A French Judge of Witchcraft and Satanism in 16th Century France, the infamous Pierre de Lancre began on of France's largest persecution of persons accused of Witchcraft. In addition to women and men, even priests and nuns fell under his grasp. This no doubt upset The Church, for in some cases, Lancre may have brought charges against those He ''disliked'' or coveted their purported ''wealth'' (of which He was able to wrest legally from any surviving relatives).
Lancre wrote several still well know Treasties on Witchcraft. His advanced theory that ''The Devil only corrupted married women (not single) and The Devil's further perversions with incest within a family, were even controversial for their time. Lancre personally sentenced and saw executed roughly 70 accused of Witchcraft over a 1 year period (leading to a time of general fear and panic in France for a time). Due to his edict (and Office), being sponsored by King Henry IV – few (even The Church) tried to overrule Him. He lived as ''a Prince''.
Finally ousted when Lancre ''decided'' that another 10% of France's ''female'' population (or roughly 3,000) were ''tainted by The Devil'' and needed to be ''brought to God's Justice''. This caused an outcry in which The King finally ''retired'' Lancre. However, He continued His studies and writing on Witchcraft and The Arcane for many more years – even being seen as an expert by Arcane Historians.