Nicholas Remy - Definition and Overview

Nicholas Remy (aka Rémy and Remigius) (1534 - 1600) was a French Catholic priest. In 1570 he was named to serve the Inquisition's tribunals in Alsace, France. His book Demonolatria Libri Tres (Demonolatry, Book III), published in Lyon in 1595, contributed to give him fame as a cruel and fanatic witch hunter, comparable to Jean Bodin and De Lancre.

According to Remy, the Devil could appear before people in the shape of a black man or animal, and liked Black Masses. Demons could also have sexual relationships with women and, in case they did not agree, rape them.

Remy was responsible for the death of more than nine hundred persons in witch trials between 1581 and 1591, and this was his highest pride, as he told it.