CONVULSIONARIES (Fr. convulsionnaires, from Lat. con rulsio, convulsion, from coffee/ere, to convulse, from cm-, together -I- venire, to pluck). A fanatical sect of Jansenists who sprang up in Franee about 1730. Their meeting place was the churchyard of Saint Medard, in a suburb of Paris, where was the tomb of a cer tain Francis of Paris, who died in 1727, and was reckoned very holy by the Jansenists on account of his extravagant asceticism. At this tomb a multitude of people poured forth fanatical prayers, preachments, and prophesyings. 'Mira cles are also alleged to have been performed, for proof of which we are referred to a work writ ten by Cary; de Montgeron, a member of the Parliament of Paris, and entitled La verite des miracles operes d Pintercession de de Paris et autrcs appellons (Paris, 1737. 3 vols.). After 1731 the fanaticism of the convulsionaries in creased to utter madness. "They threw them sel•es into the most violent contortions of body, rolled about on the ground, imitated birds, beasts, and fishes, and at last, when they bad completely spent themselves, went off in a swoon." In 1733 the King issued an order for
the imprisonment of these fanatics, but it was found impossible to put a complete stop to the mischief. They took to predicting the downfall of the throne and the Church. They were not much heard of in Paris after the middle of the eighteenth century, but were met with later in country places at various times. They brought Jansenism into so much disrepute that Voltaire declared the tomb of Francis to be the grave of Jansenism. Consult P. F. :Mathieu, Histaire des miracles et des Con valsitmnaires de Saint-Medard, preffaee de la vie du (Nacre Paris, dune notice sur Carre de Moutgeron et d'an coup d'a'il stir le Jansenism° (Paris. 1864).