Jean de Watteville

Jean De Watteville (1618-1702) was a Burgundian noble of Flemish extraction who became a Carthusian monk.

An infamous historical figure, De Watteville upon tiring of his life in the monastery, shot his Prior dead and made an escape. The following day he killed another man in a pub brawl, and so fled onwards again to Spain. In Perpignan he seduced the daughter of his host before killing again, this time during a duel with a gentleman, son of a Spanish grandee, and so was forced to go on the run once more, this time to Turkey, where he converted to Islam and became a Pasha.

De Watteville then defected to the Venetians and handed over to them several Ottoman fortresses in return for a Papal guarantee that he would be pardoned and could return to the priesthood. This done he returned to Burgundy and collected various rich benefices, plotting to overthrow Spanish rule and replace it with that of Louis XIV. His ambition was to become Archbishop of Besançon, but the Pope reminded him about the double murder, breaking of vows, apostasy etc. and he withdrew to another rich abbey.