615. In-12 : 109pp, (1). Full original vellum binding and endpapers with blank pages. Parchment with defects on the cover, few stains at the end of book. Shorter page 103/104 due to handmade paper inperfections. Some worm holes. Bright and complete copy. Two old ink different anotations on the first endpaper. This exceptionally rare 1615 Parisian first edition, published by Jean Millot, represents a foundational cornerstone in early modern demonological literature and the history of psychiatry. Written by the French physician Jean de Nynauld, De la lycanthropie, transformation et extase des sorciers is widely celebrated by historians Evans and Bartholomew as "the most extensive and detailed description of ointments in relation to both witchcraft and lycanthropy." Across four meticulous chapters dedicated entirely to the salves of sorcerers, Nynauld documents the grim contemporary lore surrounding these unguents, including the notorious belief that they utilized the fat of sacrificed children. However, rather than validating these horrors as supernatural reality, Nynauld applies a brilliant, early medical rationalism to the phenomenon. He boldly declares the numerous reports of murderous, cannibalistic shapeshifters and sabbat flights to be powerful hallucinations brought on by diabolical chemistry—specifically, the pharmacological effects of psychoactive herbs. Defying the harsh inquisitorial consensus of his era, he firmly regards those who claim they metamorphose into animals not as literal monsters or heretics, but as sufferers of severe mental disorders and clinical delusion. Consequently, this prized editio princeps stands as a crucial historical milestone, marking the transition from superstitious witch-hunting to a rational understanding of early pharmacology and mental health. Bibliography: "One of the "classic" works on Witchcraft and nevertheless one of the rarest." (Caillet 8124), The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior 333-39; Guaita, Bibliothèque occulte 774; Coumont, Demonology and Witchcraft: An Annotated Bibliography N38.3; Laehr, Die Literatur der Psychiatrie, Neurologie und Psychologie I: 159; Cioranescu 51435; Yve-Plessis, 975; USTC No. 6013581. Keywords : Keywords : Grimoire, Magie, Occultisme, Charmes, Sorcellerie, Diables‎

Reference : GEJ-13

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