Sister Jeanne des Anges (played by Vanessa Redgrave) is a protagonist in The Devils.
Sister Jeanne des Anges is the neurotic, hunchbacked abbess of the Ursuline convent in Loudun. Sexually obsessed with Father Urbain Grandier, she becomes jealous after learning of his marriage to Madeleine de Brou, attacks Madeleine, and accuses Grandier of witchcraft. Her allegations help trigger the exorcisms and his prosecution. King Louis XIII (played by Graham Armitage) appears in The Devils.
King Louis XIII is influenced by Cardinal Richelieu's plan to centralise power and agrees that many French fortifications should be demolished. However, he forbids the destruction of Loudun because of a promise made to its Governor. Later, he secretly arrives in disguise with an allegedly holy relic, briefly disrupting the exorcisms before revealing that its case is empty. Madeleine de Brou (played by Gemma Jones) appears in The Devils.
Madeleine de Brou secretly marries Father Urbain Grandier and becomes a target of Sister Jeanne des Anges's jealousy. After returning a religious book to Jeanne, Madeleine is attacked and denounced as a fornicator and sacrilegious woman. She is arrested with Grandier, later released, and walks away from the ruins of Loudun after his execution. Father Pierre Barre (played by Michael Gothard) appears in The Devils.
Father Pierre Barre is a professional witch-hunter summoned by Baron de Laubardemont to investigate the accusations against Father Urbain Grandier. He conducts brutal, depraved exorcisms of Sister Jeanne des Anges and the other nuns, helps sustain the public spectacle, and personally starts the fire at Grandier's execution before leaving Loudun to continue witch-hunting elsewhere.
The Devils (1971) character relationship network mapped with AI analysis. Explore the connections, alliances, and conflicts between characters.
Characters
Sister Jeanne des Anges
(played by Vanessa Redgrave) — protagonist
Sister Jeanne des Anges is the neurotic, hunchbacked abbess of the Ursuline convent in Loudun. Sexually obsessed with Father Urbain Grandier, she becomes jealous after learning of his marriage to Made...
King Louis XIII
(played by Graham Armitage) — supporting
King Louis XIII is influenced by Cardinal Richelieu's plan to centralise power and agrees that many French fortifications should be demolished. However, he forbids the destruction of Loudun because of...
Madeleine de Brou
(played by Gemma Jones) — supporting
Madeleine de Brou secretly marries Father Urbain Grandier and becomes a target of Sister Jeanne des Anges's jealousy. After returning a religious book to Jeanne, Madeleine is attacked and denounced as...
Father Pierre Barre
(played by Michael Gothard) — supporting
Father Pierre Barre is a professional witch-hunter summoned by Baron de Laubardemont to investigate the accusations against Father Urbain Grandier. He conducts brutal, depraved exorcisms of Sister Jea...
Canonical Relationships
Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.
King Louis XIII → Father Pierre Barre
(Power Institutional Counterpoint)
Louis, disguised as Duke Henri de Condé, introduces a relic that Barre uses in the exorcism, then reveals that its case is empty while the proceedings...
Father Pierre Barre → Sister Jeanne des Anges
(Professional Interrogator)
Father Pierre Barre is summoned as a professional witch-hunter, and Jeanne claims that the priest has bewitched her during the subsequent exorcisms.
Story Dynamics
Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.
King Louis XIII → Sister Jeanne des Anges
(Narrative Royal Witness)
King Louis arrives in disguise as Duke Henri de Condé and presents an allegedly holy relic during the public exorcism of the nuns, including Jeanne.
Sister Jeanne des Anges → Madeleine de Brou
(Conflict Rival)
After learning of Madeleine's secret marriage to the priest, Jeanne becomes jealous. When Madeleine returns a book, Jeanne attacks her and accuses her...
Story Analysis
A political and religious persecution destroys both a defiant city and the people trapped inside its fabricated witchcraft case.
Plot Progression
Power Over Loudun
Jealousy In The Convent
A City Under Threat
Manufactured Possession
The Empty Relic
Fire And Ruins
Directed by Ken Russell
The Devils (1971) · 7.5/10 · drama, history, horror
