La peste – maladie ou activité démoniaque ? Les récits des pestes dans les Histoires admirables de Benoît Gonon

In his Histoires admirables (Lyon, 1653), Benoît Gonon, a little-known author of short
exemplary novels, tells many stories about horrific cases of pestilence sweeping and tormenting
people in various parts of the world throughout the ages – from late Antiquity to more
recent plague of the XIVth century which took Europe by storm. Gonon sees those gruesome
stories as an excellent opportunity to teach his readers an important lesson and ask whether
such an event could possibly be, rather than a natural phenomenon, an ultimate punishment
sent by the wrath of God. One of the sins that could demand such a punishment is idolatry,
considered by Gonon himself, to be the most reprehensible of all the sins. It is merely surprising
then, that in his stories, the pestilence is being depicted as a demon – or an idol. In this
paper, I am going to explore the stories about pestilence in Histoires admirables and answer the
questions about the nature of pestilence. Which crimes could lead to people being punished in
such a way? How to appease God’s wrath? Can pestilence manifest itself by demonic activity?