Marguerite of Navarre Breaks Silence about Sixteenth-Century Clergy Sexual Violence

Marguerite of Navarre (1492-1549), queen of the country of Navarre and sister to the king of France, wrote a literary anthology, the Heptameron, which contains numerous stories about priests who abused their office to sexually violate or harass women. In the Heptameron, Marguerite warns laypeople to be cautious in their dealings with priests, and she encourages noble people to use their influence to protect victims.