Conférence historique à Laon : "Le Miracle de Laon (1566)"

I am taking you to the Aisne departmental archives in Laon on Tuesday 1 December 2026, for a history talk entitled "Le Miracle de Laon (1566)". The meeting time is 6pm.

The subject is the first of the humanist works devoted to Notre-Dame de Liesse, which recounts the miracle of 1566, when Nicole Obry, from Vervins, was exorcised of 26 devils. The source places this booklet at a turning point: the so-called flamboyant booklets (1480-1560), anonymous and around thirty pages long, give way to the booklets of the age of controversy (1560-1660). The 1566 account was written by a professor of Hebrew in Paris, runs to more than 300 pages and records precise historical facts, which sets it apart from the previous generation.

The talk is given by Bruno Maes, senior lecturer (HDR) in early modern history at the University of Lorraine. It is preceded, thirty minutes earlier, by the general meeting of the organising association. Admission is free.

I see it as a fine chance to understand how a miracle story becomes a historical document. The archives are at Parc Foch, rue William-Henry Waddington. For questions, the association can be reached at shhp@histoireaisne.fr.