Chapter 2

Of the Infernal court, and of that which represents it on the earth

I may have brought guilt into my life when I opened the Dictionary Infernal, but we are told by God that to avoid evil, we will at times need to know evil. So I turned in the dictionary to the chapter entitled “The Infernal Court” and learned of the composition of that hierarchy. And so, here it is. [1]

Princes and Grand Dignitaries

Beelzebub, supreme leader [2]

Satan, dethroned prince [2]
Eurinome, Prince of Death [3]
Moloch, Prince of the Land of Tears [4]
Pluton, Prince of Fire
Lilith, Prince of Succubi
Leonard, Grand Master of the Sabbaths [5]
Baalberith, Grand Pontiff
Proserpine, Archdevilesse

This infernal court has its ministers and its ambassadors. It also has its representatives on earth, who in the Court’s name persecute unfortunate humans. The tasks this body carries out are without count, but each has the particular mission of hounding the victim designated to him. Before I go further, then, let the the world at large know these people who torment me so mercilessly, and their names according to their power:

Earthly Representatives:

Moreau, magician and sorcerer in Paris, representative of Beelzebub. 
Pinel Sr.  doctor at the Salpêtrière, representative of Satan.  
Bonnet, employee at Versailles, representative of Eurinome.
Bouge, partner of Nicolas, representative of Pluto. 
Nicolas, doctor in Avignon, representative of Moloch.
Baptiste Prieur of  Moulins, representative of Pan
Elder Prieur, his brother, pharmacist,  representative of Lilith.
Étienne Prieur of Moulins, representative of Leonard.  
Papon Lominy, cousin of the Prior, representative of Baalberith. 
Janneton Lavalette, Mansotte and Vandeval, representing the arch-devil Proserpine, who wanted to put three devils on my tail. 
Chay, of Carpentras, representative of Lucifer, who is the grand justice of the Inland Court.

All the other goblins who I may speak of in this work are the representatives of Alastor, High Executioner [2.4], also a member of the Infernal Court.

[Notes:]

[More details on the “Earthly Representatives” on the Farfadets: Dramatis Personae post.]

[1] A word on dates: The first edition of the Dictionarre Infernal was published in 1818. M.B. says he began writing Les Farfadets in 1818 as well, perhaps inspired by the text, and the final work was published by 1822. So any amount of his text could have been influenced by the Dictionnaire,although it is not listed among his sources. Interestingly, we find an entry for Berbiguier in the 1825 edition of the Dictionnaire, which is sympathetic to him. The 1844 and 1863 editions seem somewhat more cynical. 

[2] Beelzebub as king of demons and Satan as deposed monarch of hell has antecedents. Biblically, Beelzebub is mentioned by name as an important demon. The apocryphal Testament of Nicodemus tells the story of Jesus descending to Hell to liberate the dead; as he does so, Beelzebub and/or Hades throws Satan under the metaphorical bus, and Jesus appoints Beelzebub as regent of hell. Since there is no official name for “The Devil,” Beelzebub occasionally wears that particular hat.

[3] Eurynomos is a rarely-referenced Underworld demon associated with decay.

[4] Moloch is a fiery demon associated with child sacrifice. Unsure of what the “land of tears” references, it could mean Egypt or possibly Israel. But any Internet search for this Moloch reference is tangled up by references derived from the Dictionary Infernal.  Searches for “prince du pays des Larmes” will turn up dozens of references to the charming children’s book “The Little Prince.” 

[5] Leonard is a somewhat obscure demon these days, but in the Elizabethen age he was something like the devil’s right hand and managed the Black Sabbaths, turning up as the black goat if Satan couldn’t make it. He may be connected to Oriens, another demon of some note. 

[6] Alastor is a particularly bloodthirsty demon of punishment and revenge. I’m not quite sure about the connotative meaning of this one, executeur des hautes-ceuvres, “executioner of high works,” but “High Executioner” seems pretty spot on, as this was the person with his hand on the guillotine. Charles-Henri Sanson would have held the post in Paris, the executioner of Louis XVI.