category
stringclasses 21
values | filename
stringlengths 3
191
| page
int64 1
4.42k
| text
stringlengths 1
49k
|
|---|---|---|---|
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 674 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.637 Application File
s c rupulously in three paragraphs on procedural law reading in the House of Lords before being revived in
(pars. 21, 44, 52). Capital punishment was confined to 1563, in the context of the Protestant restoration after
cases where harmful magic could be proven beyo n d Elizabeth I’s accession. Although historians have not yet
doubt, whereas nonharmful magic of any sort was left d i s c ove red related English trials until 1566, we can
to the arbitrary judgment of the courts. assume that the act was not enacted without reason. In
The inquisitorial pro c e d u re of the Carolina Code the Channel Islands, the first re c o rded death penalties
a voided the worst shortcomings of Inquisition court s for witchcraft occur exactly at this time, on Jersey in
by granting suspects clearly defined rights and ru l i n g 1562 and on Guernsey in 1563. The English witchcraft
out the arbitrary use of violence. In order to avoid arbi- bill fits neatly into the general picture of rising aware-
trary acts by local courts, every capital sentence had to ness about witchcraft in Eu rope during the 1560s. In
be submitted to a high court or a law faculty. Wi t h i n Scotland, legislation was also introduced in 1563,
the boundaries of the processus ordinarius (ordinary pro- accompanied by a Calvinist Reformation and a sudden
c e d u re), as later jurists called it, tort u re could only be rise in the number of accusations. Claims that the
used in cases of evident guilt, when a suspect alre a d y Scottish Witchcraft Act might indicate skepticism
stood convicted by two independent witnesses, or in (Larner 1981, 66) are ludicrous. Its wording clearly
cases of clear evidence. Torture could not be employed stated that according to divine law, those who used
in order to extract confessions on the basis of mere witchcraft, sorc e ry, or necromancy must re c e i ve the
denunciation or suspicion. death penalty (Normand and Ro b e rts 2000, 89), as
Later witch hunters complained that under these must those who sought help from witches, sorcerers, or
conditions, hardly anyone could be convicted of witch- n e c romancers. After 1563, numerous laws dealt with
craft. Indeed, this may have been one purpose of this superstition, sorc e ry, and witchcraft in general; it will
legislation. Its main author, the Franconian baro n be difficult to provide a compre h e n s i ve list for all
Johann von Schwarzenberg (1463–1528), a humanist European territories.
translator of Cicero and an early follower of Lu t h e r’s Furthermore, after 1563, numerous laws and decrees
Reformation in 1521, becoming one of the first lords to dealt with certain aspects of the witchcraft trials. In
forbid Catholic rites in his territory—had belonged to August 1563, the Council of Luxembourg promulgated
Maximilian I’s entourage in the late 1480s and was pre- an ordinance on August 13, 1563, in order to limit
sumably familiar with discussions about the scandalous ongoing prosecutions in this province of the Sp a n i s h
inquisitor Heinrich Kramer, the author of the Malleus. Netherlands. Laws on witchcraft became more numer-
In contrast to an earlier law code designed by ous in subsequent years, usually attempting to curb
Schwarzenberg before the Reformation, in the Carolina legal abuses in witchcraft trials or to stop actual witch
Code he now eliminated any mention of interf e re n c e hunts. Ma s s i ve witch hunts alerted the government of
by good or evil spirits and any trace of heresy laws. The Luxembourg to promulgate more laws on witchcraft in
C a rolina Code clearly signaled its disapproval of 1570 and 1573, and frequently from April 1591
Inquisition courts, whose activities we re no longer o n w a rd. De c rees of King Philip II for the Sp a n i s h
tolerated by German estates, thus marking a clear Netherlands in 1592, 1595, and 1606 also affected
difference from Charles’s Spanish and Italian territories. Franche-Comté and Luxembourg.
The Carolina Code was accepted even in the most Continuing legislation on aspects of witchcraft trials
remote corners of the Holy Roman Em p i re, for was by no means confined to Catholic gove r n m e n t s .
instance, Switzerland or the Spanish Netherlands. King Frederick II of Denmark (ruled 1559–1588) tried
Like the Holy Roman Em p i re, many other states to limit executions for witchcraft through a 1576
introduced witchcraft into their penal codes during the decree making the ratification of such judgments by the
sixteenth century, either in order to limit the power of high court compulsory, although there are no indica-
ecclesiastical courts or to underline the achievements of tions that this law had any more effect than later
the Protestant Reformation. Even in countries where Danish decrees. Many German territories tried to curb
Roman law was never applied, traces of this deve l o p- the persecutions of supposed witches, even states with
ment can be found. In Tudor England, a new m a s s i ve persecutions such as the arc h b i s h o p - e l e c t o r a t e
Witchcraft Act was promulgated in 1563. It superseded of Trier, which in 1591 and again in 1630 attempted to
an earlier attempt of 1542, which had been re p e a l e d reduce the power of witch-hunting village committees.
after five years (Sharpe 2001, 99–100). Like the penal Nu m e rous decrees, for example, in electoral Mainz in
code of Charles V, the Elizabethan witchcraft statute 1612 or in the prince-bishopric of Würzburg in 1627,
focused on harmful magic, but it also provided exten- limited the extent of confiscations of convicted witches’
s i ve details on minor punishments for cases of magic p ro p e rt y. Other laws, as in the imperial free city of
causing harm less than death, or even causing no harm K a u f b e u ren in 1591 or the prince-bishopric of
at all. The bill had already been introduced in the Bamberg in 1627 and 1628, tried to curb witchcraft
House of Commons in 1559, and it received a second persecutions by punishing gossip. But other territories,
Laws on Witchcraft (Early Modern) 637 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 675 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.638 Application File
like the principality of Sa xe-Coburg in 1629, simply Similar tendencies can also be observed in Catholic
tried to regulate court procedures in order to avoid dis- states. In 1588, the Counter-Reformation territory of
turbances during witchcraft trials. Ba d e n - Baden (then under Ba varian guard i a n s h i p
A third category of legislation on witchcraft tried to because of the minority of its ruler) no longer required
re d e fine the crime in the spirit of St. Augustine. No t proof of maleficiumfor a death penalty, focusing instead
s u r p r i s i n g l y, this development began in the duchy of on apostasy and the Devil’s pact. Interestingly, its gov-
W ü rttemberg, a stronghold of Lutheran ort h o d ox y, ernment took this wording from the 1582 code of the
whose reformer Johann Brenz had been attacked by Calvinist Palatinate (Ku r p f ä l z i s c h e s L a n d re c h t) ,
Johann We yer in 1563 for inconsistencies when dis- although adding several “Catholic” notions (such as the
cussing witchcraft. Like We ye r, Brenz claimed that witches’ flight) in an appendix that contained an exten-
witchcraft was ineffective, but Brenz nevertheless want- s i ve questionnaire. The duchy of Ba varia followed in
ed to see witches burned because of their apostasy.The practice in 1590 and de jure in 1612; electoral Cologne
l e g i s l a t i ve process apparently began after We ye r followed in 1607, and the prince-bishopric of Bamberg
ridiculed Brenz by emphasizing that apostasy was not a in 1610.
crime in secular law. Unsurprisingly, in Württemberg’s The Ba varian statute promulgated by Du k e
n ew law code (L a n d re c h t) of 1567, for the first time Maximilian I in 1612 offered by far the most compre-
harmful magic was no longer re q u i red when defin i n g h e n s i ve example of legislation on witchcraft, cove r i n g
the crime of witchcraft. Within a few years, this radical no fewer than forty printed pages (Behringer 1988,
reinterpretation was adopted by other Lutheran states. 165–191). Ba varian lawyers had argued that because
In 1572, the Lutheran prince-electorate of Sa xo n y’s the government had failed to explain what witchcraft
new penal code (Kursächsische Kriminalordnung) shifted actually meant, it was unpunishable in principle. So
emphasis entirely to the spiritual aspects of witchcraft: this extensive law first explained why witchcraft must
The witch’s compact with the Devil now stood at the be punished (1–7), then it defined witchcraft as
c r i m e’s core. This re d e finition of witchcraft explicitly opposed to sorcery and mere superstition (8–29), and,
denied the importance of harmful magic and implicitly finally, it published sanctions for all forms of witchcraft,
denied the meaning of both ancient and modern impe- s o rc e ry, and superstition (30–40). Although seeming
rial law (Behringer 1988, 79). insane from our modern viewpoint, it clearly represent-
The Sa xon lawyers drew the consequence of a pro- ed a courageous attempt to impose some order on the
longed Protestant debate over the efficacy of harmful chaos of contemporary views about witchcraft.
magic, building on both common sense and the theo- Furthermore, it attempted to protect superstitious peas-
logical tradition of the Canon Ep i s c o p i . Unlike the ants from persecutions by Counter-Re f o r m a t i o n
insulted W ü rttembergers, the Sa xons argued dire c t l y zealots. Whereas demonologists like Peter Binsfeld and
against We ye r, whose arguments they considere d Ma rtín Del Rio suggested that according to
worthless, because he was a doctor of medicine, not of Augustinian theology, wearing amulets indicated an
l a w. The Sa xon code was the more consistent piece of implicit compact with the Devil, the Ba varian law
Lutheran legislation, because it re q u i red no proof of clearly considered such customary superstitions com-
harmful magic for conviction. The then-Lutheran elec- pletely separate from witchcraft. First published in
toral Palatinate followed in 1582 (Ku r p f ä l z i s c h e s 1612, this witchcraft statute was reissued in 1665 and
L a n d re c h t), but it soon returned to Calvinism, thus again as late as 1746—by then an outstanding example
becoming the first Calvinist state with a spiritualize d of Bavarian stubbornness and backwardness.
d e finition of witchcraft in its law code. Ot h e r Like the criminalization of witchcraft, the repeal of
Protestant penal codes showed similar spiritualizing witchcraft laws has yet to be researched on a compara-
tendencies, enabling us to identify an overall tendency. tive level in Europe. With the outstanding exception of
In No rw a y, subject to De n m a rk, the Lutheran clergy the British witchcraft act of 1736 (Bostridge 1997,
got royal approval of a 1584 statute that imposed the 180–203), we lack thorough studies. Clearly, the for-
death penalty for superstition. This punishment was mal British repeal via parliamentary decision was
reduced to exile in Denmark’s subsequent comprehen- unique. The kings of France and Prussia, the tsar of
sive 1617 witchcraft statute (Ankarloo 2002, 69), while Russia, and Empress Maria Theresa of Austria-Hungary
those who made a pact with the Devil we re to be suppressed witchcraft trials without changes in legisla-
burned. This Danish statute was extended to Iceland in tion, just as the Spanish Inquisition and the Du t c h
the 1630s. Similarly, the famous English Witchcraft Act Estates General had done earlier. In this context, we
of 1604 imposed the death penalty not just for the should notice that after the massive witch hunts of the
w i t c h’s pact but also for harmful magic; it included a 1620s, many German princes and prince-bishops had
b roader variety of harm than the 1563 statute. Bu t simply forbidden further witchcraft trials, for example,
clearly there was a shift in emphasis from maleficiumto Carl Caspar von der Leyen, archbishop-elector of Trier
demonolatry throughout the laws of Protestant Europe. in 1659 (Rummel 1991, 246). The first Eu ro p e a n
638 Laws on Witchcraft (Early Modern) |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 676 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.639 Application File
government to start crushing witchcraft accusations as values. Because the European elites had stopped believ-
early as 1572, the electoral Palatinate, despite its ing in witchcraft and had exported their laws to the
disgruntled clergy and its 1582 penal code, never issued colonies, legal prosecution suddenly became impossi-
a death sentence for witchcraft. But because such ble, with the ritual killing of witches classified as mur-
conduct can only be detected by reading arc h i va l d e r. Poison ordeals and oracles we re prohibited, witch
s o u rces instead of published law codes, there may be doctors were prosecuted as legal offenders, while witch-
further discoveries in the future. es were protected. The colonized could not believe this
Only shortly before the French Re volution did a i n version of norms: Why would their foreign ru l e r s
landslide start. In 1766, Maria T h e resa interve n e d protect evil witches?
decisively in Hungary.Witchcraft laws were repealed in Some postcolonial African countries have begun to
Poland in 1776 and in Sweden in 1779. A Sw i s s legalize witch persecution. In 1965, newly independent
“judicial murd e r” of 1782 provoked action in Uganda introduced legislation that replaced the colo-
Germany. In 1787, Emperor Joseph II simply omitted nial witchcraft ordinance with an “Act to Ma k e
all articles about sorc e ry or witchcraft from his new Provision for the Pre vention of Witchcraft and the
criminal code for the Au s t r i a n - Hungarian monarc h y. Punishment of Persons Practising Witchcraft.” This act
French laws against magie et sortilège(magic and witch- laid considerable emphasis on “re p u t e” as valid evi-
craft) remained in place, albeit limited by a 1682 royal dence. This repeal may have encouraged the subsequent
edict. However, France experienced trials well into the witch hunts in northern Uganda, launched in the home
Enlightenment, with the Devil playing an import a n t region of President Milton Obote (ruled 1962–1971,
role (Bostridge 1997, 227–231); only during the 1980–1985) during a time when he had decided to
French Re volution, in 1791, we re these c r i m e s d e s t roy the traditional Bugandan monarchy and
imaginaires(imaginary crimes) abandoned. introduce socialist reforms. Obote’s supporters took his
Some states never formally introduced laws on sor- Five-Year Economic Plan of 1966/1967 as a model for a
cery or witchcraft and therefore never needed to remove “five - year antisorc e ry plan” and began rounding up
them, but most countries only disposed of those laws suspected witches, many of them educated or we a l t h y
during the social and political upheaval around 1800, (Abrahams 1985, 32–45).
when new criminal law codes we re introduced in the In Cameroon and Malawi, diviners testified in court
wake of general reforms, often in such newly cre a t e d against suspected witches. It has become acceptable to
states as the Kingdom of Bavaria (1813). A late repeal decide cases of suspected witchcraft through such
of witchcraft laws meant nothing. Such legislation occult practices as divination, with the accused risking
remained intact longest in the European country with physical punishment and prison sentences. If witches
the fewest known witchcraft executions: Ireland’s 1587 may be officially accused and tried, it is no longer
Witchcraft Act remained in force until 1821. The pub- n e c e s s a ry to kill them clandestinely. During the late
lic debates about its abolition remind us that even in 1970s, under President Ahmadou Ahidjo of
the British Isles, a minority continued to believe in Cameroon, the official tribunal of the eastern province
witchcraft and we re convinced that witches must be (home of the Maka people) regularly sentenced accused
punished. witches, sometimes even without their admission of
Eu ropean legislation on witchcraft was exported dur- guilt. Traditional healers, the n g a n g a , t e s t i fied to the
ing the prolonged period of Eu ropean expansion, not w i t c h e s’ guilt through their mystical knowledge; on
least through such ideologies as Ma rxism, functionalism, that basis, courts issued sentences of up to ten years in
and modernization theory. The Soviet rulers of Ru s s i a prison, the legal maximum under the 1965 penal code.
and China, claiming to dictate their subjects’ belief as The interesting aspect is that this law is similar to the
had previous rulers of these empires, tried to extirpate English Witchcraft Act of 1736 and to colonial law
beliefs in witchcraft, shamanism, and official re l i g i o n codes that we re meant to punish witch doctors.
s i m u l t a n e o u s l y. But more often, disbelief in witchcraft Howe ve r, legal practice turned their meaning upside
was introduced under foreign colonial rule—in the down.
Americas, Australia, and large parts of Africa and Asia.
WOLFGANG BEHRINGER
However, modern European legislation on witchcraft
was not welcomed or universally accepted, and it some- See also:ACCUSATORIALPROCEDURE;AFRICA(SUB-SAHARAN);
times even created major problems. Fo l l ow i n g
BIBLE;CANONEPISCOPI;CAROLINACODE(CONSTITUTIO
Christian tradition, such colonial laws not only forbade
CRIMINALISCAROLINA); COURTS,ECCLESIASTICAL;COURTS,
INQUISITORIAL;COURTS,SECULAR;DECLINEOFTHEWITCH
persecution of evil witches but also criminalized witch
HUNTS;EXODUS22:18 (22:17); HERESY;INQUISITORIAL
doctors. When Dutch legislation was introduced in
PROCEDURE;LAWSONWITCHCRAFT(ANCIENT); LAWSON
Indonesia in 1905 or British legislation in eastern
WITCHCRAFT(MEDIEVAL); LAWYERS;MALEFICIUM;ORDEAL;
Africa in 1922, many natives understood them as laws ORIGINSOFTHEWITCHHUNTS;PAPACYANDPAPALBULLS;
to protect witches; Eu ropean law inve rted traditional ROMANLAW;SWIMMINGTEST;TORTURE;TRIALS;UNIVERSITIES.
Laws on Witchcraft (Early Modern) 639 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 677 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.640 Application File
References and further reading: Laws on Witchcraft (Medieval)
Abrahams, Ray. 1985. “A Modern Witch Hunt.” Cambridge During the centuries conventionally defined as the
Anthropology10: 32–45. Middle Ages, laws concerning witchcraft cannot be
Ankarloo, Bengt. 2002. “Witch-Trials in Northern Europe,
easily separated from those condemning magical
1450–1700.” Pp. 53–96 in The Period of the Witch Trials,vol 4
practices and beliefs or surviving pagan habits. Unlike
of The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe.
the laws of later centuries, medieval laws often aimed to
Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark. London and
condemn not witches but rather those who believed
Philadelphia: Athlone and University of Pennsylvania Press.
their powers were real.
Behringer,Wolfgang. 1988. Mit dem Feuer vom Leben zum Tod:
Hexengesetzgebung in Bayern.Munich: Hugendubel. Laws constitute one of the better sources for
———. 2004. Witches and Witch Hunts: A Global History. studying magic and witchcraft during the Early Middle
Cambridge: Polity. Ages. Nearly all of them fall into one of two categories:
Bostridge, Ian. 1997. Witchcraft and Its Transformations, ca. secular Germanic legal codes and ecclesiastical legisla-
1650–ca. 1750.Oxford: Oxford University Press. tion. To the former belong all the codes produced in
Ewen, Cecil L’Estrange. 1933. Witchcraft and Demonianism: A d i f f e rent Eu ropean regions during the reigns formed
Concise Account Derived from Sworn Depositions and Confessions
with the contribution of Germanic and Latin elements.
Obtained in the Courts of England and Wales.London: Heath
In the latter there are numerous regulations (canons,
Cranton.
synods, decrees, penitentials) decreed by the Churc h
Ferrary, J. 1991. “Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficiis.” Athenaeum
during its first centuries as an official state religion. Not
69: 417–434.
all of them have the same purpose: Some were meant to
Fögen, Marie Theresa. 1997. Die Enteignung der Wahrsager.
Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. impose or forbid a habit; others just instituted penal-
Hansen, Joseph. 1900.Zauberwahn, Inquisition und Hexenprozess ties. Only in the twelfth century, with the Concordantia
im Mittelalter und die Entstehung der grossen Hexenverfolgung. d i s c o rdantium canonum ( C o n c o rd of Di s c o rd a n t
Munich: Oldenbourg. Canons, better known as the De c re t u m) of the monk
Harmening, Dieter. 1979. Superstitio.Berlin: E. Schmidt. Gratian, did there appear a revision that harmonize d
Haustein, Jörg. 1990. Martin Luthers Stellung zum Zauber-und the entire ecclesiastical legislative tradition.
Hexenwesen.Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer.
It is not easy to discern exactly what “witchcraft” was
Jolly, Karen. 2002. “Medieval Magic.” Pp. 1–72 in The Middle
in those early sources because most of them express, in
Ages, vol. 3 of The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in
Latin, notions emerging from Germanic (and
Europe. Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark. London
sometimes Celtic or even Asiatic) culture. The long-term
and Philadelphia: Athlone and University of Pennsylvania
result of interchanges among those many traditions
Press.
Lambrecht, Karen. 1995. Hexenverfolgungen und Zaubereiprozesse ultimately led to the formation of the early modern
in den schlesischen Territorien.Cologne and Vienna: Böhlau. notion of witchcraft, involving the idea of a diabolical
Larner, Christina. 1981. Enemies of God: The Witch-Hunt in pact or at least some intervention by the Devil. Bu t
Scotland. London: Chatto and Windus. early legislation dealt with a complex of traditions con-
Lorenz, Sönke, ed. 1994. Hexen und Hexenverfolgung im deutschen cerning deadly spells, weather magic, residues of pagan
Südwesten.Ostfildern: Cantz. cults, and men and women thought to have cert a i n
Luck, Georg. 1990. Magie und andere Geheimlehren der Antike.
powers over things or people; many of the laws are not
Munich: Kröner.
easy to decipher and relate to cultural contexts that we
Merzbacher, Friedrich. 1971. “Schwarzenberg.” Fränkische
can detect.
Lebensbilder4: 173–185.
The early Christian world inherited two main
Muchembled, Robert. 1993. Le roi et la sorcière.Paris: Desclée.
traditions about witchcraft: one from Scripture, the
Normand, Lawrence, and Gareth Roberts. 2000. Witchcraft in
Early Modern Scotland.Exeter: University of Exeter Press. other from the legislation of the Roman Empire. Both
Paravy, Pierrette. 1993. De la Chrétienté romaine à la Réforme en considered practices of witchcraft to be real rather than
Dauphiné: Evêques, fidèles, et déviants (vers 1340–vers 1530).2 fraudulent. In the Bible, De u t e ronomy (18:10–12)
vols. Rome: Ecole Française de Rome. condemns all forms of magic as abominations: 10:
Peters, Edward. 1985. Torture.Philadelphia: University of “T h e re shall not be found among you any one who
Pennsylvania Press. burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one
Rummel, Walter. 1991. Bauern, Herren, Hexen.Göttingen:
who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a
Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht.
sorcerer,” 11: “or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard,
Sharpe, James. 2001. Witchcraft in Early Modern England.2nd ed.
or a necromancer.” 12: “For whoever does these things
London: Longmans.
is an abomination to the Lord; and because of these
Thomas, Keith. 1971. Religion and the Decline of Magic.London:
abominable practices the Lord your God is driving
Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Thomsen, Marie-Louise. 2001. “Witchcraft in Ancient them out before you” (The Holy Bible: Revised Standard
Mesopotamia.” Pp. 1–95 in Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: Ve r s i o n . London: Nelson, 1966.) Wi z a rds and witches
Biblical and Pagan Societies. Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and d e s e rve death for their practices, as stated explicitly in
Stuart Clark. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Exodus (22:17: “You shall not permit a sorc e ress to
640 Laws on Witchcraft (Medieval) |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 678 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.641 Application File
l i ve”) and re a f firmed in Leviticus (20:27: “A man or a who had done serious maleficiacould lose their freedom
woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to and become slaves; if the maleficium had caused some-
death; they shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall o n e’s death, the perpetrator could re c e i ve the death
be upon them”). The whole episode of Saul’s visit to the penalty.Weather magic with bad consequences, invoca-
witch of Endor (1 Kings 28; now 1 Samuel 28) presup- tions, and worshiping of the Devil were punished with
poses the reality of the evocation of Samuel. severe whippings (up to 200 strokes) and public humil-
Roman imperial legislation tow a rd m a l e fic i a( h a r m f u l iation. The Lombard laws showed fewer worries about
magic) was seve re as well, showing the same level of the real effects of magical acts, merely condemning
belief in the reality of witches’ powers. In the third cen- those who call a woman s t r i g a or m a s c a (clearly both
t u ry C.E., the punishment of burning alive was pre- names for “witch,” though the second was pre v i o u s l y
scribed for people who had provoked someone’s death unknown); we must suppose that the Lombard legisla-
t h rough spells. The first Christian councils, held in late tors wanted to discourage any beliefs of this kind.
a n t i q u i t y, merged the Roman with the biblical traditions The many codes created in the Carolingian era show
and took witchcraft with the same seriousness. Fo r little uniformity. The Council of Lipsia (743) pre-
instance, Canon 6 of the Council of Elvira (306) re f u s e d scribed a fine of only fifteen solidifor those found guilty
the Viaticum to those who had killed a man per malefi- of m a l e fic i u m . Another council, held in Pa d e r b o r n
cium ( t h rough harmful magic), adding that such a crime (785), was more detailed, though being partially self-
could not be perpetrated “without idolatry”: The wor- c o n t r a d i c t o ry. So rc e rers we re condemned to submit
ship of pagan idols was already equated with worship of t h e m s e l ves as servants to the Church, but those who,
the Devil, as became general in following centuries. blinded by the Devil and infected with pagan erro r s ,
Also, Canon 24 of the Council of Ancyra (314) imposed held another person to be a witch who ate human flesh
five ye a r s’ penance for the lesser crime of seeking advice and who therefore burned her, ate her flesh, or gave it to
f rom magicians. But this ruling seems to refer to the sur- others to eat would themselves be punished with death.
v i val of pagan practices and beliefs, especially in ru r a l We should note that these measures we re meant for a
settings. We have many such indications of this: particular region, recently conquered by Charlemagne:
T h roughout the Early Middle Ages, councils held acro s s The Sa xons who lived there we re still pagans and
Eu rope provided evidence that peasants, even those who strongly resisted conversion to Christianity.
we re baptized, still worshiped trees, rocks, and springs Among the laws issued directly by the Fr a n k i s h
once linked to some deity. Many “ru s t i c s” also re q u i re d kings, called c a p i t u l a r i a (capitularies), some con-
help from fig u res whom our sources, following the demned surviving pagan traditions; they mentioned
Romans, called s o rt i l e g i( s o rc e rers), a u g u r i(augurs), a r i- divine sorcerers, witches who raise storms (tempestarii),
o l i (diviners), and i n c a n t a t o re s (spellbinders). But the and, more peculiarly, “women who eat the moon and
attitude of the Church councils tow a rd these beliefs was rip men’s hearts off” (Monumenta Germaniae Historica
generally “d i s e n c h a n t e d”: They we re considere d 1883, I, n. 108, p. 223).
“s u p e r s t i t i o n s” rather than real menaces. In the Churc h’s prolonged fight against surv i v i n g
During the Early Middle Ages, many Ge r m a n i c pagan habits, diminishing ancient cults could some-
kingdoms provided themselves with written codes, times be discouraged as useless superstitions, including
usually collected from their common traditions and beliefs and practices about witchcraft. Me d i e val peni-
more or less influenced by Roman legislation. Some of tentials shed light upon the various ways Christianity
these codes punished practices of magic and witchcraft, sought to overwhelm paganism. In the Irish world, the
but they also contained law that only censured those penitentials of Finnian (written in mid-sixth-century
who believed those practices have real effects or those Ireland) and St. Columba (written slightly later in
who accused someone of being a witch or a wizard. For Eu rope by an Irish author) showed a certain modera-
example, in the Salic law, issued by the Franks, those tion: Fo rty days of fasting we re prescribed for those
found guilty of maleficiahad to pay sixty-two and a half who joined pagan or diabolical rites; those who
golden s o l i d i (coins; all Germanic codes refer to this repeated the same sin would observe penitence for three
measure, issued from the Roman world, though golden Lents; three years’ penance was suggested for those who
coins we re no longer produced and silver coins had persisted in their crime. As usual in such sourc e s ,
replaced them everywhere in Europe); the penalty rose penalties for Christian clerics were harsher: doubled for
to 200 golden s o l i d i for a witch (m a l e fic a) who had deacons, tripled for priests. One year of penitence was
eaten a man. The power of witches was re c o g n i zed as the price for fabricating a love potion, and inducing an
real, and making an unproved accusation of being a abortion by magical means could cost up to six Lents of
witch drew a fine of eighty-seven gold coins. fasting or a penance of half a year with just bread and
The Visigothic Code was harsher because it did not water (plus two years without wine or meat).
always allow We r g i l d ( “man price,” that is, fin a n c i a l In late-seve n t h - c e n t u ry England, the penitential of
damages as the only punishment for crimes): T h o s e Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, threatened three
Laws on Witchcraft (Medieval) 641 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 679 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.642 Application File
ye a r s’ penance to those who sacrificed to demons women, seduced by the illusions of demons, could fol-
( p resumably referring to pagan surv i vals), but in the low Satan and ride at night upon beasts along with the
most serious cases, the penance rose to ten years. If a pagan goddess Diana. Slightly more than a century lat-
woman performed diabolical incantations or e r, another penitential, the De c re t o rum libri XX (T h e
divinations, she was condemned to a penance of one Twenty Books of Decisions) of Bu rc h a rd, bishop of
ye a r. Another English penitential, named for the Worms (about 1015), returned to this subject in its
Venerable Bede but probably belonging to the eighth nineteenth book, often known separately as the
c e n t u ry, prescribed five ye a r s’ penance for clerics and C o r rector et medicus ( C o r re c t o r, or the Ph y s i c i a n ) .
three to five for laymen who performed different forms Bu rc h a rd paid attention to many forms of magic,
of magic, such as fabricating amulets or consulting including magical potions that could produce impo-
diviners. The early-ninth-century French penitential tence or abortion, ceremonies for inducing fertility, and
called “of Ha l i t g a r” contained interesting details love charms. But he also rejected the reality of the noc-
because many of its prescriptions invo l ved surv i v i n g turnal ride through the air, along with the control of
pagan traditions: A wizard found guilty of taking away t h u n d e r, rain, and sunshine, the transformation of a
the mind of a man by invoking demons was con- man into an animal, and the intercourse of incubi and
demned to a penance of five years; a conjurer of storms s u c c u b i with human beings (unlike what Scholastics
re c e i ved an even harsher penance of seven years, thre e commonly held in later centuries). The beliefs
of them on bread and water, or exactly the same as for denounced by Regino and Burchard nevertheless soon
those who caused the death of someone perf o r m i n g found acceptance in other legislative sources, such as
magic arts. The early-ninth-century Spanish penitential the English penitential of Ba rt h o l o m ew Iscanus, fro m
of Silos was more seve re: Those who made images of the second half of the twelfth century. The author
demons or consulted them we re condemned to eight seemed to acknowledge the reality of some magical
years’ penance, and a woman who burned grain where a p owers; for instance, those who took away another’s
man had died, seeking relief for the health of the living, supply of milk or honey or of other things by any
had to do penance for one year. incantation we re condemned to a penance of thre e
Po s t - C a rolingian society produced few written law years; conjurors of storms or those who, by invo k i n g
codes. Sometimes we can discover crimes and demons, led someone to insanity had to do five ye a r s’
punishments indirectly: For example, in tenth-century penance. But people who believed in the nocturnal
Anglo-Saxon England, under King Edgar, a woman and rides or in the transformation of men and women into
her son we re condemned to death by drowning for w o l ves got, re s p e c t i ve l y, one year and ten days of
having employed magical figurines, or d e fix i o n e s . Po p e penance.
Gre g o ry VII wrote to King Ha rold of De n m a rk in Many of the confused norms that had accumulated
1080, forbidding him to put to death those who were during the Early Middle Ages we re re c o n s i d e red and
b e l i e ved to have caused storms, damaged harvests, or reordered in the twelfth century by the monk Gratian.
s p read pestilence. In this era, our most import a n t His Decretumincluded a section devoted to acts of sor-
l e g i s l a t i ve corpus came from three Hungarian kings: c e ry (De sort i l e g i i s), kept separate from the section
Stephen I (997–1038), Ladislas I (1077–1095), and about here s y, where the belief in nocturnal rides with
Coloman (1095–1116). Their laws separate magical Diana was included. Meanwhile, about the same time,
practices punishable by civil legislation (such as those the rise of the papal Inquisition began a new era for leg-
related to poisoning or m a l e fic i a) from those that islation about witchcraft. Though in 1258 Po p e
included invoking demons or divination, which we re Alexander IV stated that the inquisitors should limit
left to ecclesiastical judgment. It is also important to their intervention to cases involving a clear supposition
recall that King Coloman, deeply engaged in the fight of heretical belief, it was often hard to separate here s y
against the still very widespread pagan practices among f rom witchcraft. For example, a few years earlier, in
his people, refused to issue laws condemning witches 1233, Pope Gregory IX issued the bull Vox in Rama (A
(though it is unclear exactly what he meant by the Voice in Rama), promoting a crusade against the
word) because he thought witches did not exist. St e d i n g e r, peasants of a northern Germanic re g i o n
After the tenth century, our sources start to show a (Steding) who refused to pay taxes to the archbishop of
theme—the “game of Di a n a”—that would become Bremen. The pope excommunicated the Stedinger and
important in forming the image of the modern witch. accused them of both heresy and magical practices,
It appears in a penitential known as De ecclesiasticis among them orgies; worshiping the Devil in the shape
disciplinis (About Ecclesiastical Discipline), ascribed to of beasts (a black cat and a toad) in many ways,
Regino of Prüm and dated to the first decade of the including the osculum infame (kiss of shame, obscene
tenth century. Among the usual prescriptions against kiss); and profaning the holy host.
magical practices, the author inserted a text later known Because inquisitors had to deal increasingly with cases
as Canon Ep i s c o p i , which dismisses the belief that connected with magical beliefs and practices, Po p e
642 Laws on Witchcraft (Medieval) |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 680 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.643 Application File
Alexander IV stated in both 1258 and 1260 that they had witchcraft as distinct from other kinds of magical prac-
to consider those accusations carefully and that only tices. This situation emerged clearly from the trial of a
crimes dealing with divination and sorc e ry — o bv i o u s l y woman called Matteuccia, held in Todi in 1428 with-
c o n s i d e red as involving the Devil—should be pro s e c u t e d . out the intervention of the inquisitor, who lived nearby
C o n s e q u e n t l y, at Toulouse in 1275, where the Cathar in Pe rugia. During her trial, she was accused of many
h e resy had been strong, prosecutions ended with the magical activities but also specifically of being a strega,
condemnation of a woman; she was burned to death for or witch, and of flying to the southern town of
having given birth to a cre a t u re after intercourse with Be n e vento with other women, where they met the
demons and then nourishing it with babies’ flesh, which Devil, had intercourse with him, turned into animals,
she pro c u red during her nocturnal rides. The fourt e e n t h and went around Todi and nearby villages killing chil-
c e n t u ry witnessed further enlargement of inquisitors’ dren in their cradles. Matteuccia was found guilty and
p owers, though not without some opposition: King burned.
Philip IV of France forbade inquisitors to pro s e c u t e In 1451, Pope Nicholas V issued a bull that, revers-
crimes of magic. Under the papacy of John XXII, the ing precedents from the previous century, explicitly
In q u i s i t i o n’s authority over magicians and witchcraft asked inquisitors to invo l ve themselves in cases of
became almost boundless. With his Super illius specula witchcraft, even when the link to heresy was not clear.
( Upon His Wa t c h t ower) in 1326, Pope John XXII The route leading to the witch hunts was now traced
e xcommunicated anyone who made a pact with the out, and it culminated with the Summis desidera n t e s
De v i l . affectibus (Desiring with Supreme Ardor) promulgated
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, many jurists, by Innocent VIII in 1484.
especially in Italy and France, gave opinions about the
MARINA MONTESANO
reality of magical powers. It must be re m e m b e red that
the most famous among them, the Italian Ba rtolo of See also:BERNARDINOOFSIENA;BIBLE;BURCHARDOFWORMS;
Sassoferrato (1313–1357), a professor at the Un i ve r s i t y CANONEPISCOPI;CHARMS;DEFIXIONES;DIANA(ARTEMIS);
of Pe rugia and an adviser to the Holy Roman Em p e ro r ENDOR,WITCHOF;EXODUS22:18 (22:17); GRATIAN;GREGORY
Charles IV, gave a c o n s i l i u m (juridical advice) for the IX,POPE;HERESY;IDOLATRY;INCUBUSANDSUCCUBUS;INNO-
bishop and the inquisitor of Novara during their trial of a CENTVIII,POPE;INQUISITION,MEDIEVAL;ISIDOREOFSEVILLE,
woman who had confessed to having worshiped the
ST.; JEWS,WITCHCRAFT,ANDMAGIC;JOHNXXII,POPE;KISSOF
Devil, profaned the holy cross, and bewitched childre n
SHAME;LAWSONWITCHCRAFT(ANCIENT); SPELLS;SUPERSTI-
TION;TODI,WITCHOF;WEATHERMAGIC.
who consequently died. Ba rtolo suggested she deserve d
References and further reading:
the death penalty for her heretical crimes (unless she we re
Attenborough, Frederick Levi. 1974. The Laws of the Earliest
to repent), as stated by the Roman Lex Cornelia de sicari-
English Kings.3rd ed. NewYork: AMS.
is et ve n e ficiis (Law of Cornelius on Assassins and Cardini, Franco. 1979. Magia, stregoneria, superstizioni nell’
Po i s o n e r s / So rc e rers, 81 B.C.E.), but he doubted that Occidente medievale.Florence: Nuova Italia.
these women could kill with just their looks and touches Conrat, Max von. 1963. Breviarium Alaricianum.Aalen: Scientia.
because of their pact with the De v i l . Drew, Katherine Fischer. 1976. The Lombard Laws.Philadelphia:
In c reasing inquisitorial activity against magic also University of Pennsylvania Press.
pushed many authorities to include laws against magi- Dumville, David. 1997. Councils and Synods of the Gaelic Early
and Central Middle Ages.Cambridge: Cambridge University
cal activities in their codes—though most seemed more
Press.
worried about frauds than about the real damages these
Flint, Valerie I. J. 1991. The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval
practices could do, and none of them specified punish-
Europe.Princeton: Princeton University Press.
ments against witchcraft. One of the earliest came from
Habiger-Tuczay, Christa. 1992. Magie und Magier im Mittelalter.
the city of Florence, with the Constitutiones of its bish-
Munich: Diederichs.
op Antonio degli Orsi in 1310–1311. At that time, the Hansen, Joseph. 1963. Quellen und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte
Inquisition had many problems in Florence and did not des Hexenwahns und der Hexenverfolgungen im Mittelalter.2nd
begin to work effectively until the middle of the centu- ed. Hildesheim: Olms.
ry. The attention paid by the Constitutiones to magical ———. 1964. Zauberwhan, Inquisition und Hexenprozess im
practices probably offered a way to handle the situation Mittelalter, und die Entstehung der grossen Hexenwerfolgung. 2nd
without external interf e rence. A chapter about acts of ed. Aalen: Scientia.
Kieckhefer, Richard. 1976. European Witch Trials: Their
s o rc e ry (De sort i l e g i i s) condemned crimes achieve d
Foundations in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300–1500.
through magic, divination, poisoning intended to hurt
London: Routledge.
or kill (veneficia), and amulets (brevia). Later collections
Lea, Henry Charles. 1986. Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft
of laws (s t a t u t a) issued by different towns contained
in the Middle Ages.3rd ed. NewYork: AMS.
similar prescriptions.
McNeill, John, and Helena M. Thomas-Gamer. 1990. Medieval
In the fifteenth century, legislation about witchcraft Handbooks of Penance.3rd ed. NewYork: Columbia University
became tighter. Civil authorities began to judge acts of Press.
Laws on Witchcraft (Medieval) 643 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 681 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.644 Application File
Montesano, Marina. 1999. Supra acqua et supra ad vento: orthodoxy of lawyers reinforced the old German saying,
“Superstizioni, maleficia e incantamenta nei predicatori frances- “Lawyers are wicked Christians” (Stolleis 2002, 1).
cani osservanti (Italia, sec. XV).Rome: Istituto Storico Italiano Although we cannot gain any kind of accurate figures
per il Medio Evo.
regarding the number of witches who had the benefit of
Monumenta Germaniae historica Leges. Capitularia regum
counsel, there is a sufficiently large re c o rd of legal
Francorum.1883. Hanover.
re p resentation in the seventeenth century to suggest
Peters, Edward. 1978. The Magician, the Witch and the Law.
that the number of cases in which lawyers defended the
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
accused was increasing. The large volume of business
Rivers, Theodore John. 1986. Laws of the Salian and Ripuarian
Franks.NewYork: AMS. that was directed to the appellate courts of France by
Roberton, Agnes Jane. 1974. The Laws of the Kings of England itself accounts for a great part of this increase, because
from Edmund to Henry I.2nd ed. NewYork: AMS. legal representation at appeals was mandatory. Even in
Russel, Jeffrey Burton. 1972. Witchcraft in the Middle Ages.Ithaca, trials in the first instance, howe ve r, lawyers start e d
NY, and London: Cornell University Press. pleading for witches in greater numbers during the
Scott, Samuel Parsons. 1982. The Visigothic Code.2nd ed. s e venteenth century. In Scotland, lawyers began to
Littleton: F. B. Rothman.
defend witches in the Court of Justiciary in the 1620s,
Vogel, Cyrille. 1974. “Pratiques superstitieuses au début du XIe
and they succeeded in securing acquittals in some cases.
siècle d’après le ‘Corrector sive Medicus’ de Burchard, évêque
Most of those acquittals came after 1670, such as that
de Worms (965–1025).”Pp. 751–761 in Etudes de civilisation
of the witch known as Maevia, whom Sir Ge o r g e
médiévale (IX–XII siècles):Mélanges offerts à Édmond-René
Mackenzie successfully defended before the Hi g h
Labande.Poitiers: Centre d’Etudes Supérieurs de Civilisation
Médiévale. Court of Justiciary.To this can be added the acquittals
———. 1978. Les “libri paenitentiales.” Turnhout: Brepols. of Ma r g a ret Clerk in 1674 and Bessie Gibb in 1680,
each of whom had an attorney, in Gi b b’s case, her
Lawyers husband. By the 1660s, the legal re p resentation of
Lawyers, broadly defined as men trained or educated in German witches also seems to have become fairly
the law, played a variety of roles in witchcraft prosecu- common. In Hu n g a ry, counsel for accused witches
tions. Their most visible function was as judges in a p p e a red in the re c o rds as early as the 1650s and
witchcraft trials, especially in the central or upper-level received frequent mention in eighteenth-century cases,
courts of European states. Many of the court officials when the number of trials finally began to decline. In
who assisted in the investigation and prosecution of England, lawyers could be assigned to defendants only
witchcraft also had legal training. Some of the most to advise them on points of law. This happened
prominent authors of witchcraft treatises, including occasionally, such as in 1630, when Chief Justice John
Jean Bodin, Benedict Carpzov, Henri Boguet, Nicolas Finch assigned four barristers to counsel a poor woman
Rémy, and Christian Thomasius, possessed law degrees accused of witchcraft.
and had served in some official judicial capacity. In Legal assistance of this sort benefited witches more
Germany, members of the university faculties of law than those accused of any other crime, precisely because
regularly consulted with officials in local jurisdictions the evidence in witchcraft cases was so vulnerable to
regarding witchcraft prosecutions. challenge by a person skilled in the law. Lawyers in
The most controversial and sensitive role lawye r s witchcraft cases could easily raise doubts regarding the
p l a yed in witchcraft trials was re p resenting those supernatural causes of alleged m a l e ficia (harmful magic),
accused of the crime. Although witches were entitled to demand evidence of the corpus delicti, and impeach the
defense counsel in all continental Eu ropean and c redibility of witnesses who would not have been
Scottish trials, few lawyers took such cases during the allowed to testify in the trial of ordinary crimes. They
peak periods of witch hunting. Not only was legal could also point out the insufficiency of the evidence,
counsel too costly for the typical lower-class witch (only especially when it was hearsay, and the irre l e vancy of
the major Inquisitions provided lawyers gratis for the evidence that was presented to the indictment or
defendants), but lawyers we re reluctant to defend the libel. They could even go so far as to deny the
witches on the grounds that they might thereby encour- existence of witchcraft and call for a ban on the trials, as
age the De v i l’s activities and incur suspicion one Hungarian lawyer did in 1671. No wonder that in
themselves. The Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of the previous century, Martin Luther, in one of his out-
Witches), while admitting the right of the judge to bursts re g a rding the crime of witchcraft, complained
appoint an advocate for the accused, insisted that those that lawyers wanted too much evidence and refused to
appointed be convinced of the justice of their client’s accept clear proofs of witchcraft. It was doubtless a
cause. If a lawyer we re to unduly defend a person similar frustration with the tactics of lawyers that led
accused of heresy or witchcraft, he would become a members of the Spanish Inquisition to complain in
p a t ron of that crime and would come under stro n g 1526 that none of the jurists in Castile believed in
suspicion himself. Concerns re g a rding the re l i g i o u s witchcraft. Nor should it surprise us that the one
644 Lawyers |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 682 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.645 Application File
person acquitted of witchcraft in the central Scottish the history of Germanic law consisted in its
c o u rts between 1605 and 1622 had been we a l t h y dissemination of Roman jurisprudence.
enough to hire no fewer than three lawyers. Tengler was the first layman to deal with the witch-
craft trials in form of a textbook. Gi ven his practical
BRIAN P. LEVACK concerns, in part 3 he discussed the subject “Vo n
kätzerey, warsagen, schwarzer kunst, zauberey, unholden,
See also: BODIN,JEAN;CARPZOV,BENEDICT;MACKENZIE,SIR
GEORGE;MALLEUSMALEFICARUM;RÉMY,NICOLAS;THOMASIUS, etc.” (On here s y, soothsaying, black magic, sorc e ry,
CHRISTIAN;TRIALS. witches, etc.) (Tengler 1511, chap. CIV, p. v). In the
References and further reading: second and later editions, he was much more seve re
Cockburn, J. S. 1972. AHistory of English Assizes, 1558–1714. against these crimes, having been influenced by his son
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. C h r i s t o p h e r, a theologian at the university of
Levack, Brian P. 1999. “The Decline and End of Witchcraft Ingolstadt. W h e reas Tengler saw necromancy as being
Prosecutions.” Pp. 1–93 in Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The
based on forbidden contact with demons, he saw
Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.Edited by Bengt Ankarloo
astrology and similar arts as possibly being regarded as
and Stuart Clark. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
legal as long as they we re practiced as natural sciences
Press.
and without superstition. Re g a rding witchcraft, the
Peters, Edward. 1978. The Magician, the Witch and the Law.
L a ye n s p i e g e l transmitted the teachings of the Ma l l e u s
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Stolleis, Michael. 2002. Reluctance to Glance in the Mirror: The Ma l e fic a rum (The Hammer of Witches), which it
Changing Face of German Jurisprudence after 1933 and post- recommended for further details on this subject.
1945.Chicago: University of Chicago Law School. Tengler offered a Forma Citation wider Unholden, that
is, a schedule for bringing witches to trial, with a list for
Layenspiegel(1509) questioning them: “Why do your cows give more milk
Layenspiegel is a handbook for lay judges, written by than the neighbors’ cows? What did you do in the field
Ulrich Tengler (1447–1511), a clerk serving both the during a thunderstorm? Do you believe in witches?
chancery of the Bavarian duke and the imperial free city Why do you think people are scared of you? Why did
of Nördlingen, who later became high bailiff and even you do this or that during your neighbor’s delive ry ? ”
a count palatine (Reichsgraf). Recognizing the need for and so on. It also showed how to record the witnesses’
a vernacular manual on practical juridical matters, in testimonies, how to search the house of the accused,
1509 Tengler published his Layenspiegel (A Mirror [of h ow to interrogate the alleged sorc e ress, and the like.
Law] for Laymen; Spiegel,“mirror,” was a frequent title Many details of the practice of German criminal courts
for such books), which he dedicated to Holy Roman when dealing with witches we re codified here, for
Emperor Maximilian I. It was an eclectic compilation example, the use of blessed salt, water, and wax; the
of helpful materials, written for his colleagues and practice of fetching the accused into court with her
selected from many sources chosen among German, back to the judge; or the complete removal of all hair.
Roman, and canon laws. The humanist Se b a s t i a n T h rough Te n g l e r’s L a ye n s p i e g e l , both the idea of a
Brant, author of the famous Ship of Fools, contributed pact with the Devil and the inquisitorial pro c e d u re of
an introduction of recommendation. The first edition, canon law we re spread far and wide among juridical
embellished by interesting woodcuts of high quality, practitioners in sixteenth-century Ge r m a n y.
was printed by Johann Rynmann in Augsburg and was Un d o u b t e d l y, this book did much to intensify and
followed by a second edition only a year later. It was b ru t a l i ze the persecution of witches by offering an
reprinted, with alterations, thirteen times before 1560 abridged vernacular version of the MalleusMaleficarum
and was much used both by Catholics and Protestants to everybody who could read but remained an illiteratus
during the sixteenth century (there is, however, no with no Latin.
recent edition nor any modern translation). The first
PETER DINZELBACHER
part of the Layenspiegel comprised civil and police law;
the second dealt with civil legal process; the third was See also:LAWSONWITCHCRAFT(EARLYMODERN); MALLEUS
about criminal law. How firmly Tengler was rooted in MALEFICARUM;ROMANLAW;TRIALS.
the traditional Catholic mentality that saw law as a References and further reading:
religious problem became evident through seve r a l Erler, Adalbert. 1998. “Tengler.” Pp. 145–146 in Handwörterbuch
zur deutschen Rechtsgeschichte. Edited by Adalbert Erler and
additions to the legal text, for example, a poem about
Ekkehard Kaufman. 5, Berlin: E. Schmidt.
the Processus Sathanae contra genus humanum(an inven-
Hansen, Joseph, ed. 1901. Quellen und Untersuchungen zur
tion of fourteenth-century Italian jurists dealing with
Geschichte des Hexenwahns und der Hexenverfolgung im
the sinfulness of mankind, the Devil’s rights, and
Mittelalter.Bonn: C. Georgi, 1901. Reprint, Hildesheim:
redemption, in the form of a canonical trial) or a
Georg Olms, 1963.
religious play about the last judgment (another Kleinschmidt, Erich. 1977. “Das ‘Epitaphium Ulrici Tenngler.’”
fourteenth-century text). The book’s main impact for Daphnis6: 41–64.
Layenspiegel 645 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 683 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.646 Application File
———. 1995. “Tenngler, Ulrich.” Pp. 9: 690–696 in Die deutsche Aschaffenburg, in German, although under a Latin
Literatur des Mittelalters:Verfasserlexikon.2nd ed. Berlin: de title. Howe ve r, as its subtitle demonstrated (a transla-
Gruyter. tion into German, amplified with useful examples and
Stintzing, Johann August Roderich von. 1867. Geschichte der
other things), Laymann had little to do with this pam-
populären Literatur des römisch-kanonischen Rechts in
phlet. Someone (probably Hermann Goehausen, a
Deutschland am Ende des fünfzehnten und im Anfang des
lawyer serving Ferdinand of Bavaria, archbishop-elector
sechszehnten Jahrhunderts.Leipzig: Hirzel.
of Cologne) used Laymann’s authority in moral
Te n g l e r, Ulrich. 1511. Der neü Laye n s p i e g e l .2nd ed.
theology to justify the massive witch hunts in the
Augsburg.
Rhineland by translating, amplifying, and re s h a p i n g
some bits of text from the first edition of Laymann’s
Laymann, Paul (1574–1635)
TheologiaMoralis.It was merely a forgery, not a transla-
Laymann was the Jesuit author of the T h e o l o g i a tion, possibly commissioned by the printer Qu i r i n
Mo ra l i s ( Moral Theology; Munich, 1625), a standard B o t ze r, who published other pamphlets of similarly
textbook on witchcraft and magic that influenced the dubious quality. Presumably the interests of Goehausen
g reat critic of witchcraft trials, Friedrich Spee. Born and some authorities coincided perfectly with Botzer’s.
near In n s b ruck in Ty rol, Laymann joined the Je s u i t The absence of approval by the Jesuit superiors demon-
o rder in 1594 and spent most of his life in Ba va r i a n strated clearly that this publication was unauthorized.
Jesuit colleges. He was a novice in the college of This misuse may have provoked Laymann to reshape
Landsberg on the Lech, a student in Ingolstadt, and a and clarify his ideas on witchcraft trials in his third and
gymnasium teacher in Dillingen, capital of the prince- subsequent editions of hisTheologiaMoralis.After three
bishops of Augsburg. From 1603 to 1609, he taught years of intensive witch hunting in many parts of
philosophy at Ingolstadt, then, from 1609 to 1625, he Germany, witchcraft trials had expanded beyond moral
taught moral theology at the large college in Mu n i c h , theology into a political and partisan issue. By clearly
and he then became professor of canon law at the articulating that he and Tanner approved a lenient atti-
Un i versity of Dillingen, where he stayed from 1625 to tude and opposed Del Rio’s rigidity (Laymann 1630,
1632. Fleeing from Swedish invaders during the T h i rt y 1:524), Laymann repudiated any claim that the 1629
Ye a r s’ Wa r, Laymann died of plague at Constance. pamphlet re p resented his ideas. Ne ve rtheless, the false
The T h e o l o g i a Mo ra l i s was reprinted many times claims to authenticity of Botze r’s Aschaffenburg
well into the eighteenth century. W h e reas its fir s t pamphlet, reprinted in Cologne, confused Laymann’s
edition touched only briefly upon how confessors first Jesuit biographers and provoked a sharp debate
should treat witches, Laymann’s third edition a round 1900 between a Jesuit historian and a liberal
( Ingolstadt, 1630) borrowed widely from Ad a m Catholic about Laymann’s real position, where the
Ta n n e r, as did all subsequent editions. Laymann’s Jesuit’s interpretation was more nearly correct. In 1909,
f o rew o rd to the 1630 edition emphasized that its He n ry Charles Lea (who owned a copy of Botze r’s
section “De iustitia” ( Of Justice) had been enlarged to pamphlet) was careful enough to notice that the same
discuss witchcraft trials. Like his Ba varian fellow Je s u i t text, with few additions, was reprinted in Cologne in
Ta n n e r, Laymann recommended utmost caution, 1629 under Go e h a u s e n’s name; his discussion (Lea
because the Devil could deceive the senses, and ve ry 1939, 2:670–689) remains the most extensive account
many cruelties had occurred. Laymann denied that in English. Howe ve r, a medical historian and early
denunciations had any legal value in witchcraft trials biographer of Johann Weyer (Binz 1901) found that an
and suggested that many innocent people had alre a d y e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u ry bibliographer ascribed the
fallen victim to illegal witch hunts. Clearly distancing pamphlet to Dr. Johannes Jo rdanaeus, a canon and
himself from Ma rtín Del Rio, Laymann copied whole parish priest at Bonn, who re p o rtedly assembled the text
passages verbatim from Ta n n e r. In 1631, Spee, in his a n o n y m o u s l y, commissioned by Arc h b i s h o p - El e c t o r
Cautio Cr i m i n a l i s seu de processibus contra sagas liber Fe rdinand. In any case, the evidence points to the
(A Warning on Criminal Justice, or a Book on Wi t c h authorities of electoral Cologne, and it seems more like-
Trials), used Laymann to double the number of ly that Goehausen was the author.
Catholic authorities he could quote to support his But Sigmund Riezler emphasized that Tanner was
position. Laymann’s works we re present in eve ry clearly the primary precursor of Friedrich Sp e e ,
better monastic library, where it was well known that especially considering Laymann’s defense of the
his arguments about witchcraft we re in fact Ta n n e r’s ; imperial Edict of Restitution (March 6, 1629) during a
usually they we re quoted like twins, “Tanner and bitter feud among Catholic orders. And even without
L a y m a n n . ” confusing Laymann’s ideas with those of the 1629
In 1629, at the climax of witch hunting in Germany, pamphlet, “we do not have to look far elsew h e re in
L a y m a n n’s chapter on witchcraft in his T h e o l o g i a L a y m a n n’s writings to find complete demonological
Mo ra l i s was allegedly published separately at o rt h o d ox y” (Clark 1996, 206). Laymann was indeed
646 Laymann, Paul |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 684 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.647 Application File
c o n ventional about magic and witchcraft. Howe ve r, it Duke of Bu r g u n d y, to whom the entire poem is dedi-
was significant that he supported Tanner’s criticisms of cated, contained the earliest known illustration of witch-
witch hunting in 1630, there by providing another es riding broomsticks. Around the turn of the twe n t i e t h
major Jesuit authority for Spee. c e n t u ry, first the Cologne archivist Joseph Hansen and
then the great Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, in his
WOLFGANG BEHRINGER
classic study The Autumn of the Middle Ag e s ( 1 9 1 9 ) ,
See also:AUGSBURG,PRINCE-BISHOPRICOF;BAVARIA,DUCHYOF; re c o g n i zed Le Fr a n c’s importance in the development of
DELRIO,MARTÍN;DUHR,BERNHARD,SJ;FERDINANDOF ideas of witchcraft (Huizinga 1996, 286–293).
COLOGNE;INGOLSTADT,UNIVERSITYOF;JESUITS(SOCIETYOF
The 823-line discussion of witchcraft (Le Franc 1999,
JESUS); LEA,HENRYCHARLES;RIEZLER,SIGMUND;SPEE,
4:113–146) between the “Ad ve r s a ry” (of women) and
FRIEDRICH;TANNER,ADAM;TYROL,COUNTYOF.
“ Free Will,” the “De f e n d e r” (of women), was part of Le
References and further reading:
Fr a n c’s contribution to the fif t e e n t h - c e n t u ry moral and
Binz, Carl. 1901. “Pater P. Laymann SJ und die Hexenprozesse:
poetic debate known as “the quarrel over the Roman de la
Zur weiteren Aufklärung.” Historische Zeitschrift85: 290–292.
Bireley, Robert. 1973. “The Origins of the ‘Pacis Compositio’ Ro s e ,” a series of literary works dealing with the misogy-
(1629): A Text of Paul Laymann, S.J.” Archivium Historicum nistic treatment of women by the thirt e e n t h - c e n t u ry poet
Societatis Jesu42: 106–127. Jean de Meung, in which Christine de Pizan was one of
Clark, Stuart. 1996. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft the most notable part i c i p a n t s .
in Early Modern Europe.Oxford: Oxford University Press. In Book 4 of LeFr a n c’s poem, as the De f e n d e r
Duhr, Bernhard, SJ. 1899. “Paul Laymann und die describes the achievements of illustrious women of
Hexenprozesse.” Zeitschrift für katholischeTheologie23:
antiquity and later ages in metalwork, painting, and
733–744.
other arts, the Ad ve r s a ry interrupts, insisting that the
———. 1900. Die Stellung der Jesuiten in den deutschen
Defender also consider women’s sorc e ry, flight to the
Hexenprozessen.Cologne: Bachem.
Sabbat, and cannibalism. The Defender abru p t l y
Goehausen, Hermann. 1629. Processus Juridicus contra Sagas et
dismisses the challenge with the argument that men
Veneficos.Cologne.
Laymann, Paul, SJ. 1625. Theologia Moralis, in quinque libros par- invented sorcery and says that the charges made by the
tita.Munich: Nicolaus Henricus (3rd ed.: Ingolstadt, 1630; 4th Ad ve r s a ry are only delusions. Instead of re s p o n d i n g
ed.: Antwerp, 1634). with traditional misogyny, howe ve r, the Ad ve r s a ry
———. 1629. De processu juridico contra sagas et veneficos, das ist: begins to cite recent trial re c o rds and confessions
Ein Rechtlicher Prozess gegen die Unholden und Zauberische concerning the recently formulated idea of “c l a s s i c a l”
Persohnen,... . Jetzt den Gerichtshaltern... zum besten ver- witchcraft: flight to the Sabbat, apostasy (re n o u n c i n g
teutscht, auch mit bewehrten Historien und andern Umbständen
Jesus), idolatry (demon worship), sexual orgies, demon-
vermehrt, und in unterschidliche Titul ordentlich abgetheilet,
ic discipline, and the infliction of various injuries upon
Quirin Botzer.Aschaffenburg, Germany: Quirin Botzer.
humans. Among the latter, the Ad ve r s a ry cites sexual
———. 1630. Theologia Moralis, in quinque libros partita.3rd ed.
impotence and infertility, injurious weather magic, and
Ingolstadt.
sexual intercourse with demons.
Lea, Henry Charles. 1939. Materials Toward a History of
Witchcraft.Edited by Arthur C. Howland. 3 vols. Philadelphia: The Defender responds with what becomes the
Thomas Yoseloff. initial skeptical argument, citing St. Au g u s t i n e ,
Riezler, Sigmund. 1896.Geschichte der Hexenprozesse in Baiern, im Gre g o ry the Great, St. Ambrose, and St. Je ro m e — a s
Lichte der allgemeinen Entwickelung dargestellt.Stuttgart. well as the life of St. Germanus from The Go l d e n
———. 1900. “Paul Laymann und die Hexenprozesse.” Legend—to insist that these were only mental illusions
Historische Zeitschrift84: 244–256. created by the demons, who were in Hell and could not
roam the world seeking the ruin of souls. But the
Le Franc, Martin (1410–1461) Ad ve r s a ry responds with the biblical story of Si m o n
Le Franc was one of the most accomplished Fre n c h - l a n- Magus, re i n f o rced with re f e rences to Apuleius of
guage poets of the fifteenth century, secre t a ry of Du k e Madaura, the legendary Circe, the Roman ethnograph-
Amadeus VIII of Sa voy, provost of the cathedral of er Solinus, the Sybil, the fairy Melusine, St. Augustine,
Lausanne, and later administrator of the monastery at and Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great), to emphasize
Novalese. While attending the Council of Ba s e l that such things may be done with God’s permission.
(1431–1449) in the service of Amadeus VIII (whom the The Defender then launches a long and fie rce attack
council elected pope as Felix V), Le Franc wrote his long on contemporary clerical ignorance, corruption, and
(24,384 lines) poem Le Champion des dames (T h e incompetence that have permitted such erro n e o u s
Defender of Ladies). It included an important discus- beliefs to flourish, citing a number of recent instances of
sion of contemporary ideas of diabolical sorc e ry and misguided laity, including the ve ry recent case of Gi l l e s
witchcraft within the context of a poetic debate on de Rais, to which the Ad ve r s a ry responds with his past
w o m e n’s virtues and vices. A Paris manuscript of Le point: that the case of Gilles de Rais only proved that it
Fr a n c’s poem, copied around 1450 for Philip the Go o d , was easier for the Devil to tempt men than women.
Le Franc, Martin 647 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 685 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.648 Application File
These arguments located Le Franc in the bro a d one hand, and institutional history and prelacy, on the
contemporary movement of ecclesiastical reform of the o t h e r. Lea criticized both the Episcopalian bishop of
clergy and laity and attacks on what they termed Vermont for justifying slavery on the basis of arguments
“s u p e r s t i t i o n” associated with Jean Gerson, who had f rom the Bible and Catholic bishops for their separa-
also participated in the debates over the Roman tion from society and the danger of their powers of
de la Rose. ecclesiastical discipline in civil matters. From 1884
until his death, Lea turned these subjects into material
EDWARD PETERS
for his historical works, A Hi s t o ry of the Inquisition of
See also:APULEIUSOFMADAURA;BASEL,COUNCILOF;CIRCE; the MiddleAgesof 1888 and A History of the Inquisition
EUGENIUSIV. of Sp a i n in four volumes of 1906–1907. Lord Ac t o n ,
References and further reading:
who admired Lea greatly, invited him to write the chap-
Barbey, Léon. 1985. Martin Le Franc, prévôt de Lausanne et avocat
ter “The Eve of the Reformation” for the first volume of
de l’amour et de la femme au XVe siècle.Fribourg, Switzerland:
The Cambridge Modern History.
Editions Universitaires.
Lea wrote several other long and important work s
Huizinga, Johan. 1996. The Autumn of the Middle Ages.1919.
during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, but
Translated by Rodney J. Payton and Ulrich Mammitzsch.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. his last great project was to have been a history of
Le Franc, Martin. 1999. Le champion des dames.Edited by Robert witchcraft, which he died without having completed.
Deschaux. 5 vols. Paris: Champion. 4:113–146. Arthur C. Howland edited his notes, and the work was
Lea, Henry C. 1957. Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft. published as Materials Toward a History ofWitchcraftin
Reprint of 1939 ed. Edited by Arthur C. Howland. 3 vols. t h ree volumes in 1939. Ma t e r i a l s is a tre a s u re trove of
NewYork: Thomas Yoseloff. both original sources and Lea’s reading notes, including
e x t e n s i ve translations into English from many lan-
Lea, Henry Charles (1825–1909) guages. Lea’s range of reading was immense, and he read
Lea was the most erudite American historian of the original sources closely, since he argued that only from
nineteenth century; author of still-valuable studies of these could reliable history be written. His work
the Inquisitions of the Middle Ages and early modern remains invaluable for students and historians of the
Spain, sacerdotal celibacy, and auricular confession and subject.
indulgences; and compiler of an immense, posthu- The first of the three consecutively paged vo l u m e s
mously published collection of sources for the history contains Parts 1 and 2 of Lea’s notes: Part 1 deals with
of witchcraft, Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft. demonology, magic, and sorcery from antiquity to the
Lea was born into a publishing family in Philadelphia sixteenth century, and with learned and popular beliefs,
in 1825, was tutored at home until he joined the firm including the Sabbat. Pa rt 2 treats the assimilation of
in 1843, and was a productive and frequently published s o rc e ry to heresy and provides brief accounts of all
literary critic and scientist until he suffered a break- known trials for witchcraft to the mid-sixteenth centu-
down from overwork in 1847. Lea turned his attention ry. The second volume contains the beginning of Pa rt
to history, first historical memoirs and then chronicles, 3, on the demonological literature, canon law, and sec-
developing a serious interest in medieval Europe, to ular legal pro c e d u res, as well as the literature of the
which his considerable intellectual energies turned as he Roman Inquisition. The third volume contains the rest
spent his days working in and then directing the pub- of Part 3, demonic possession and a survey of witchcraft
lishing house until his retirement in 1880. During his by regions, as well as Part 4, texts illustrating the decline
life, he was politically active in the Union cause in the of the beliefs, final controversies, and survivals of witch-
Civil War and subsequently in both local and national craft beliefs into the nineteenth century. The entire
civic affairs until his death. w o rk offers eloquent testimony to Lea’s astonishing
Lea’s early historical works focused on the history of scholarly energy and to the genius of one of the greatest
l a w, which he considered the most reliable guide to historians who ever investigated this subject.
what he termed the “inner life” of past peoples, and the
EDWARD PETERS
history of the Latin Christian Church. His early works
on legal procedure and sacerdotal celibacy were remark- See also: BURR,GEORGELINCOLN;HISTORIOGRAPHY;INQUISITION,
able for their period, and extraord i n a ry for a scholar MEDIEVAL;INQUISITION,SPANISH.
References and further reading:
working in the United States, using information taken
Bradley, Edward Sculley. 1931. Henry Charles Lea: A Biography.
exclusively from his own growing private library and a
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
network of European libraries and booksellers.
Lea, Henry C. 1957. Materials Toward a History of Witchcraft.
Lea kept a sharp eye on political Roman Catholicism
1939. Edited by Arthur C. Howland. 3 vols. NewYork:
in his own time, both in the United States and in
Thomas Yoseloff.
Eu rope, and he strove in his historical work to distin- O’Brien, John M. 1967. “Henry Charles Lea: The Historian as
guish between dogma and personal devotion, on the Reformer.” American Quarterly19: 104–113.
648 Lea, Henry Charles |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 686 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.649 Application File
Peters, Edward. 1984. “Henry Charles Lea and the ‘Abode of depended on individuals’ constitution, the character
Monsters.’” Pp. 577–608 in The Spanish Inquisition and the of their humors, the geographic circumstances in
Inquisitorial Mind.Edited by Angel Alcalá. NewYork: which they lived, and their mental state.
Columbia University Press.
A similarly mixed attitude characterized his ideas
———. 1995. “Henry Charles Lea (1825–1909).” Pp. 89–99 in
concerning demonic possession. While admitting that
History.Vol. 1 of Medieval Scholarship: Biographical Studies of
this affliction could occur, he preferred purely somatic
the Formation of a Discipline.Edited by Helen Damico and
explanations such as “m e l a n c h o l y, fre n z y, madness,
Joseph Zavadil. NewYork and London: Garland.
epilepsy and horrible diseases that in the case of young
———. 2000. “Henry Charles Lea and the Libraries Within a
Library.” Pp. 33–60 in The Penn LibraryCollections at 250: women and widows clearly result from uterine distur-
From Franklin to the Web.Philadelphia: University of bances, either when their first menstruation begins very
Pennsylvania Library. late, or when they marry at advanced age. Then their
mind is so afflicted by dark and dense vapors that they
Lemnius, Levinus (1505–1568)
seem to be harassed by an evil spirit, as if the devil has
An Erasmian and Galenist physician, Lemnius gave conquered their mind and has driven them to abnormal
preference to natural causes and cures in cases of dis- f a n t a s i e s” (Lemnius 1593, 573). To free patients of
eases that were usually attributed to demonic interfer- these “poisonous vapors, or the devil, or fantasy,” they
ence. Born in Zierikzee, a town in the Dutch province should be bled and treated with herbal medicines. Not
of Zeeland, he matriculated at the Un i versity of demons but unbalanced humors caused illness.
Louvain in 1521, first studying arts and letters. In addi- Demons could, howe ve r, mingle with the humors to
tion to Latin, Lemnius also learned Greek and Hebrew, incite the mind to things wicked. The use of
probably at the Collegium Trilingue, an independent superstitious prayers or strange formulas was quite
institute outside the university. Founded in 1517, it was unacceptable. Concerning witchcraft, Lemnius
instrumental in spreading the humanist study of classi- admitted its existence in principle and eve n
cal letters in northwestern Europe. Lemnius also stud- a c k n owledged that witches should be burned. But he
ied medicine at Louvain, but he received his medical also stressed that the effects of witchcraft should be
doctorate elsewhere, probably from an Italian universi- c u red by the use of the appropriate herbal medicines,
ty. He returned to Zierikzee around 1527, where he whose effectiveness resulted from Go d’s benevo l e n c e
married and began practicing medicine. He stayed and not from some superstitious ritual.
Catholic, while maintaining contact with Protestants. In the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen-
After ending his practice, Lemnius traveled to London turies, Lemnius’s books we re frequently re p r i n t e d .
in 1560 to visit his son Willem, who had turned French, German, and Italian translations of his main
Protestant and therefore moved to England. There, work, Occulta naturae miracula(The Secret Miracles of
Lemnius met the humanist Thomas Newton, who later Na t u re), first printed in 1559, already appeared with
translated one of Lemnius’s books, and probably also variations in the title by the sixteenth century. An
the botanist William Turner, who was in close contact English version was published in 1658. In his Anatomy
with Dutch Protestant exiles. In 1560, Lemnius also of Me l a n c h o l y, Ro b e rt Bu rton frequently quoted
traveled to Italy and Switzerland. He died at Zierikzee. L e m n i u s’s Latin original, which apparently also
As a physician, Lemnius was a convinced Ga l e n i s t i n fluenced views on melancholy, the philosophy of
but also an admirer of Vesalius, whom he had met Horace, and the prophetic power of dying human
p e r s o n a l l y, probably in 1558. His publications showe d beings as they were presented in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
that he knew the works of such contemporary
physicians as the Frenchman Jean Fernel, the Sw i s s HANS DE WAARDT
Conrad Ge s n e r, and the Italian Gi rolamo Fr a c a s t o ro.
See also:ASTROLOGY;ERASMUS,DESIDERIUS;HERBALMEDICINE;
He was also familiar with the work of Gi ro l a m o MEDICINE,MEDICALTHEORY;MELANCHOLY;POSSESSION,
C a rdano, but he never mentioned Paracelsus. In his DEMONIC.
v i ew of astro l o g y, Lemnius was a typical transitional References and further reading:
fig u re. He rejected the idea that one could pre d i c t Burton, Robert. 1621. The Anatomy of Melancholy.Oxford:
f u t u re events by interpreting the position of the plan- Cripps.
ets. Nor did he believe that the time and location of Clark, Stuart. 1997. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft
in Early Modern Europe.Oxford: Clarendon.
medical interventions such as bloodletting should be
Hoorn, Carel Maaijo van. 1978. Levinus Lemnius, 1505–1568:
chosen on the basis of astrological calculations.
Zestiende-eeuws Zeeuws geneesheer.[n.p.]: C. M. van Hoorn.
Ne ve rtheless, he accepted that comets could change
Lemnius, Levinus. 1593. De miraculis occultis naturae.Frankfurt
the physical and mental condition of human beings—
am Main: Wechelus.
but believed that the influence of food and drink, re s t ,
———. 1658. The Secret Miracles of Nature.London: Moseley.
physical exe rcise, sleeping and waking, or the quality Otten, Charlotte F. 1994. “Hamlet and The Secret Miracles of
of the air was far more important. Their effects Nature.”Notes and Queries239: 38–41.
Lemnius, Levinus 649 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 687 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.650 Application File
Levack, Brian (1943–) develop more accurate totals for the number of witch-
Brian P. Levack is a leading historian of the European craft cases, reducing the number of executions to
witch hunt. He studied at Yale under the legendary J. 60,000 (a figure that other historians have subsequently
H. Hexter, earning his PhD in 1970. The work that he reduced further).
did for it later emerged as his first book, The Civil By contrast, the way this book distinguished between
L a w yers in England, 1603–1641 (1973). He has magic and religion was arguably outdated, and the
continued to publish extensively on legal history, with book was sketchy on the crucial question of women and
a particular interest in the Anglo-Scottish union; a witch hunting. But these are minor criticisms of a
book on this appeared in 1987. c o m p re h e n s i ve book that offers a great deal both to
He was appointed to the Un i versity of Texas at beginners in the subject and to experts. At the time of
Austin, where he became John Green Regents Professor the writing of this entry, a third edition is in the press,
of History. He began teaching on the European witch f u rther developing a number of themes, including
hunt in the 1970s, a subject related to his judicial demonic possession and the revival of witch hunting in
interests. The appearance of Christina Larner’s Source- the modern world.
Book of Scottish Witchcraftin 1977 aided his research for Levack has remained in the forefront of the trends in
“The Great Scottish Wi t c h - Hunt of 1661–1662,” a witchcraft scholarship, as his more recent articles and
seminal article of 1980 on the last and greatest of the second edition of The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern
Scotland’s witchcraft panics. Europe demonstrate. He has recognized the importance
Then came The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe of community pre s s u res and has taken a part i c u l a r
(1987), the book that established his reputation as a i n t e rest in the decline of witch hunting—something
leading scholar on the subject. Several syntheses on the that earlier scholars had neglected. As befits a scholar
witch hunts were published in the 1980s, but Levack’s who is a specialist in other fields too, he has always
was arguably the best and was reissued in a re v i s e d taken a broad view of the subject of witchcraft. Some of
edition in 1995. Noted for the clarity and accessibility his recent publications have explored related are a s ,
of its exposition and for the breadth of up-to-date notably judicial torture and demonic possession.
k n owledge that it displayed, it proved invaluable in In 1992, he compiled Articles on Wi t c h c raft, Ma g i c ,
teaching and research. By showing that witch hunting and De m o n o l o gy,a multivolume collection of reprints of
could not be ascribed to a single cause but arose from a a rticles on witchcraft, containing some of the best re c e n t
conjunction of factors, it cleared up much misunder- w o rk as well as a number of gems of older scholarship. A
standing and placed subsequent re s e a rch on a fir m e r second multivolume collection, published in 2001,
footing. Levack paid much attention to the complex made accessible some of the many works on the subject
origins of the witch hunt, analyzing intellectual, legal, f rom the 1990s. Each collection contained well over 100
and religious causes and well as the social context. His a rticles in English. Leva c k’s most recent work is T h e
emphasis on the judicial nature of witch hunting was Wi t c h c raft Sourc e b o o k (2004), a collection of sixty-one
welcome, and his dissection of the composite intellectu- selections of primary sources, raging from antiquity to
al stereotype of the witch has stood the test of time the late seventeenth century and including selections
p a rticularly well. Levack stressed most of all the legal f rom literature and drama, theologians, demonologists,
changes that led to the witch persecutions, especially and skeptics. This work is one of the two major collec-
the transition from accusatorial to inquisitorial tions of primary documents available in English, the
p ro c e d u re and the growing use of tort u re to extract other being Alan Kors and Ed w a rd Pe t e r s’s Wi t c h c raft in
confessions. He set such legal developments against the Eu rope, 400–1700: A Do c u m e n t a ry Hi s t o ry.
b a c k g round of state building and saw a corre l a t i o n
b e t ween state control of the judiciary and the absence JULIAN GOODARE
of witch persecution. Thus, witch hunting was most See also:HISTORIOGRAPHY;WITCHHUNTS.
s e ve re where local courts could act without hindrance References and further reading:
from appellate courts and central governments. Levack Gijswijt-Hofstra, Marijke, Brian P. Levack, and Roy Porter. 1999.
later developed this theme extensively (1996). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Mo re than a synthesis, The Wi t c h - Hunt in Ea rl y Centuries.London: Athlone.
Mo d e rn Eu rope is notew o rthy because many of its Kors, Alan, and Edward Peters. 2001. Witchcraft in Europe,
400–1700: A Documentary History.2nd ed. Philadelphia:
a p p roaches and theses have become the standard
University of Pennsylvania Press.
explanations for scholars. Levack paid close attention to
Levack, Brian P. 1980. “The Great Scottish Witch-Hunt of
g e o g r a p h y, including all of Eu rope in his discussion,
1661–1662.” Journal of British Studies20: 90–108.
whereas previously scholars had let England, Scotland,
———. 1995. The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe.2nd ed.
and western Eu rope drive discussions of witchcraft,
London: Longman.
ignoring, for the most part, Scandinavia and eastern ———, ed. 1992. Articles on Witchcraft, Magic, and Demonology.
Eu rope. This close scrutiny of regions enabled him to 12 vols. Vol. 1, Anthropological Studies of Witchcraft, Magic,
650 Levack, Brian |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 688 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.651 Application File
and Religion. Vol. 2, Witchcraft in the Ancient World and the
Middle Ages. Vol. 3, Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe:
General Studies. Vol. 4, The Literature of Witchcraft. Vol. 5,
Witch-Hunting in Continental Europe: Local and Regional
Studies. Vol. 6, Witchcraft in England. Vol. 7, Witchcraft in
Scotland. Vol. 8, Witchcraft in Colonial America. Vol. 9,
Possession and Exorcism. Vol. 10, Witchcraft, Women, and Society.
Vol. 11, Renaissance Magic. Vol. 12, Witchcraft and Demonology
in Art and Literature.NewYork: Garland.
———. 1995. “Possession, Witchcraft, and the Law in Jacobean
England.” Washington and Lee University Law Review52:
1613–1640.
———. 1996. “State-Building and Witch Hunting in Early
Modern Europe.” Pp. 96–115 in Witchcraft in Early Modern
Europe: Studies in Culture and Belief.Edited by Jonathan Barry,
Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
———, ed. 2001. New Perspectives on Magic, Witchcraft, and
Demonology.6 vols. Vol. 1, Demonology, Religion and Witchcraft.
Vol. 2, Witchcraft in Continental Europe. Vol. 3, Witchcraft in
the British Isles and New England. Vol. 4, Gender and Witchcraft.
Vol. 5, Witchcraft, Healing, and Popular Diseases. Vol. 6,
Witchcraft in the ModernWorld.London: Routledge.
———. 2002a. “The Decline and End of Scottish Witch-
Hunting.” Pp. 166–181 in The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context.
Edited by Julian Goodare. Manchester: Manchester University
Press.
———. 2002b. “Judicial Torture in Scotland During the Age of
Mackenzie.” Pp. 185–198 in Miscellany IV.Edited by Hector
L. MacQueen.Edinburgh: Stair Society.
The female demon Lilith, who stole and killed children. Terracotta
———, ed. 2004. The Witchcraft Sourcebook.London: Routledge.
relief, Mesopotamia, ca. 300 B.C.E. (Art Archive/Christies/Eileen
Tweedy)
Lilith
Lilith was a female demon that pre yed on unsuspect- date, possibly between the eighth and tenth centuries
ing men and infants. Her origins are linked to C.E., the Al p h a b e t named Lilith as Ad a m’s original
Mesopotamian mythology, which made re f e rences to wife and stated that she refused to submit to his
male and female demons called Li l u and Li l i t u , a u t h o r i t y, particularly in terms of sexual union
re s p e c t i ve l y. These we re storm or wind demons, with (disobeying his expectation that she lay beneath
names that are etymologically based on the Su m e r i a n him). Lilith eventually fled, pursued by three angels
w o rd l i l , literally meaning “wind.” Lilith, the ( Se n oy, Sa n s e oy, and Se m a n g e l o f) who, at Go d’s
He b rew form of Li l i t u , occupies an import a n t behest, explained that she must return or have 100 of
position in Jewish folklore and demonology. He b rew her offspring perish each day. Lilith defied the ord e r
S c r i p t u re contains one re f e rence to Lilith, the night and exclaimed that she was made to bring death to
h a g ( Isaiah 34:14), in a passage describing Ya h we h’s i n f a n t s .
day of retribution. In the aftermath of this The story went on to describe the existence of
vengeance, when the land is turned into a wilderness, amulets designed to protect the young from child-
Lilith is re f e r red to as one of the cre a t u res that will stealing demons such as Lilith, which suggests, to some
be tamed. extent, its etiological nature. Protective charms against
In postbiblical literature, Lilith was mentioned in Lilith are evidenced in arc h a e o l o g y, particularly in the
the Ba bylonian Talmud. It was there that her demon- form of incantation bowls, from a Jewish community at
ic characteristics we re developed: She had long hair Nippur, dating from the early centuries C.E. It may be
( Erubin 100b); she had the form of a woman but was assumed that these bowls had a function similar to that
winged (Nidda 24b); she pre yed on men who slept of the amulets mentioned in the Al p h a b e t , a l t h o u g h
alone (Shabbat 151b). The story of Lilith as the wife they usually functioned in a broader context, namely to
of Adam was first evidenced in the Alphabet of Be n keep Lilith or other demons from harming the house-
Si ra ,which was in part a version of earlier accounts of hold in general. From these traditions developed the
Lilith from the Midrashic tradition. Of uncert a i n role of Lilith in the Kabbalah. In the thirteenth-century
Lilith 651 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 689 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.652 Application File
kabbalistic text Treatise on the Left Em a n a t i o n , f o r Normant described the Lille cases in 1623 in a contro-
example, Lilith was born as one half of an androgynous versial book that depicted the outbreak of diabolical
being, the other half of which was Samael (the diabolic activities at the convent as evidence of the Antichrist’s
angel who, on falling from Heaven, assumed the name coming.
Lucifer or Satan). This text also named a second Lilith, Early in 1612, several nuns at the convent started to
the wife of Asmodeus, another demon king; hence, the go into convulsions, to dance on the altar of their
two female spirits were distinguished by the titles Lilith chapel, and to fall into states of torpor. Fo l l owing accu-
the Elder and Lilith the Younger. sations by the possessed nuns, Marie de Sains, a nun
The collection of fourteenth-century writings known who had been re n owned for her piety, confessed she was
as the Zo h a r augmented Lilith’s demonic aspects. In a witch. She in turn accused a young novice, Si m o n e
Zo h a r 3:76b–77a, Lilith and the demon Na a m a h Dourlet, of being her accomplice. Both we re imprisoned
(Charmer), were presented as succubi who appeared to at the o f fic i a l i t é (diocesan prison) of Tournai but soon
men as they experienced wet dreams and collected their retracted their confessions. Nicolas de Mo n t m o re n c y, a
semen for the purpose of producing demonic offspring. p owe rful local noble and a patron of the conve n t ,
He re Lilith’s role as a baby-snatching demon was also requested the o f fic i a l ( p residing judge of the diocesan
reiterated. A combination of both the amulet and the c o u rt) of Tournai to invite Sebastien Michaelis and
Kabbalistic traditions concerning Lilith was best exem- François Domptius, the Dominican exo rcists made
plified in the Bookof Razielwritten in about 1100 C.E., famous by the recent Aix-en-Provence case, to exo rc i s e
which contained several amulets to ward off evil spirits, the possessed women at the convent. In May 1612,
p a rticularly Lilith, who threatened to harm mothers t h ree prominent possessed nuns alleged that Marie de
and their newly born. These recipes we re to be Sains had caused their possessions by means of charms.
inscribed on parchment or on the door and walls of the De Sains was obliged to confess and display De v i l’s
room occupied by the mother and child. Less detailed m a rks on her body. But events now took a different turn
rituals invo l ved a pro t e c t i ve spell for a boy-child in f rom similar cases: Although a self-confessed witch, de
which a circle was drawn on the wall of the birt h i n g Sains began to play the role of the prophetic possessed,
room with the words “Adam and Eve. Out Lilith” while her possessed sisters re c e i ved less public exposure .
inscribed within; this practice continued until the Under exorcism, de Sains delivered revelations about
nineteenth century. the coming of the Antichrist and claimed to have
participated at a Sabbat with Father Louis Gaufridy, the
MARGUERITE JOHNSON
priest executed at Aix-en-Provence in 1611. She had
See also:AMULETANDTALISMAN;ANGELS;BIBLE;DEMONS;JEWS, been vowed to the Devil at birth, and a governess had
WITCHCRAFT,ANDMAGIC;KABBALAH. made her “princess of magicians” (thus the companion
References and further reading: of Gaufridy, “prince of magicians”). Her devil, she said,
Budge, E. A. Wallis. 1930. Amulets and Superstitions.Oxford: had been infuriated by the foundation of the Brigittine
Oxford University Press. house in Lille and had ordered her to enter it to under-
Gager, John G. 1992. Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the
mine it. She claimed that she and Dourlet had caused
Ancient World.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
all the illnesses and other problems at the house, the
Gaster, Moses. 1900. “Two Thousand Years of a Charm against
possession being their crowning achievement. She also
the Child-Stealing Witch.” Folk-Lore11: 129–161.
admitted to making Nicolas de Montmorency and his
Montgomery, James Alan. 1913. Aramaic Incantation Texts from
wife infertile.
Nippur.Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Oesterley,W. O. E., and Theodore H. Robinson. 1966. Hebrew In mid-1613, de Sains made a witchcraft accusation
Religion: Its Origin and Development.London: Society for against Canon Jean Leduc, almoner of the convent and
Promoting Christian Knowledge. é c o l â t re (priest in charge of teaching at a cathedral) of
Patai, Raphael. 1990. The Hebrew Goddess.3rd ed. Detroit: Wayne the chapter of St.-Pierre in Lille. The chapter persuaded
State University Press. the papal nuncio, Guido Bentivoglio, to intercede with
Rome. In early autumn of 1613, Bentivoglio appointed
Lille Nuns the officialof Malines, Father Jacques Boonen, to inves-
In 1612–1614, possession cases at a Brigittine convent tigate the case, over the protests of Montmorency, who
in Lille, in the Spanish Netherlands, generated contro- simply wanted the alleged witches prosecuted. Boonen
versial but largely ineffectual witchcraft accusations. cleared the canon of witchcraft, and Pope Paul V point-
In a case of convent possession that began as an edly gave Leduc a more important benefice. W h i l e
attempted “c o p yc a t” of the notorious Aix-en-Prove n c e Mo n t m o rency pursued avenues of appeal against the
case of 1609–1611, two possessed “n u n - w i t c h e s” decision, Be n t i voglio had Mi c h a e l i s’s account of the
accused their convent almoner of witchcraft. A papal Aix-en-Provence case, Histoire admirable de la possession
nuncio defended the priest in Rome, and the pope et conversion d’une pénitente, séduite par un magicien
rejected the accusations. The French lay author Jean Le (The Admirable Hi s t o ry of the Possession and
652 Lille Nuns |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 690 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.653 Application File
C o n version of a Penitent Woman, Seduced by a Michaelis, Sebastien. 1613. The Admirable Historie of the Possession
Magician, 1614)examined by the faculty of theology of and Conversion of a Penitent woman. Sedvced by a magician that
L o u vain, who put it under interdict. The bishop of made her to become a Witch...Wherevnto is annexed a
Pnevmology, or Discourse of Spirits.Translated byW. B. London:
Tournai ordered all copies surrendered to him. In 1623,
Aspley. Reel 69:663 in Witchcraft in Europe and America
when Jean Le Normant published his account of the
Microfilm(1983). Woodbridge, CT: Research Publications.
Lille case, the Hi s t o i re veritable et memorable de ce qvi
Muchembled, Robert. 2003. Passions de femmes au temps de la
c’est passé sovs l’exorcisme de trois filles possedées és païs de
Reine Margot 1553–1615.Paris: Seuil.
Fl a n d re(True and Memorable Hi s t o ry of What To o k
Place in the Exo rcism of T h ree Possessed Girls in
Flanders), the Sorbonne censured it. Lippe, County of
The nuns were much less fortunate than the canon. A small county (Gra f s c h a f t) of the Holy Ro m a n
Although Be n t i voglio informed Rome that he was Empire, Lippe was an important center of witch hunts.
returning the women to their convent, he was unable to It covered approximately 1,200 square kilometers and
effect this, and subsequently he suspected had about 40,000 inhabitants around 1600, of whom
Montmorency of harboring them. Marie de Sains prob- some 10,000 lived in small towns (Lippe became a
ably died in custody in 1630, after spending many years p rotoindustrial region in the seventeenth and
in the episcopal prison in Tournai and subsequently at a eighteenth centuries). Its capital, Lemgo, preserved a
prison in Vilvorde. The claim that Simone Dourlet was certain autonomy from the count, including the right
burned for witchcraft has been refuted (Lottin 1984, to condemn criminals to death; there were bitter
170–177), but she probably spent the remainder of her conflicts between Lemgo and its lords. Around 1540,
life in prison. They we re, howe ve r, far more fort u n a t e Lippe became Lutheran and then, about 1600, under
than two of their convent sisters in nearby Artois, who Count Simon VI (ruled 1563–1613), Calvinist,
really we re burned as witches immediately afterw a rd s , although Lemgo remained Lutheran. Simon VI carried
in 1615 (Muchembled 2003, 250–265). through important reforms in Lippe, including of its
This episode revealed two deeply contrary tendencies law courts. Simon’s heirs quarreled, and the administra-
in the upper echelons of Catholicism at this time. One tion of his lands was partly divided.
the one hand, a vigorous and at times lethal passion for Ap a rt from Lemgo, we can find 221 persons invo l ve d
the fruits of exo rcism was at work, and, on the other in witchcraft trials between 1550 and 1686, including 41
hand, a humane and skeptical spirit existed. To be sure, in the town of Horn. Half of the 221 we re tried during
jurisdictional differences could from time to time affect the most intensive hunt, which occurred between 1653
who was on which side, but it remains that this division and 1661; only 8 we re accused later, between 1670 and
was representative of the tensions within early modern 1678. In Lemgo, the number of victims was about 250,
reforming Catholicism. Be yond this, the role of with great waves of trials taking place in 1565,
Montmorency and the layman Le Normant show that a 1583–1605,1628–1637, and 1653–1681.
C h u rch-secular distinction, which might assume the Ap a rt from trials of women, the usual victims,
Church to be the more likely to accuse witches, did not Lemgo also saw many trials against both men and
apply here. The caution of the papacy also seems to c h i l d ren. Mo re than fifty children we re arre s t e d
have been characteristic. b e t ween 1654 and 1676; some we re imprisoned for
SARAH FERBER e l e ven years, and some we re even tort u red. Most, but
not all, we re connected with the trial against a
See also: AIX-EN-PROVENCENUNS;ANTICHRIST;BINSFELD,PETER;
sorcerer-teacher, Hermann Beschorn, who had worked
DELRIO,MARTÍN;DEVIL’SMARK;DUVAL,ANDRÉ;EXORCISM;
in Lemgo. Children “seduced” by him were usually re-
LOUDUNNUNS;LOUVIERSNUNS;NETHERLANDS,SOUTHERN;
POSSESSION,DEMONIC;SABBAT. educated by the teacher Henkhausen, but some
References and further reading: c h i l d ren (older than fourteen) we re executed as
Le Normant, Jean. 1623. Histoire veritable et memorable de ce qvi hopeless witches. Some of the Lippe clergy gave
c’est passé sovs l’exorcisme de trois filles possedées és païs de Flandre; infamous advice in this difficult matter. When the
[and] De la vocation des magiciens et magiciennes par le ministre clergy suggested these children be killed secretly while
des demons.2 vols. Paris: Buon. Reel 52:471 in Witchcraft in they were praying, in order to secure their salvation, the
Europe and America Microfilm(1983). Woodbridge, CT:
government did not follow their counsel.
Research Publications.
The trials in Lemgo we re Lippe’s most famous
Lottin, Alain. 1984. Lille: Citadelle de la Contre-Réforme?
because they we re connected with the fight among polit-
(1598–1668).Dunkirk: Westhoek.
ical factions. They we re also expressions of economic
———. 1985. “Sorcellerie, possessions diaboliques et crise
d e p ression and of political upheaval during the T h i rt y
conventuelle.” Pp. 111–132 in L’histoire des faits de la sorcellerie.
Publications de Centre de Recherches d’Histoire Religieuse Ye a r s’ Wa r. Lemgo’s mayo r, Hermann Cothmann,
et d’Histoire des Idées 8. Angers: Presses de l’Université whose mother had been executed as a witch, was a main
d’Angers. fig u re in the persecution. The previous mayo r, He i n r i c h
Lippe, County of 653 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 691 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.654 Application File
Ke rkmann, had also persecuted witches re l e n t l e s s l y. Literature
L e m g o’s He xe n b ü r g e rm e i s t e rhaus (house of the witch Texts provide the bulk of our information about the
m a yor), today a museum, is a witness to Cothmann’s place of witchcraft in larger cultural contexts, particu-
a c t i v i t i e s . larly for the past. Witchcraft has achieved a relatively
The Lippe witchcraft trials are well documented. stable range of definitions in recent decades. But careful
T h e re are compre h e n s i ve depositions of witnesses, i n t e r p retation re q u i res defining the spectrum of
making a microanalysis possible. The surviving pro t o- relations between texts and the themes or topics of
cols of the lower courts allow us in many cases to witchcraft they display. Most importantly, do literary
o b s e rve the “c a re e r” of a witch before her trial, texts present witchcraft reliably? And what do we mean
sometimes for decades. These documents make it by literatureand literary?The terms evade succinct def-
possible to show the behavior of both accused and inition. Equating literature with fiction oversimplifies
accusers. We can discover whether or not the accused many witchcraft texts: As wholes or in part, they resist
women had shown deviant behavior, compared with categories like “factual,” “historical,” “fictive,” or “ficti-
other suspected women who we re not pro s e c u t e d . tious.” Understanding how texts represent witchcraft
These patterns have been described in detail (Wa l z requires considering how they are produced (including
1993). Witch finders played a great part in the defense conventions of genre and rhetoric) and how actual or
against witches, but gypsies we re also consulted. T h e plausibly conjectured audiences “consumed” them.
Lippe population frequently consulted one of the most
famous witch finders around 1650, Wicken Klaus; his Production
magical practices were described in detail at his trial. Witchcraft has been called a species of narrative, a state-
The local criminal pro c e d u re, codified in 1593, ment that opens two possibilities.
p rovided the foundation of the trials. The pro c e d u re The first possibility is that witchcraft always implied
was split into inquisition and accusation. Ad vo c a t e s a narrative: It was a kind of “story” told about physical
were permitted. By about 1600, their counsels already causation or human deviance, so “witchcraft literature”
s h owed arguments similar to those used by Fr i e d r i c h could comprise all texts mentioning maleficium (harm-
Spee von Langenfeld some decades later, but they had ful magic), interaction with demons, and so on. By this
no visible effect. Though Simon VI had forbidden the definition, instructions for performing witchcraft could
water ordeal (swimming test), it was applied in many qualify as a hypothetical narrative in the second person
trials, ve ry often in order to shock the accused person and the future tense: “If you do this, that will happen.”
into making a confession. Before a person was arrested Si m i l a r l y, an indictment for witchcraft would be a
and again before tort u re was employed, offic i a l s hypothetical second- or third-person narrative in the
consulted universities, generally the law faculty of the past tense: “Yo u / She did this.” These examples seem
nearby University of Rinteln. After being sentenced to f o rced, howe ve r, and such an all-inclusive category
death by fire, convicted witches were often “pardoned” would be useless.
to death by sword. In all probability, the slowdown in The second possibility is that only explicit narra-
L i p p e’s witch hunts after 1660 was due more to the t i ves—stories—describing m a l e fic i u m , i n t e r a c t i o n s
dysfunctional contradictions of an out-of-contro l with demons, or the like qualify as witchcraft literature.
epidemic than to any kind of “enlightenment.” This is not strictly true; ve r s i fied instructions about
such activity would strike most readers as literature .
RAINER WALZ Besides, many actual charms and spells had meter and
rhyme. Yet many witchcraft texts were narratives. They
See also:CHILDREN;GERMANY,WESTANDNORTHWEST;SPEE,
told stories about persons not identifiable as the reader
FRIEDRICH;SWIMMINGTEST;UNIVERSITIES;WITCHFINDERS.
and were set in places and times different from the read-
References and further reading:
Ahrendt-Schulte, Ingrid. 1997. Zauberinnen in der Stadt Horn er’s (though the displacement may have been minimal,
(1554–1603). Frankfurt am Main: Campus. if events were presented as “news”).
Koppenborg, In g o. 2003. He xen in De t m o l d :Die lippische Stories have, in Aristotle’s phrase, a beginning, a
Residenzstadt, 1599–1669.Bielefeld: Verlag für Re g i o n a l g e s c h i c h t e . middle, and an end. The chronological sequence
Schormann, Gerhard. 1977. Hexenprozesse in Nordwestdeutschland. re q u i red by a story differentiates witchcraft narrative s
Hildesheim: Lax. f rom witchcraft treatises, which depended on criteria
Walz, Rainer. 1993. Hexenglaube und magische Kommunikation.
other than temporal sequence, such as typologies of
Paderborn: Schöningh.
behavior or appearance. Analytical precision and
Wilbertz, Gisela, and Jürgen Scheffler, eds. 2000.
c l a s s i fic a t o ry arrangement precluded ambiguity and
Biographieforschung und Stadtgeschichte:Lemgo in der Spätphase
i n d e t e r m i n a c y, the basis for many aesthetic effects
der Hexenverfolgung.Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte.
characteristic of narrative, as well as indulgence in
Wilbertz, Gisela, Gerd Schwerhoff, and Jürgen Scheffler, eds.
1994. Hexenverfolgung und Regionalgeschichte: Die Grafschaft emotion for ends other than condemning specific
Lippe im Vergleich.Bielefeld: Verlag für Regionalgeschichte. individuals or groups.
654 Literature |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 692 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.655 Application File
These are not absolute distinctions. In fact, few abundance of direct speech and a paucity of action
witchcraft treatises we re entirely analytical; most pre- make impersonation difficult or impossible. Dialogues,
sented anecdotes about witches as evidence. Yet anec- like treatises, approached witchcraft scientific a l l y. By
dotes never simply illustrated witchcraft analyses: They replacing sequential analysis with debate, dialogue
frequently told something more or something different. added a dimension of lifelikeness, and some early
Na r r a t i ve rhetorically exploited conditioned re s p o n s e s authors, such as Ulrich Molitor, even cast historical per-
(such as the evil witch, the innocent victim), it rescued sons as interlocutors. Most witchcraft dialogues became
or replaced analysis when logic broke down, or threat- treatises in disguise by preordaining the triumph of one
ened to (Stephens 2002, 235–238). But narrative’s rich- viewpoint: The subject required that they either defend
ness can derail analysis. Often in Francesco Ma r i a or oppose its re a l i t y. Gianfrancesco Pico della
Gu a z zo’s C o m p e n d i u m Ma l e fic a ru m (A Su m m a ry of Mirandola’s dialogue Strix, sive de ludificatione daemon-
Witches, 1608), so many various and strange anecdotes um (The Witch, or the Deceptions of Demons, 1523)
were cited to illustrate an argument that they blurred or accomplished this through a strong narrative line (three
even contradicted it. interlocutors successfully convince a fourth that
In summary, witchcraft was not reducible to narra- witchcraft is real) and novel characterization (the pro -
tive, but narrative was essential to writings about witch- witchcraft interlocutors include an inquisitor and a
craft, even at their most unliterary. For the purposes of confessed witch).
this encyclopedia, “witchcraft literature” has been sepa- Understanding how texts we re consumed re q u i re s
rated from theatrical texts about witchcraft. Excluding identifying their implied readers. What knowledge do
theatrical texts from a conventional history of literature texts re q u i re for comprehension: Latin? specialize d
would be indefensible: Tragedies and comedies are no legal, medical, or theological expertise? Pico della
less literary than narrative poems, romances, or novels. Mirandola’sStrixwas written originally in Latin, and its
And theatrical texts about witchcraft were numerous, as cultural references implied an erudite, skeptical human-
the entries on Drama attest. ist re a d e r. It made arcane re f e rences to classical
But differences in consumption between theatrical scholarship and mythology, but presupposed only
texts and other storytelling media are unusually crucial superficial acquaintance with contemporary controver-
for witchcraft. On stage, theatrical texts are intensely sies over witchcraft. A year later (1524), Leandro
appropriate to witchcraft. In Aristotelian terms, theatri- A l b e rti translated St r i x into vernacular Italian for a
cal texts predispose impersonation by their almost bourgeois and peasant audience, paraphrasing difficult
e xc l u s i vely mimetic character. They display little vo c a b u l a ry and explicating most of its arcane re f e r-
d i e g e s i s — d e s c r i p t i ve or explanatory narration—and ences. Along with implied readers, Alberti envisioned
abundant mimesis, or lines intended to be spoken, with implied listeners, unable to read even simple Italian yet
accompanying gestures, by impersonating actors. capable of comparing their folkloric witchcraft ideas
T h e re f o re, when a text presents its characters as with Pico della Mirandola’s “scientific” explanations.
dramatis personae to be physically impersonated by The implied reader of a text exists symbiotically with
actors, even a solitary reader experiences the text an implied author. Even when the empirical author—
d i f f e rently from narrative. Early modern demons also the historical individual who put pen to paper—
engaged in a kind of theatrical impersonation, through remains anonymous, his or her intellectual and attitudi-
possession or apparition, animating bodies perc e p t i b l e nal pro file remains. If the knowledge presumed or
by human senses. explained identifies an implied reader, it also delineates
Film presents comparable characteristics, but ampli- an implied author, as does the rhetorical temperature of
fied and expanded. Constant technological adva n c e s the writing—objective and confident, hysterical and
make cinematic special effects ever more appro p r i a t e ove rw rought, compassionate, judgmental, skeptical,
for presenting the wonders and illusions (praestigia) of ironic, and so on. The implied author necessarily fore-
demons. casts a reader re c e p t i ve or resistant to the reality of
C o n ve r s e l y, narration evokes re a d e r s’ experience of witchcraft.
listening to a single “voice.” Voice and the illusory pres- The implied author attempts to influence the
ence of a narrator are effects of grammar, produced by implied reader’s presumed reaction, in part by accepting
scenic description and indirect re p o rtage of dialogue. or manipulating the conventions of genre. As tre a t i s e ,
He re again, differences are not absolute: A narrating Heinrich Kramer’s Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer
voice can create mental “theater” when the reader visu- of Witches, 1486) presupposed an audience of magis-
alizes the scenes it describes. trates and inquisitors schooled in syllogistic argument
The dialogue, a genre adopted by many writers on and worried about such things as heresy or infant mor-
witchcraft, presents a special case. Dialogue re s e m b l e s tality.The Malleus’s third book, demonstrating how to
theater by minimizing or excluding the utterances of a e n t r a p, prosecute, and execute witches, presumed that
n a r r a t o r, yet it must be consumed like narrative: An its previous demonstrations of witches’ re s p o n s i b i l i t y
Literature 655 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 693 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.656 Application File
had been convincing. The skeptical implied reader of witchcraft indictments and treatises often re s e m b l e d
Pico della Mi r a n d o l a’s Strix was expected to come to modern literary modes of uncanny or fantastic
p r i ze witchcraft for plausibly explaining the re a l i t i e s narration, such as in Franz Kafka’s Me t a m o r p h o s i s( 1 9 1 5 ).
behind classical myth by revealing pagan deities as the If the implied author suggested that witchcraft
demons of Christianity. Thus, he or she should have described an impossible world, his narrative would be
more readily accepted the reality of witchcraft, for Pico recognizable as satire or parody. An example is Laurent
della Mi r a n d o l a’s classical erudition should have sal- B o rd e l o n’s Hi s t o i re des imaginations extra vagantes de
vaged the intellectual respectability of the supernatural monsieur Ou fle: Causees par la lecture des lives qui
order.The scholarly alternative, a euhemeristic “decon- t raitent de la magie, du grimoire, des demoniaques,
s t ru c t i o n” of pagan gods as mythologized kings and sorciers (The History of the Ridiculous Extravagances of
warriors, would have damaged the case for witchcraft. Monsieur Ou fle, Occasioned by His Reading Books
A r i s t o t l e’s Po e t i c s re q u i red probability or ve r i s i m i l i- Treating Magic, the Demonic Arts, De m o n i a c s ,
tude in representation. In modern philosophical terms, Witches, 1710), whose protagonist lost his reason by
literature creates possible worlds. A possible world max- reading demonologies, as Don Qu i xote had a century
imally resembles the actual re a d e r’s experience but is earlier with chivalric romances. Ou fle’s name, an
not identical to it, differing in one or more aspects. The anagram of le fou (madman), re flects his upside-dow n
extent of difference has generic implications for texts worldview.
about witchcraft. In a treatise, an implied reader was Is a precise typology of witchcraft and literature
fully expected to identify the world outside as the one necessary? Would a laundry list of texts with witchcraft
described in the witchcraft text. “How-to” manuals for content be more useful? Literary genres are notoriously
conjuring demons and demonological tracts describing fluid; characteristics of “literariness” itself formerly
how to discover and prosecute witches shared this trait. occasioned endless, fruitless wrangling. Other classifica-
When a text postulated less perfect accord between the tions (such as ones accounting for gender, social class,
implied author’s world and that of the implied reader, or religious creed) might be equally or more valid. But
the latter was expected to modify belief, not take action: to discuss literature in the specialized context of witch-
Rather than become a witch or witch hunter, he or she craft, some concept of “literariness” is necessary.
had to choose sides in the witchcraft controversy. Implied authors, implied readers, possible worlds,
Two conditions make witchcraft texts seem fully and modes of production and consumption va ry
“ l i t e r a ry”: The worlds of text and implied re a d e r considerably in any cultural context. Cu r s e - t a b l e t s ,
coincided quite imperf e c t l y, yet ambiguity, allusion, Ta c i t u s’s description of the maleficent objects found
and indirection prompted the reader to entertain an after Ge r m a n i c u s’s death, and Lu c a n’s episode of
indecisive attitude toward witchcraft, neither accepting Erichtho are all datable to early imperial Rome, but
nor rejecting its reality. they differ literarily as well as magically. Even gre a t e r
Recognizably literary witchcraft texts characteristi- d i vergence is observable among medieval necro m a n t i c
cally encouraged this attitude by exploiting the theme manuals, the fifth book of Caesarius of He i s t e r b a c h’s
of imagination, systematically refusing to present phe- Dialogus Mi ra c u l o ru m ( Dialogue on Miracles, ca.
nomena as either factual or imaginary, real or unre a l . 1225), and Gi ovanni Boccaccio’s story (1352) of
Nathaniel Ha w t h o r n e’s “Young Goodman Brow n” Bruno, Buffalmacco, and Maestro Simone (Decameron
(1835) described a possible world where beloved elders 8.9). Since the consolidation of witchcraft mythology
and ethereally pure new l y wed wives may be witches, around 1500, the range of variation has expanded con-
the Devil may be lurking on every footpath, neighbors stantly: Consider, among writers included in this ency-
may be flying above the ove rcast clouds, and the clopedia, the sixteenth-century works of John Dee, Jean
outward appearances of “Faith”—the newlywed wife or Bodin, Reginald Scot, and Torquato Tasso.The twenti-
the Christian religion—may mask the perfidious e t h - c e n t u ry books by Aleister Crow l e y, Mo n t a g u e
reality of witchcraft. Updated, sensationalized, and Summers, Arthur Mi l l e r, and Aldous Huxley differ
gender-reversed, the same premise animated Ira Levin’s among themselves comparably, and the decades since
Ro s e m a ry’s Ba by (1967), in which husband, neighbors, the 1950s have witnessed a publication explosion in
and physician seemed to be conspiring against the witchcraft texts, including Wiccan how-to manuals,
heroine. b a rely disguised demonologies like Daniel Ryd e r’s
These examples display individualized psyc h o l o g y, Breaking the Circle of Satanic Ritual Abuse, novels such
attention to such aesthetic factors as narrative as Leslie Wi l s o n’s Ma l e fic e , and Um b e rto Ec o’s
c o h e rence and linguistic appropriateness, and other best-selling TheName of the Rose.
commonly agreed upon indices of literariness. Outside of film (one thinks of the “witch” sketch in
Howe ve r, witchcraft narrative necessarily explore d Monty Python and the Holy Grail), burlesque and satiri-
ambiguous appearances, so literary features we re not cal treatments of witchcraft appear to have declined; as
always indispensable. Though crude, anecdotes in in the Romantic period, witchcraft is now a subject for
656 Literature |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 694 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.657 Application File
nostalgic or exploitative treatment. J. K. Row l i n g’s literary (or philosophical or theological) texts can pro-
Harry Potter novels offer the singular case of a fantasy vide valuable perspective on unadorned official docu-
world of “witchcraft” (mostly natural magic), in which ments (Stephens 2002, 1–11, 27–31).
the supernatural allegorized questions of diversity and In Eu ro p e’s Inner De m o n s (1975), Norman Cohn
adolescent development. Anne Rice’s witch and va m- p rovided a model for tracking witchcraft stere o t y p e s
p i re fiction performs a comparable service for a more f rom culture to culture over many centuries, re ve a l i n g
urbane or disenchanted audience. submerged or implicit anxieties. Continued attention
Historical change rearranges typologies and re c o n- to the specific literary means used to express (or repress)
textualizes texts. Capital examples are trial records and such anxieties can further enrich our understanding of
news-mongering pamphlets or broadsheets, such as the why witchcraft accusations were so seductive to writers
Fugger newsletter about Walpurga Hausmännin (1587) in the literate subcultures of early modern Europe.
and the numerous Elizabethan and Ja c o b e a n Any attempted census of witchcraft and (or in)
pamphlets. Pamphlets originally provided news and literature will be partial—both too brief and somewhat
entertainment; scholars now read them for purposes of biased. Recent collections of texts and histories of
cultural anthropology, to recover neglected information witchcraft, listed below, make the task less daunting.
about women, the poor, and the legal system. Since the
1980s, trial re c o rds have inspired micro h i s t o ry, the
WALTER STEPHENS
n a r r a t i ve, sometimes novelistic re c o n s t ruction of
common people’s lives and lived realities. See also:BORDELON,LAUREN;DRAMA,DUTCH;DRAMA,ITALIAN;
L i t e r a ry study is increasingly interd i s c i p l i n a ry, eve r
DRAMA,SPANISH;FILM(CINEMA); FUGGERFAMILY;GINZBURG,
less purely aesthetic, ever more anthropological. In the
CAROL;WALPURGAHAUSMÄNNIN;HISTORIOGRAPHY;MALLEUS
MALEFICARUM;PAMPHLETSANDNEWSPAPERS;PICODELLA
1960s and 1970s, structuralism, poststructuralism, and
MIRANDOLA,GIANFRANCESCO;RENAISSANCEDRAMA,
feminism pre p a red the re volution in attitudes to liter-
ENGLAND;WITCHHUNTS.
a ry canons that triumphed in the 1980s and 1990s:
References and further reading:
Li t e ra t u re and g re a t no longer imply each other in
Collections and Studies of Witchcraft Literature
p rofessional literary study. Even in literature
Anglo, Sydney, ed. 1977. The Damned Art: Essays in the Literature
d e p a rtments, university courses increasingly scru t i n i ze
of Witchcraft.London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
ephemeral and legal texts.
Kors, Alan Charles, and Edward Peters, eds. 2001. Witchcraft in
The motives of inquisitors, prosecutors, and magis-
Europe, 400–1700.2nd ed. Philadelphia: University of
trates who constructed the stereotype of the witch are
Pennsylvania Press.
ove rdue for attention comparable to that accord e d Luck, Georg, ed. 1985. Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the
defendants and accusers. Scholars have often re g a rd e d Greek and Roman Worlds.Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
these men’s motives as obvious, but what counts as Press.
“o bv i o u s” has changed over time. From about 1700 ———. 1997. Arcana mundi: Magia e occulto nel mondo greco e
until the 1960s, condescension and sarcasm often romano.Translated by Claudio Tartaglini. 2 vols. Milan:
inflected scholarly descriptions of inquisitorial ideology. Fondazione LorenzoValla/Arnaldo Mondadori.
Maxwell-Stuart, P.G. 1999. The Occult in Early Modern Europe.
Mo re re c e n t l y, Carlo Ginzburg has taken the opposite
NewYork: St. Martin’s.
position, suggesting that witchcraft scholars involuntar-
Ogden, Daniel. 2001. Greek and Roman Necromancy.Princeton:
ily re p roduce the inquisitors’ and magistrates’ ideolo-
Princeton University Press.
gies and positions of power, asking the same questions
———. 2002. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and
they asked (Ginzburg 1989, 162–163).
Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook.Oxford: Oxford University
But neither unintended sympathy nor facile con- Press.
tempt is inevitable. The concepts of the implied author Porter, Roy. 1999. “Survival: Art and Literature.” Pp. 245–250 in
and implied reader, coupled with more traditional tech- Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth
niques of close reading and rhetorical analysis, sharpen Centuries.Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark.
our perception of the type of person likely to write a Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
p a rticular text or set of assertions. Underneath ove rt Purkiss, Diane. 1996. The Witch in History: Early Modern and
Twentieth-Century Representations.London: Routledge.
expressions of smugness and prejudice, assertions about
Roberts, Gareth. 1996. “The Descendants of Circe: Witches and
witches frequently imply enthusiasms, concerns, or
Renaissance Fictions.” Pp. 183–206 in Witchcraft in Early
dreads that remain unarticulated. Assertions are repeat-
Modern Europe: Studies in Culture and Belief.Edited by
ed within a text or among several texts; variations—or
Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts.
the lack of them—in witchcraft commonplaces could
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
yield social insight under literary analysis. Texts con- Rowlands, Alison. 1998. “Telling Witchcraft Stories: New
t e m p o r a ry or anterior to a given witchcraft text may Perspectives on Witchcraft and Witches in the Early Modern
discuss witchcraft only marginally or not at all, ye t Period.” Gender and History19: 294–302.
demonstrate related concerns and worries. More highly General Works on Literature and Philosophy
Literature 657 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 695 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.658 Application File
Aristotle. 1984. Poetics.Pp. 2:2316–2340 in The Complete Works of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania remained pagan—in
of Aristotle: The Revised OxfordTranslation.Edited by Jonathan 1394, visiting missionaries noted that the local
Barnes. 2 vols. Princeton: Princeton University Press. population practiced a cult of fire—until the end of the
Childers, Joseph, and Gary Hentzi. 1995. The Columbia
f o u rteenth century, when its ru l e r, Grand Duke Ja h a i l a
Dictionary of Modern Literary and Cultural Criticism.NewYork:
(Jogaila), became Catholic in order to acquire the crow n
Columbia University Press.
of Poland in 1386. Protestant ideas had spread over the
Eagleton, Terry. 1996. LiteraryTheory: An Introduction.2nd ed.
grand duchy by the mid-sixteenth century. The majority
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
of noblemen (s h l y a c h t a) and part of the petty bourgeoisie
Eco, Umberto. 1994. The Limits of Interpretation.1990. Reprint,
Bloomington: Indiana University Press. became Protestant. Beginning in the late sixteenth
Martin, Robert M. 1994. The Philosopher’s Dictionary.2nd ed. c e n t u ry, Catholicism’s influence grew. Although
Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview. Catholicism became dominant, Ort h o d ox, Pro t e s t a n t ,
and Greek Catholic Christian Churches, Islam, Ju d a i s m ,
Texts Discussed
and paganism still we re practiced. This re l i g i o u s
Boccaccio, Giovanni. 1982. The Decameron.1352. Translated by pluralism did not result in serious conflicts like those that
Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella. NewYork: Mentor.
o c c u r red between different religions in western Eu ro p e .
Caesarius of Heisterbach. 1929. The Dialogue on Miracles.Ca.
One reason we know of so few witchcraft trials in the
1225. Translated by Henry von Essen Scott and Charles Cooke
Grand Duchy is that we have only erratic records from
Swinton Bland. 2 vols. London: Routledge.
most of its courts. A more important reason is the fact
Cohn, Norman. 1975. Europe’s Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired
that there we re fewer trials: Although the rulers we re
by the Great Witch-Hunt. NewYork: Basic Books.
Eco, Umberto. 1994. The Name of the Rose.1983. Translated by Catholic, much of the population was Ort h o d ox — a
William Weaver. Reprint, San Diego: Harcourt, Brace. religion that virtually ignored diabolical pacts and
Ginzburg, Carlo. 1989. Clues, Myths, and the Historical Method. therefore very rarely prosecuted witches. The temporal
Translated by John and Anne C. Tedeschi. Baltimore: Johns p ower of the grand duchy’s rulers was great, and they
Hopkins University Press. practiced toleration of Lithuania’s inhabitants owing to
Guazzo, Francesco Maria. 1988. Compendium Maleficarum.1608. its multinational society and the diversity of religions.
Translated from 1st ed. by E. A. Ashwin. NewYork: Dover.
In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, secular tribunals,
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. 1987. “Young Goodman Brown.” 1835.
without any ecclesiastical interference, tried all cases of
InYoung Goodman Brown, and Other Tales.Edited by Brian
witchcraft. Defendants we re judged solely for damage
Harding. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
caused by sorcery. But the system of courts in the grand
Huxley, Aldous. 1996. The Devils of Loudun.1952. Reprint, New
duchy was complex. From the bottom up, it included
York: Carrol and Graf.
Kafka, Franz. 1988. The Metamorphosis.1915. Translated by communal Ko p n y c o u rts for peasants; town council
Stanley Corngold. NewYork: Bantam Books. c o u rts for municipal citizens; and Ze m s k i c o u rts for
Levin, Ira. 1997. Rosemary’s Baby.1967. Reprint, NewYork: Signet district nobles. Regional castle courts handled appeals
Books. f rom both nobles and commoners, and at the top sat
Ryder, Daniel. 1992. Breaking the Circle of Satanic Ritual Abuse: the grand duchy’s highest tribunal, the Court of
Recognizing and Recovering from the Hidden Trauma. Appeal.
Minneapolis: CompCare.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania had no laws against
Stephens, Walter. 2002. Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the
witchcraft until the sixteenth century. In 1529, the first
Crisis of Belief.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
statue dealing with witchcraft held that a criminal who
Wilson, Leslie. 1992. Malefice.NewYork: Pantheon.
through sorcery did not feel pain when tortured had to
pay a fine to the plaintiff. In 1566, another statute
Lithuania, Grand Duchy of c o n firmed the 1529 law. After the T h i rd Statute of
From the thirteenth until the eighteenth century, the 1588 (part 4, article 30) defined sorc e ry as a criminal
Grand Duchy of Lithuania covered the entire territory charge, these provisions passed into judicial practice. A
of what is now Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and special provision (part 14, article 18) allowed the use of
parts of Russia (Smolensk and Briansk provinces), t o rt u re three times a day. In Lithuania, where sorc e ry
Poland (Belastok province), and Latvia (Daugavpils remained a criminal offense until 1776, Roman or
province). This vast and thinly populated region, with canon law and Magdeburg law (which provided for
its bewildering variety of religions and complicated t ow n s’ having their own courts) occasionally supple-
mixture of law courts, recorded remarkably few witch- mented such statutes (see, for example, Collection of
craft trials. It is difficult to offer complete statistics, but Early Texts 1867b, 119–120).
even allowing for lacunae, no more than fifty witches The date of the very first witchcraft trial in the grand
perished throughout the whole territory between the duchy is unknown. One of them first happened in
fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. 1436, but there is little information pre s e rved about
Although most of these Slavic regions we re soon witchcraft trials until the sixteenth century, when the
c o n ve rted to Ort h o d ox Christianity, the Baltic territories Catholic Counter-Reformation changed the situation
658 Lithuania, Grand Duchy of |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 696 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.659 Application File
and the number of trials increased. A statement that So fia Sunyan, her son Gasul, and Tumelis Pa u l a v i c h
there had been damage was necessary to initiate a case. Daradyndzenas underwent the ordeal by water (swim-
Overall, evidence about witchcraft trials is sparse. Even ming test) in a peasant or Ko p n y c o u rt in a village in
in the seventeenth century, for which evidence is re l a- Braslau province—and all three of them floated, lead-
t i vely abundant, we know of only thirteen trials ing to the execution of Sofia and Tumelis. Torture was
between 1615 and 1699 that definitely ended by burn- usually necessary to make a witch admit guilt.
ing a witch. Some documentary information suggests that here ,
Complaints varied greatly. At a trial held in the castle as in Russia, men were considered more powerful sor-
court of Brest in 1614, Rafal Andreeuski and his wife’s cerers than women. At least half of those burned were
brothers testified that Matsei Matseevich Rakitski’s wife men. The first, Tumelis Paulavich Daradyndzenas, was
had killed Rafal’s wife with a doll (Schedule of accused of belonging to a clan of notorious sorc e re r s .
Documents 1913, 434–435). In 1630, the vo i s k i ( a So u rces show Maxim Znak (burned in 1691) to have
c o u rt official in Ze m s k i c o u rts) of Pinsk and his wife been a powe rful sorc e rer who named other witches;
complained in Pi n s k’s castle court that Fyo d o r a Rasol from Ve rtialishki was both the oldest and
Vysotski, the wife of the vo z n y (a court official) of s t rongest magician in the Grodno region in 1691
Pinsk, had given her maidservant “s o rc e ry” (bones, (Jodkowski 1932).
nails, and sand from a village grave) to injure them Witchcraft trails ended in different ways. Some well-
(Acts of Vilna Commission 1891, 304–310). In 1638, k n own sorc e rers we re banished from the region and
at the Kopnycourt of Balotchychy, Homa Zhylechovets burned elsew h e re. Condemned to death by fire we re
blamed a maidservant for killing his wife by putting a Ju r g e l’s wife So fia Sunyan and Tumelis Pa u l a v i c h
toad in her mistress’s food (Acts of Vilna Commission Da r a d y n d zenas (1615), Ba rys Slavinavich (1622),
1891, 333–334). Witches used many methods of sor- Hanna Pa u l u k ova Krotka (1629), Fyadora Vy s o t s k a y a
cery, ranging from taking milk from cows by gathering (1630), Raina Gro m ychyna (1631), Vasil Bry k u n
d ew from fields to causing illness or death to others. (1643), Maxim Znak (1691), Kiril Adamovich, his son
Many different complaints about damage caused by Fyo d o r, and Palashka Se i g i n a va (1699), and others.
witches reached courts in the Grand Duchy, but few of Lithuanian witches often remained unpunished
them explain the beginning of a trial. because peasants’ owners refused to present them in
In t e r rogation was used in witchcraft inve s t i g a t i o n s . c o u rt; for example, in 1670, Ieranim Bu c h a vecki pro-
A list of questions (which have rarely been pre s e rve d ) tected his peasant Charchykha from a Kopnycourt.
f rom 1630–1631 shows two vo z n i e s of Na va h r a d a k , In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, pagan beliefs
Adam Tseraivich and Mikalai Pe t rovich, and other s t rongly influenced eve ryday life among nobility,
noblemen asking Raina Gramychyna about witchcraft. t ownspeople, and peasants alike, but pacts with the
Questioned about other witches, she named two men Devil we re practically unknown. For both pagans and
and a woman. Raina had met them at Andere i Orthodox, as a criminal act “witchcraft” meant sorcery,
A f a n a s a v i c h’s estate, because his wife had skills in sor- and people of all strata we re seldom put on trial for
cery.They had tried to prevent the marshalok (an offi- causing harm by such methods.
cial at the Diet) Jan Sapega from marrying by injuring
NATALIA SLIZH
his health. Raina herself admitted putting the evil eye
on the marshalok.When the vozniesasked why she had See also: LATVIA;MALEWITCHES;RUSSIA;SORCERY;SPELLS;
not confessed this before, she answered that her mouth SWIMMINGTEST;TRIALS.
had been shut (Collection of Early Texts 1867b, Note:
99–100, 143–146). At the end of the interrogation, she All proper names are given according to Belarussian
admitted that she could heal and gave recipes. Raina transcription, and in the references, English translations
was burned, but the other witches she named were not of the titles are given in parentheses.
arrested.
A statute from 1566 (part 11, article 16) stipulated References and further reading:
Primary Sources
that defendants who had magical spells in their mouth,
armpits, or hair must pay a fine. In a 1595 incident, an Frms bp(cid:0) fdftvstDbktycrj.
e xecutioner re m oved the shirt of a peasant accused of fh[tjuhf(cid:0)b xtcrj. rjvbccbt.. 1865. T. 18.
Dbkmyf. (Acts of Vilna Commission of Study and Publication
stealing horses and oxen; a crust of bread fell from the
of Early Texts. 1891. Vol. 18. Vilna.)
p e a s a n t’s armpit. This constituted proof of sorc e ry ;
Archiwum Komisyi prawniczej.1900. Vol. 7. Cracow. (Archives of
without the protection of the spell, the defendant died
the Law Commission. 1900. Vol. 7. Cracow.)
under tort u re (Schedule of Documents 1913, Fh [ t juh f(cid:0) b x t crbq c,jhybr l jrevtynjd jnyjczob[cz
254–246, 248, 276).
r bcnjhbb Ctdthj_pfgflyjq Hecb. 1867a. T. 1. D b k m y f.
As in neighboring Latvia, witches we re sometimes (The Collection of Early Texts Concerning the Hi s t o ry of No rt h
“d u c k e d” in the grand duchy. In 1615, Ju r g e l’s wife Western Russia. 1867a. Vol. I. Vi l n a . )
Lithuania, Grand Duchy of 659 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 697 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.660 Application File
Fh[tjuhf(cid:0) bxtcrbq c,jhybr ljrevtynjd Not yet well defined, the concept of a Little Ice Age was
jnyjczob[cz r bcnjhbb Ctdthj_pfgflyjq Hecb. i n vented in 1939. Su b s e q u e n t l y, its pro p o s e d
1867b.T. 3. Dbkmyf. (The Collection of Early Texts duration—originally large parts of the Holocene (the
Concerning the History of North Western Russia. 1867b.Vol. present geological epoch, beginning about 10,000 years
3. Vilna.) ago)—has shrunk to an epoch between 1300 and the
Jgbcm (cid:0)jrevtyvjdDbktycrj. xtyvhfkmyjuj
1880s, in recognition of the fact that these almost 600
Fh[bdf (cid:0) htdyb[ frvjds[ rybu.1913. Dsg.10.
years of coldness were interrupted by more favorable
Dbkmyf. (Schedule of Documents of Vilna Central Archive of
periods. Using Swiss data, Christian Pfister and others
Early Official Books. 1913. Vol. 10. Vilna.)
(1996) have identified two core phases of the Little Ice
Cj,hfybt ujcelfhcndtyys[ b xfcnys[ frnjd,
Age in the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries.
rfcf.ob[cz bcnjhbb Kbnds b cjtlbyëyys[ c ytq
The periodizations are usually drawn from remains of
dkfltybq (jn 1387 lj 1710 ujlf). 1858. Dbkmyf. (The
Collection of Official and Private Documents Concerning the the physical environment (dendrochronology, glaciolo-
History of Litva and the Nearest Territories [from 1387 to gy, sedimentation, pollen analysis, and the like), but
1710]. 1858. Vilna.) witch hunts also seem to be a sensitive indicator.
CmamymDtkbrjuj ryz(cid:0) tcmdf Kumjdcrjuj1529. Climatic deterioration in the Northern Hemisphere
1960. Vbycr% bplfntkmcndj Frfltvbb Yfer<ccP. had its greatest impact between 1560 and 1630, when
(Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania of 1529. 1960. Minsk: the effects of global cooling were worsened by an
Academy of Science of BSSR.)
increase in precipitation, a combination that severely
CmamymDzk¶rfuf ryzmcdf K¶mj£crfuf 1588.
hampered both wine making and wheat harvests. It has
1989. V¶ycr% <tkc'. (Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania
frequently been remarked that marginal wine-growing
of 1588. 1989. Minsk: BelSE.)
a reas (Franconia, the Rhineland, Alsace, Fr a n c h e - C o m t é ,
the Valais, St y r i a ) were particularly prone to severe
Secondary Sources
<f,rj Djkmuf.“Xfhflptqcndf.” Yfif Y¶df.23, no. 2 witch hunting.
Though persecutions for heresy were known already
(dthfcyz) . (Babkova, Volga. 1996. “Witchery.” Nasha Niva
23, no. 2 (September)) in high medieval Eu rope (circa 1000–1300), persecu-
Gloser, Zygimunt. 1958. Encyklopedia Staropolska Ilustrowana.Vol. tions of internal enemies for their supposed influ e n c e
1. Warsaw. on the physical environment began after 1300: In the
Jodkowski, Josef. 1932. O czarowniku Znaku na inkwizicji w early 1320s, lepers and Jews we re held collective l y
Grodnie w 1691 r.Lwów. Lwów, Ukraine. responsible for the poisoning of wells, and Jews we re
Kj,fx,Ekflp¶v¶h. 1996a. “Gfufycndf ¶ [hscw¶zycndf £ held responsible for the Eu rope-wide epidemics of
czh'yzdtxyfq <tkfhe¶.” Dtcw¶ Gjkfrfuf 1348–1350 known as the Black Death and for the
lpzh(cid:0)f£yfuf ey¶dth¶n'nf.Uevfy¶vfhyst
subsequent recurrences of plague later in the fourteenth
yfder¶ 2:3–11. (Lobach, Uladzimir. 1996. “Paganism and
c e n t u ry. Famine, flooding, and high mortality in the
Christianity in Medieval Belerus [14–18 cc.].” Polatsk Research
early 1340s preceded the arrival of the Black Death in
Reports. Humanities. 2: 3–11.)
———. 1996b. “X f h flptqcndf yf Gjkfxxsyt% December 1347. During these decades of the first half
u ¶ c n j s r f_rekmnehys rfyn'rcn.” P p. 50–59 in G j k f e r % of the fourteenth century, when a sequence of cold and
rfhfy¶ yfifuf hflfdjlf (Lobach, Ul a d z i m i r. 1996. long winters indicated the return of Little Ice Age
“Wi t c h e ry in Polatsk Region: Historical and Cultural Context.” conditions, the interdependence among climatic
P p. 50–59 in Polatsk: Roots of Our Hi s t o ry. Po l a t s k . ) factors, crop failures, rising prices, hunger, the outbreak
———. 1997. “<hfckf£crfz celjdfz cghfdf 1 6 1 5 u.: l f of epidemics, and the classical pattern of subsistence
[fhfrnfhscnsr¶ xfhlptqcndf £ czh'lyzdtxyfq crises of Old Eu rope became more visible. T h u s ,
< t k f h e c ¶.” P p. 69–73 in <hfckf£cr¶z xsvfyy¶: attention shifted from epidemics to we a t h e r, and it is
vfn'hszs 4_q yfderjdf_rhfzpyf£xfq
striking to see that the gradual emergence of the new
rhfzpyf£xfq rfy(cid:0)zh 'ye¶¶ 2 4 – 2 5 r h f c f d ¶ r f
crime of cumulative witchcraft was closely connected to
1997. < h f c k f £. (Lobach, Ul a d z i m i r, 1997. “Witchcraft pro c e s s
the waves of climatic hardship and agrarian crises dur-
in Braslau in 1615: Characteristic of witchery in Me d i e va l
ing the earlier phases of the Little Ice Age, particularly
Be l a rus.” Pp. 69–73 in Braslau readings: Materials of the 4th sci-
e n t i fic and regional conference, 24–25 April 1997. Br a s l a u . ) the 1420s and 1430s, when the new cumulative idea of
Vfcksrf,U. 1989.Xfhs in Cmamym Dzk¶rfuf witchcraft was fabricated in the western Alps, or the
ryzncdf K¶nj£crfuf1588.V¶ycr% <tkC". C. 542. 1480s, when the Malleus Maleficarum(The Hammer of
(Maslyka, G. 1989. Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania of Witches, 1486) was compiled.
1588. Minsk: BelSE. Pp. 542.) The impact of the Little Ice Age began to be felt
again in the 1560s. Contemporary chroniclers such as
Little Ice Age Johann Jacob Wick from Zurich re p o rted that the
The core period of the Little Ice Age coincided exactly summer of 1560 was unusually wet. The follow i n g
with the climax of witch hunting in central Europe. winter was the coldest and longest winter since
660 Little Ice Age |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 698 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.661 Application File
1515–1516. For the first time in generations, large St. Simeon in Tr i e r, explains in his Gesta Tre ve ro ru m
Alpine lakes like Lake Constance fro ze (“Se e gf r ö rn i” ) , (The History of Trier) the reasons for that witch hunt,
and the vegetation period shortened decisive l y. The the largest in German-speaking territories in the
f o l l owing winter (1561–1562) was not only similarly sixteenth century, which occurred under Arc h b i s h o p
cold but also included an immense snowfall, mentioned Johann VII von Schönenberg (governed 1581–1599):
in a broadsheet printed at Leipzig in 1562. Ort h o d ox
Lutheran theology interpreted these events as signs that Hardly any of the Archbishops governed their dio-
God was furious at the people because of their sins. The cese under such hardships, such sorrows and such
coincidence of coldness and wetness harmed this agrar- extreme difficulties as Johann. . . . During the
ian society by damaging the harvest, while rising prices whole period he and his subjects had to endure a
worsened the living conditions for poorer people. continuous shortage of grain, a rigorous climate
During the spring and summer of 1562, a thaw and and crop failures. Only two of these nineteen years
heavy rainfall caused flooding in various parts of were fertile, 1584 and 1590. . . . Since everybody
Germany, poisoned the fields, and led to cattle diseases, thought that the continuous crop-failure was
rising infant mortality, and the outbreak of epidemics. caused by witches from devilish hatred, the whole
After unusually seve re thunderstorms hit central country wished for their eradication. (Linden 1964,
Eu rope, a fie rce debate on weather making invo l ve d 7:13–14)
some leading Lutheran reformers in Germany (Johann
Brenz, Thomas Naogeorgus, Jacob Heerbrand) and Until recently, this explanation was not taken seriously,
Johann Weyer, who exchanged the principal arguments but research has demonstrated that the persecution was
on the subject. Si m u l t a n e o u s l y, seve re witch hunts indeed not only demanded but also organized by the
s t a rted in southwestern Ge r m a n y. The mechanism of population. Because the legal administration of this
torture, confession, and denunciation turned single cas- territory was inefficient and officials were reluctant to
es of witchcraft into witch hunts. The largest hunt prosecute, village committees began to extend their
occurred in the small territory of Wiesensteig, belong- competence and organized the witch hunts themselves.
ing to the Lutheran counts of Helfenstein, where Elected committees collected information, captured
s i x t y - t h ree women we re burned as witches within a and tried the suspected witches, and delivered them to
ye a r. A contemporary newsletter re p o rted this eve n t , the authorities only after they had already confessed.
making the witch hunt well known throughout the The persecution thus resembled a popular uprising in
Holy Roman Empire. which the people usurped functions usually reserved to
Starting in the 1560s, a series of witch panics shook state authorities. Only in 1591, when popular accep-
s e veral Eu ropean societies, followed by attempts to tance of the persecution in his archbishopric declined,
l e g a l i ze witchcraft persecutions (for example, the did the electoral prince try to deprive the local
English and Scottish witchcraft statutes of 1563). After committees of their power and recover his authority. A
the initial witch hunts of 1562 and 1563, a wave of per- woodcut on a contemporary broadsheet hinted at the
secutions followed the hunger crisis of the years around reason for these persecutions: It showed a panorama
1570, following the catastrophic coldness of the previ- with three tremendous thunderstorms falling on
ous two years. But a totally new persecutorial zeal could villages and fields while witches flew through the air
be observed during the 1580s. At the end of the 1570s, casting their spells (Sigfriedus, ca. 1590). Similarly, a
crop failures and price increases again caused hunger in broadsheet printed in 1590 about the witch hunt in
parts of central Europe, stimulating witch burnings in southern Germany reads like a collection of meteoro-
many places. After 1580, the persecutions began to logical disasters and their consequences on physical and
reach levels previously unknown. Be t ween 1580 and mental health (Erweytterte Unholden Zeyttung 1590).
1620 in the Pays de Vaud, which was under the rule of After 1586, long and cold winters were complement-
the reformed Swiss city-state of Bern since 1536, sub- ed by cold and wet springs and summers, thus causing
ject of the reformed Swiss town of Bern, more than hunger and epidemics and creating enormous psyc h o-
1,000 persons we re burned for witchcraft. Be t we e n logical stress. In 1586, the famous collection of Fugger
1580 and 1595, hundreds of witches we re burned in n ewsletters re p o rted a “g reat fear” among ord i n a ry
the duchy of Lorraine, subjects of their Catholic dukes people, terminology that reminds us of la grande peur
who were heavily involved in the power struggles of the p receding the French Re volution. These early witch
French Wars of Religion. The Lorraine witch hunts hunts indeed acquired re vo l u t i o n a ry dimensions,
closely coincided with those in the neighboring Spanish implicating some members of the ruling oligarc h i e s —
Netherlands and in the archbishopric of Tr i e r, where magistrates, clerics, even noblemen. Unlike the hunger
h u n d reds of witches we re also burned between 1581 crisis of 1570, the crisis of the 1580s endured for ten or
and 1595. A local chronicler, Johann Linden, canon of m o re years. Socioeconomic explanations of the crises
Little Ice Age 661 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 699 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.662 Application File
indicate that since the 1560s a general decline in living the idea that witches could be responsible for the
s t a n d a rds resulted from a combination of continuous we a t h e r. In his Daemonologie ( De m o n o l o g y, 1597),
population growth and a diminishing food supply James claimed that witches
because of ecological crisis. In addition, the
w i n e - g rowing areas of central Eu rope, from Hu n g a ry, can rayse stormes and tempestes in the aire either
Austria, Sw i t zerland, and Germany into nort h e r n upon Sea or land, though not universally, but in
France, experienced a permanent decline in income due such a particular place and prescribed boundes, as
to the deterioration of wine harvests (L a n d s t e i n e r) . God will permite them so to trouble. Which like-
Basket-of-goods calculations on the basis of statistical wise is verie easie to be discerned from any other
data from the imperial city of Augsburg demonstrate naturall tempestes that are meteores, in respect of
that after 1586, an average craftsman with a family of the suddaine and violent raising thereof, together
four could no longer earn the necessary living costs with the short induring of the same. And this is
without help from other members of his family. likewise very possible to their master to do . . . .
The socioeconomic disaster affected society as a (James VI 1597, 46)
whole. But meteorological disfavor fell hardest on such
d i s a d vantaged areas as the Bernese highlands, the Rémy, like an ethnographer, reported detailed weather
Scottish highlands, the mountainous regions of magic from Lorraine witchcraft trials that he had
Lorraine and Alsace, the archbishopric of Tr i e r, or the judged. Although Binsfeld certainly emphasized theo-
Ardennes in northern France. In these marginal agricul- logical reasons for bad weather, his best arguments
tural regions, increasing wetness, falling temperature s , came from empirical data from his persecution in the
shorter growing seasons, and the increased frequency of archbishopric of Trier.
hailstorms endangered the production of cereals and At the end of the sixteenth century, a few European
wine. After 1586, the impact of a series of cold and pro- states managed to escape the circle of witch belief and
longed winters was sharpened by a period of wet and witchcraft persecution, since their elites stopped feeling
cold springs and summers. In Sw i t zerland, snow cov- threatened and became strong enough to suppress pop-
e red the ground until late spring in 1587; snow f a l l ular demands for witch hunts. In central Europe, how-
returned on July 4 down to 400 meters on the Sw i s s e ve r, where demographic pre s s u re and economic
plateau. Again, 1588, the year the Invincible Armada depression lingered on, unstable governments remained
failed in heavy mid-September storms, was one of the vulnerable to new demands for persecution. Large-scale
rainiest years in history. A Swiss chro n i c l e r, Re n w a rd witch hunts occurred, for instance, around 1600 in
Cysat, re p o rted seve re thunderstorms almost daily, Franche-Comté and some ecclesiastical territories in
s t a rting in June. It was during these two ye a r s , Ge r m a n y, in the Basque region and parts of Ge r m a n y
1587–1588, that witchcraft accusations reached their from 1608–1612, and in Franconia between 1616 and
climax in England and northern France, while large-scale 1618. Contemporary court re c o rds and bro a d s h e e t s
witch hunts began in Scotland and Ge r m a n y. described the importance of meteorological events as
The synchronicity of accusations and persecutions triggering factors behind these persecutions.
in countries that we re not connected by dynastic, During the third decade of the seventeenth century,
confessional, or economic links demonstrates the when the T h i rty Ye a r s’ War preoccupied gove r n i n g
i m p o rtance of the climatic factor for explanation. elites, organized witch hunts reached their peak in the
Many individual witchcraft trials show that meteoro- ecclesiastical territories of the Holy Roman Em p i re .
logical events contributed decisively to suspicions and Once again the climax of witch hunting coincided with
accusations. These events we re often supraregional or some extraordinarily dramatic meteorological events. It
e ven supranational. Areas of low pre s s u re can cove r is noteworthy that contemporary accounts almost never
large regions; the advance of arctic air can at times connected these witch hunts with war, confessional
harm the northern part of the Continent or even the strife, state building, changes in the medical or judicial
No rthern He m i s p h e re. What we can learn from this is system, gender relations, or whatever historians might
that contemporary laments about decreasing fru i t f u l- imagine. Instead, court re c o rds dwelled upon disease
ness of the fields, of cattle, and even of people we re far and death of children and cattle, destruction of cro p s
f rom merely rhetorical devices; rather, they rested on and vineyards. Chroniclers related such misfortunes to
empirical observation. The rising tide of demonologi- general meteorological developments. And historians of
cal literature re i n f o rced such lamentations. By the climate confirm their observations, in general as well as
1590s, members of contemporary elites, such as the in particular.The 1620s were characterized by long and
famous French jurist Jean Bodin, the suffragan bishop cold winters, late springs, and cold and wet summers
of Tre ves Peter Binsfeld, the chief public prosecutor of and autumns, leading to crop failures and price increas-
Lorraine Nicolas Rémy, or the king of Scotland Ja m e s es. In 1626, during the last week of May, in the middle
VI (soon to become James I of England), all share d of the vegetation period, winter returned; temperatures
662 Little Ice Age |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 700 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.663 Application File
fell so low that lakes and rivers froze overnight and trees Enlightenment melted the cold era of witch hunting.
and bushes lost their leaves. Se ve re frost destroye d From the 1730s on, the climate, though still cold, was
c e reals and grapes, and even the grapevines. Such an m o re stable than during previous decades. In a few
event had not been recorded in the preceding 500 years backward areas of Germany, France, and Austria, witch-
( P fister et al. 1996). The uniqueness and deva s t a t i n g craft trials lasted into the 1740s, and in remote corners
effects of this climatic anomaly confirmed contempo- of Sw i t zerland, Hu n g a ry, and Poland even into the
rary impressions that it was an “unnatural” event. 1770s.
A chronicler in the Franconian town of Zeil re p o rt e d : Ab ove all in central Eu rope, the age of witch hunt-
ing seems congruent with the era of the Little Ic e
On 27th May 1626, all the vineyards were Age. The peaks of persecution coincided with years of
completely destroyed by frost within the prince- sharp climatic deterioration. Witches we re tradition-
bishoprics of Bamberg and Würzburg, together ally held responsible for bad weather that was so dan-
with the dear grain which had already g e rous to the precarious agricultural surpluses of the
sprouted. . . . Everything was frozen, which had p reindustrial period. But only in the fifteenth century
not happened as long as one could remember. And did ecclesiastical and secular authorities accept the
it caused a great rise in prices . . . consequently, reality of this crime. The 1420s, the 1450s, and the
pleading and begging began among the rabble, last two decades of the fifteenth century, we l l - k n ow n
questioning why the authorities continued to to historians of climate, we re decisive times when sec-
tolerate the destruction of crops by witches and ular and ecclesiastical authorities increasingly accept-
sorcerers. Therefore the prince-bishop punished ed the existence of weather-making witches. Du r i n g
these crimes, and the persecution began in this the “c u m u l a t i ve sequences of coldness” in the
year. (Behringer 2001, 250) years 1560–1574, 1583–1589, 1623–1630, and
1678–1698 (Pfister 1984, 150), people demanded
In the following years, broadsheets emphasized the the eradication of the witches they held re s p o n s i b l e
supposed responsibility of witches for these seve re for such climatic aberrations. The impact of the Little
f rosts, adding later events like hailstorms, cattle Ice Age increased the pre s s u re from below and con-
diseases, and epidemics. Confessions under tort u re vinced some members of the intellectual elites of the
claimed to have detected a devilish conspiracy to existence of witchcraft. T h e re f o re, we can conclude
d e s t roy vineyards and grains for several years in ord e r that witchcraft was the characteristic crime of the
to create hunger and disease to the extent that people Little Ice Age.
would be forced to eat each other. Only drastic WOLFGANG BEHRINGER
m e a s u res by the authorities seemed capable of stop-
See also:AGRARIANCRISES;BAMBERG,PRINCE-BISHOPRICOF;
ping these plans—and the measures taken we re
BINSFELD,PETER;BODIN,JEAN;BRENZ,JOHANN;HOLYROMAN
indeed dramatic. In the tiny prince-bishopric of EMPIRE;JAMESVIANDI,KINGOFSCOTLANDANDENGLAND;
Bamberg, 600 persons we re burned for suspected LORRAINE,DUCHYOF;MALLEUSMALEFICARUM;MOLITOR,
witchcraft; in the neighboring prince-bishopric of ULRICH;PLAGUE;POPULARPERSECUTION;SCOTLAND;
W ü rzburg, 900; in the electorate of Mainz, another SWITZERLAND;TRIER,ELECTORATEOF;VALAIS;
900; and under the rule of prince-archbishop and WEATHERMAGIC;WEYER,JOHANN.
elector Fe rdinand of Cologne in the Rhineland and References and further reading:
Behringer,Wolfgang. 1995. “Weather, Hunger and Fear: The
Westphalia, nearly 2,000.
Origins of the European Witch Persecution in Climate, Society
W h e re ver the power of central gove r n m e n t s ,
and Mentality.” German History13: 1–27.
p ro s p e r i t y, and Cartesian rationalism increased, witch
———. 1999. “Climatic Change and Witch-Hunting: The
hunts were terminated during the seventeenth century.
Impact of the Little Ice Age on Mentalities.” Pp. 335–351 in
Howe ve r, in large areas of central Eu rope, the link
Climatic Variability in Sixteenth Century Europe and Its Social
b e t ween climate and witch hunting remained intact. Dimension. Edited by Christian Pfister, Rudolf Brazdil, and
While scientists have debated the causal effects of the Rüdiger Glaser, first published as a special issue of Climatic
Maunder Minimum (the near absence of sunspot Change: An Interdisciplinary, International Journal Devoted to the
activity between 1645 and 1715), which occurre d Description, Causes and Implications of Climatic Change43, no.
alongside the coldest part of the Little Ice Age, persecu- 1 (September, 1999). Dordrecht, Boston, and London: Kluwer
tion of witches peaked around 1690, reaching its Academic.
———. 2001. Hexen und Hexenprozesse in Deutschland.5th ed.
climax then in Austria, the Baltic region, and
Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch.
Scandinavia, and in Poland and Hu n g a ry during the
James I. 1597. Daemonologie.Edinburgh. Reprint 1969. NewYork
first decades of the eighteenth century. In some
and Amsterdam: Da Capo.
Catholic areas of central Europe, every year with Little
Kamber, Peter. 1982. “La chasse aux sorciers et aux sorcières dans
Ice Age types of events led to another cycle of witchcraft
le pays de Vaud: Aspects quantitatives (1581–1620).” Revue
trials. It is more than just a metaphor that the sun of historique vaudoise 90: 21–33.
Little Ice Age 663 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 701 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.664 Application File
Linden, Johann. 1964. Gesta Treverorum. Ed. Emil Zenz. Trier. i n g l y, diabolical fraud. The Holy Of fice tried many
Pfister, Christian. 1980. “The Little Ice Age: Thermal and Wetness living saints because it seemed so difficult to separate
Indices for Central Europe.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History thaumaturgy from witchcraft. A charismatic leader,
10: 665–696.
Joan of Arc was burned as a witch in 1431, but many
———. 1984. Klimageschichte der Schweiz 1525–1860.Bern: Paul
thought her to be a saint (and it took nearly 500 ye a r s
Haupt.
to certify that she was). The papacy had Gi ro l a m o
Pfister, Christian, et al. 1996. “Winter Severity in Europe: The
Sa vo n a rola, who had claimed divine inspiration while
Fourteenth Century.” Climatic Change34: 91–108.
criticizing the pope, burned in 1498.
When Reformed theologians denied the possibility
Living Saints
of private revelations and rejected the cult of saints, the
Many religions have revered people who, for different phenomenon of living saints ceased in large parts of
reasons, were venerated by their contemporaries as liv- Eu rope. Meanwhile, in Catholic territories, the
ing saints. Some experienced extraordinarily intensive p o s t - Tridentine clergy exe rted strict control ove r
contacts with the deity; some worked miracles, espe- women who manifested charisma, and only the cults of
cially healing; sometimes their position within the reli- a few mystics such as Te resa of Avila or T h e resa of
gious hierarchy assimilated them to the gods. We know Lisieux found official acceptance. Now, ecstasies and
about such individuals in Europe since pre-Christian re velations mattered less in the canonization pro c e s s e s
antiquity. The sacred kings of the Celts and Germans than obedient subordination to male ecclesiastics.
had some qualities of living saints, upon whom the wel- Because the phenomena on which the pious based
fare of their peoples depended. Nor was the phenome- the veneration of living saints we re so ambiguous,
non unknown to Jews or early Christians (Brown many living saints we re considered demoniacs or we re
1981), but its heyday was the Middle Ages. The fame accused of heresy and witchcraft, even if exo n e r a t e d
of many a saint, like Be r n a rd of Clairva u x l a t e r. This happened, for instance, to Do rothea of
(1090–1153), lay in his thaumaturgic miracle-working, Montau (d. 1394), Colomba of Rieti (d. 1503),
powers. When he left his monastery to visit a town, we Gentile of Ravenna (d. 1530), and Domenica da
are told, the faithful thronged around him praying for Paradiso (d. 1553), all of whom the Church beatifie d
help, mostly to relieve illness or demonic obsession, and or canonized after many centuries. Why was it so easy
trying to pluck threads from his robe as relics. The to mistake a living saint for a witch? Because both
number of living saints increased with the flowering of operated similarly in many respects and because the
mysticism from the thirteenth century onward; from Devil could appear disguised as an angel, one could
then until the eighteenth century, most living saints n e ver know which a person was. Both pious visionaries
were women. Their charisma often included, besides and malignant sorc e resses encountered apparitions of
the power to heal, stigmata, anorexia, telepathy, or the nonhuman men. Both told of erotic encounters: the
gift of prophecy. What mattered most, however, were saints of the mystical union, often narrated in undeni-
their ecstasies, during which they received divine reve- ably sexual terms, and the witches of intercourse with
lations. One can hardly imagine the throngs of admir- an incubus. The result might even be an extranatural
ers assembled to greet a famous visionary like Catherine p regnancy—for example, St. Bridgit of Swe d e n
of Siena (1347–1380). The phenomenon was especial- s h owed bodily signs of bearing the Christ child each
ly widespread in Latin countries, where many kings Christmas—but there we re also cases of alleged pre g-
kept a living saint at court, as Louis IX and Charles nancies by incubi, including the Catholic claim that
VIII of France did with the famous thaumaturge the Devil had impregnated Ma rtin Lu t h e r’s mother.
Francesco di Paula. Saints and witches both re c e i ved painful corporal
In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, such m a rks from nonhuman lovers: the saints the stigmata,
saints encountered little resistance from ecclesiastical and the witches the De v i l’s mark. W h e reas the saints
authorities. Later, howe ve r, things changed; a general often claimed to have been wedded ceremoniously to
skepticism arose tow a rd their charisma, in part Jesus (the “mystical marriage”), the witches, too, con-
because visionaries propagandistically supported both fessed to have made a solemn pact with the Devil. Both
popes (at Avignon and at Rome) during the Gre a t often met their supernatural or superhuman lover at a
Schism (1378–1417) of the Catholic Churc h . feast, be it in heaven or at the Sabbat. The same kinds
Especially from discussing the authenticity of the re v- of miracles we re associated with both groups, especial-
elations of Bridgit of Sweden (1307–1373), the clergy ly paranormal healing and flight experiences.
d e veloped an “a rt of discernment of the spirits,” a set In the late Middle Ages and the early modern period,
of theological rules to discover whether a re ve l a t i o n t h e re f o re, a woman who manifested paranormal
came from divine intervention or from an evil spirit. faculties had a chance of being seen as a living saint, but
From then on, living saints we re carefully tested for she also ran the risk of being mistaken for a heretic and
the possibility of human deception or, more menac- witch. How she was judged depended very strongly on
664 Living Saints |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 702 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.665 Application File
her social situation and whether or not she had Buirmann forced the accused to name members of this
supporters in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. elite as accomplices.
After a few months, when the wave was alre a d y
PETER DINZELBACHER slackening, rumors spread that there we re also witches
within the household of Herman Löher. By bribing
See also:DEVIL’SMARK;DISCERNMENTOFSPIRITS;HOLINESS;
Bu i r m a n n’s superior, Löher could pre vent himself or
INCUBUSANDSUCCUBUS;JOANOFARC;MIRACLES;PACTWITH
other members of his family from being arre s t e d .
THEDEVIL;SEXUALACTIVITY,DIABOLIC;VISIONS.
References and further reading: Howe ve r, in August 1636, a new series of trials began
Brown, Peter. 1981. The Cult of the Saints.Chicago: University of under the direction of another commissioner, Jo h a n n
Chicago Press. (Jan) Möden, and Löher re a l i zed that he had to flee if
Caciola, Nancy. 2003. Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic he wanted to surv i ve. He, his wife, and his mother-in-
Possession in the Middle Ages.Ithaca, NY, and London: Cornell law left Rheinbach secretly on August 3, 1636. T h e y
University Press. went first to Cologne, in order to collect the money
Craveri, Marcello. 1980. Sante e streghe.Milan: Feltrinelli.
Löher had stashed away there, before moving to
Dinzelbacher, Peter. 2001. Heilige oder Hexen? Schicksale auffälliger
A m s t e rdam. In the Dutch Republic, no witch had
Frauen in Mittelalter und Frühneuzeit.4th ed. Düsseldorf:
been executed since 1608, and in Amsterdam none for
Albatros.
over forty years. Amsterdam was nominally a
Schulte van Kessel, Elijsa, ed. 1986. Womenand Men in Spiritual
Protestant city, but Löher always remained Catholic.
Culture.The Hague: Staatsuitgevereij.
Thurston, Herbert. 1955. Surprising Mystics.London: Burns and He had already acquired full citizenship in Amsterd a m
Oates. in November 1636 and repeatedly showed pride in the
Zarri, Gabriella, ed. 1991. Finzione e santità tra medioevo ed età c o m m e rcial success of his new hometown in his book,
moderna.Turin: Rosenberg and Sellier. but this did not lead him to change his religion. In
A m s t e rdam, all sorts of religions and confessions could
Löher, Herman (1595–1678) worship God as they saw fit. Even though the city
Herman Löher has left us a detailed account of his magistrates we re re q u i red to be Reformed, they neve r
personal invo l vement, both as a judge and as a victim, questioned the loyalty of citizens whose beliefs differe d
with the brutal witch hunts that swept over the Ge r m a n f rom theirs.
Rhineland in the second quarter of the seve n t e e n t h Löher published his autobiographical Ho c h n ö t i g e
c e n t u ry in an extremely rare book of 1676. The book is Un t e rthanige Wemütige Klage der Fro m m e n
one of extremely few ego-documents (memoirs, Un s c h ü l t i g e n ( Much Needed, Humble, and Wo e f u l
autobiographies, diaries, or personal corre s p o n d e n c e Complaint of the Pious Innocent) in 1676. Any hope
w h e re the writer is continuously present in the text) that it would persuade authorities in the Rhineland to
containing firsthand information about the ways people a l l ow his return proved futile. In his discussion of the
experienced the terror of the witchcraft trials. Born in s u p p o rters of the trials, Löher concentrated on the
Munster Eiffel, a small town in the duchy of Jülich not w o rks of Agricola of Si t t a rd, Jean Bodin, and Ps e u d o -
far from Bonn, Löher moved with his family in 1601 to Laymann (so-called because a book advocating harsh
n e a r by Rheinbach in the lands of the archbishop of t reatment of witchcraft suspects was incorrectly attrib-
Cologne. At fifteen, Löher joined his father in the textile uted to Paul Laymann)—the same authors that his
trade. In 1621, he was elected burgomaster (chief Mennonite friend and fellow textile trader Ab r a h a m
magistrate) of Rheinbach; ten years later, he became one Palingh had singled out in his book. In appealing to
of its seven aldermen. In that ye a r, 1631, Rheinbach the authorities to pre vent witchcraft trials, Palingh had
became the scene of a real witch hunt under the dire c- s u m m a r i zed Löher’s experiences. Löher in turn bor-
tion of the He xe n k o m m i s s a r (Witch Commissioner) rowed stories from Pa l i n g h’s book. Unlike Pa l i n g h ,
Franz Buirmann. After 1626, witch commissioners like Löher also quoted the work of such opponents as
Buirmann played a major role in many of the trials in Adam Ta n n e r, Friedrich Spee, and Daniel Jonctys, and
the archbishopric of Cologne. Local courts we re powe r- he inserted a treatise from the Catholic priest Mi c h a e l
less against these commissioners. St a p p e rt, who as a confessor had observed firsthand the
The first two people executed at Rheinbach in 1631 injustice and cruelty with which so many witchcraft
were poor and powerless. This changed, however, with trials abounded.
the third defendant, the widow of a former burgomas- At the time of his death in 1678, Löher’s fin a n c i a l
ter and alderman. She died during the horrible torture situation was rather difficult. After his death, all
Buirmann had ordered. After her, an alderman and the remaining copies of his book we re confiscated by a
wife of another alderman fell victim to the commission- c re d i t o r, a paper trader who probably re c ycled them;
er’s brutality. As the hunt went on, it became clear that thus, only two copies survive today. In his book, Löher
it was being used to replace the tow n’s gove r n i n g repeatedly admitted that he had little formal education,
o l i g a rchy with a new faction. During interro g a t i o n s , which helps explain why his book was written in a
Löher, Herman 665 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 703 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.666 Application File
peculiar mixture of Dutch and Low German, making it Binsfeld also found support in Cologne from the papal
a valuable source for sociological linguists as well as for nuncio Ottavio Frangipani, who asked the arc h b i s h o p
historians of witchcraft trials. of Trier to intervene and stop the publication of De vera
HANS DE WAARDT et falsa magia, which Loos had already sent to a
publisher in Cologne. Loos had also written letters to
See also: AMSTERDAM;BODIN,JEAN;BUIRMANN,FRANZ;COLOGNE;
the city council of Tr i e r, to highly placed churc h m e n ,
JONCTYS,DANIEL;LAYMANN,PAUL;MODEN,JOHANNGANZ;
and to other unnamed individuals in which he
NETHERLANDS,NORTHERN;PALINGH,ABRAHAM;SKEPTICISM;
SPEE,FRIEDRICH;TANNER,ADAM. questioned both the legality of the witchcraft trials that
References and further reading: had taken place in Trier and the belief in witches
Gibbons, Lois Oliphant. 1931. “A Seventeenth Century generally. He specifically accused the elector of Trier of
Humanitarian: Herman Löher.” Pp. 335–359 in Persecution t y r a n n y. Frangipani accused Loos of having sent his
and Liberty. Essays in Honor of George Lincoln Burr.Edited by book—which allegedly contained both errors and new
John Franklin Jameson. NewYork: Century. ideas—to be published without the approval from the
Löher, Herman. 1676. Hochnötige Unterthanige Wemütige Klage
c e n s o r, and he demanded that he be given a copy to
der Frommen Unschültigen.Amsterdam: Jacob de Jonge. Also
examine. After the nuncio had read the text, he ordered
available online: Hochnötige Unterthanige Wemütige Klage der
that its printing cease immediately.
Frommen Unschültigen.Edited byThomas P. Becker and
Nothing remains of De ve ra et falsa magia e xcept a
Theresia Becker with comments byThomas Becker, Rainer
f ew publisher’s proofs, discove red in 1888. T h e
Decker, and Hans de Waardt. University of Munich,
http://www.sfn.uni-muenchen.de/loeher. complete manuscript has disappeared; only one hand-
written section surv i ves in the City Library in Tr i e r,
Loos, Cornelius which contains the first two of what the index indicates
(1540 to 1546–1596?) would have been four books. In his text, Loos referred
A Dutch Catholic theologian, Loos was one of the most to witchcraft trials that had occurred in Trier and also
prominent opponents of witch belief and witchcraft attacked Bi n s f e l d’s arguments with scathing derision.
trials. His written criticism of the persecution of Drawing almost exc l u s i vely on the Bible, the Churc h
witches, entitled De vera et falsa magia (On True and Fathers, and classical authorities, Loos argued that it
False Magic, perhaps partially published in 1592), was was impossible for the Devil to appear to humans in
confiscated in 1592 by the censor; he was forced to corporeal form or to have sexual intercourse with them;
recant his arguments in 1593. T h e re a f t e r, eve ry he also denied such other elements of witchcraft belief
criticism of the belief in witchcraft was regarded as as the supposed ability of witches to fly and to cause
heresy. bad we a t h e r. In a radically critical rejection of the
The son of a distinguished citizen of Gouda, Loos scholastic mode of thinking adopted by Binsfeld, Loos
was born in the early 1540s. He studied theology at s h owed himself an adherent of humanist philological
Louvain, earning the degree of licentiate in 1564. Ten textual analysis.
years later, he was banished permanently after his Loos was particularly skeptical about the value of the
family was involved in an unsuccessful royalist conspir- confessions and denunciations against their alleged
a c y. By 1578, Loos was apparently studying with the coconspirators made by accused witches, thus destroy-
theology faculty of the Un i versity of Mainz. He pub- ing the basis of Bi n s f e l d’s arguments in favor of witch
lished two anti-Protestant polemics in 1579, calling for hunts. In Loos’s opinion, such confessions and
a war of annihilation against the rebellious Du t c h denunciations either came from mentally disturbed
p rovinces. Around 1585, Loos moved from Mainz to individuals or we re the result of horrible tort u re. In
Trier. Probably by autumn 1589, he was working on a emotional tones, Loos emphasized that by means of the
rebuttal of the Tractatus de confessionibus maleficorum et witch-trial “machine,” innocent people had been exe-
s a g a ru m (Treatise on Confessions of So rc e rers and cuted. He also hinted at the possibility that accusations
Witches, 1589), which had been recently published by of witchcraft and witchcraft trials could be manipulated
the suffragan bishop of Trier, Peter Binsfeld, in favor of for purposes other than the ostensible persecution of
witch hunting. witches. Territorial lords who tolerated witch hunts
Binsfeld wanted to silence Loos’s criticisms and to Loos labeled tyrants. For this Dutch theologian, witch
ensure that the De vera etfalsa magiawas not published. beliefs—along with Protestantism—constituted tools
The official Catholic party was on Bi n s f e l d’s side; in by means of which the Devil sought to imperil the
April 1590 in Munich and Ingolstadt, it drew up state- spiritual we l f a re of true Christians. Those who perse-
ments of principle that, based partially on Bi n s f e l d’s cuted witches we re thus, according to Loos, the re a l
Tractatus de confessionibus malefic o rum et sagaru m a n d a d h e rents of the Devil, who damned their souls by
with the participation of the Jesuits, favo red seve re shedding innocent blood.
witch persecutions and recommended the application A r rested and imprisoned in the prince-abbey of St .
of strict legal criminal pro c e d u res in witchcraft trials. Maximin, Loos had to recant his ideas formally on
666 Loos, Cornelius |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 704 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.667 Application File
March 15, 1593. In 1599, Martín Del Rio published a masculine, St. Augustine as neuter. Even during the
copy of the recantation, attested by a notary. It s Reformation, the debate continued.
consequences are clear: Together with the theological Prayer, in general, is related to incantation. And the
statements drawn up at Munich and Ingolstadt in prayer of a developed religion, which is communication
1590, Loos’s recantation made it impossible for any with a god as supplication or thanksgiving, can easily be
Catholic to criticize witch belief without being branded used in magical contexts, giving it the primitive
a heretic. New ways of arguing against witchcraft trials function of a spell. The bidding mentioned above
thus had to be found, such as those presented by other suggests that the Lord’s Pr a yer was especially suitable
Jesuits, by Adam Ta n n e r, and especially by Fr i e d r i c h for use in apotropaic contexts, and it was used so in
Spee in his fundamental criticism of witchcraft trials, many functions and forms against demons and witches.
Cautio criminalis (A Warning on Criminal Justice), in It could be spoken, written on amulets, or even buried
1631. Banned from the diocese of Trier, Loos went to in the ground. It could protect harvests from hailstorms
Brussels, where he was given a prebend in the cathedral. by speaking only the fourth bidding (“Give us this day
He re, he repeated his arguments against belief in our daily bread”). It was also prayed to protect newborn
witches and witchcraft trials; as a result, he was again c h i l d ren. Ab ove all, it was thought efficacious for
incarcerated and was put on a diet of bread and water, driving away demons and witches, often combined
although he was released after a re l a t i vely short time. with the sign of the cross. Inscribed in a magic circ l e
Loos died before action could be taken for a third time around a person, it would protect him from demons.
against his criticisms of witchcraft trials. Its magical function became especially clear if it was
prayed backward: Then, it worked as black magic, caus-
RITA VOLTMER;
ing harm to somebody. The magical function is also
TRANSLATED BY ALISON ROWLANDS shown in the fact that it usually worked only in combi-
nation with a certain rite, for instance, spitting or using
See also:BAVARIA,DUCHYOF;BINSFELD,PETER;DELRIO,MARTÍN;
JESUITS(SOCIETYOFJESUS); SKEPTICISM;SPEE,FRIEDRICH; rue against witches. Often it was said as a conclusion to
ST.MAXIMIN,PRINCE-ABBEYOF;TANNER,ADAM;TRIER, a series of incantations. Its use in incantations against
ELECTORATEOF. disease was ve ry common and departed from the
References and further reading: normal form by leaving out the “Amen.” Re p e t i t i o n
Behringer,Wolfgang. 1988. Mit dem Feuer vom Leben zum Tod: ( t h ree, seven, nine times) also shows its magical
Hexengesetzgebung in Bayern.Munich: Hugendubel. function; there was even a superstition that praying it
Scholer, Othon. 1998a. “‘O Kehricht des Aberglaubens, o leerer
s e ve n t y - s e ven times healed eve ry disease. It was often
Wahn der Täuschungen und Gespenster der Nacht!’ Der
used against fever and for stopping blood, but it was
Angriff des Cornelius Loos auf Petrus Binsfeld.” Pp. 254–276
also used for the salvation of the dead. The exceptional
in Methoden und Konzepte der historischen Hexenforschung.
holiness of this prayer is shown in the belief that if a
Edited by Gunther Franz and Franz Irsigler.Trier: Spee.
person interrupted it by noise when it was being spoken
———. 1998b. “Die Trierer und Luxemburger Hexenprozesse in
der dämonologischen Literatur.” Pp. 303–327 in Methoden in church, he or she would die.
und Konzepte der historischen Hexenforschung.Edited by
RAINER WALZ
Gunther Franz and Franz Irsigler.Trier: Spee.
Van der Eerden, P. C. 1992. “Cornelius Loos und die magia falsa.” See also:AMULETANDTALISMAN;HOLINESS;MAGICANDRELIGION;
Pp. 139–160 in “Vom Unfug der Hexenprozesse”: Vom Unfug des MAGICCIRCLE;SPELLS;SUPERSTITION.
Hexen-Processes;Gegner der Hexenverfolgung von Johann Weyer References and further reading:
bis Friedrich von Spee.Edited by Hartmut Lehmann and Otto Brown, Michael J. 2000. “‘Panem Nostrum’: The Problem of
Ulbricht. Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz. Petition and the Lord’s Prayer.” Journal of Religion 80, no. 4:
———. 1996. “Der Teufelspakt bei Petrus Binsfeld und Cornelius 595–614.
Loos.” Pp. 51–71 in Hexenglaube und Hexenprozesse im Raum Cullmann, Oscar. 1995. Prayer in the New Testament.Translated
Rhein-Mosel-Saar.Edited by Gunther Franz and Franz Irsigler. by John Bowden. Minneapolis: Fortress.
2nd ed. Trier: Spee. Schneider, A. M. 1937. “Vaterunser.” Vol. 8, col. 1513–1515 in
Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens.Edited by Hanns
Lord’s Prayer
Bächtold-Stäubli and Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer. 10 vols. Berlin
In the NewTestament, the Lord’s Prayer is transmitted and Leipzig: de Gruyter, 1927–1942.
in two versions: Matthew 6:9–13 and Luke 11:2–4. It
Lorraine, Duchy of
is related to Jewish prayers (for example, the Kaddish).
The last bidding (numbered as the sixth or seventh) is Records of nearly 2,000 trials and over 1,400 execu-
“but deliver us from evil.” The evilis a genitive (apo tou tions for witchcraft have been preserved from the duchy
ponerou), so it has been discussed since ancient times of Lorraine, omitting the duchy of Bar and numerous
whether it should be understood as a masculine form enclaves belonging mainly to the prince-bishops of
(referring to the Devil) or as a neuter form (referring to Metz, Toul, and Verdun (for which relatively few
evil in general). The Greek Fathers interpreted it as records survive). Such figures place this independent
Lorraine, Duchy of 667 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 705 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.668 Application File
bilingual duchy, a buffer state separating the Holy well-known demonologist, Nicolas Rémy. Rémy com-
Roman Empire from the Kingdom of France, with a posed his witch-hunting manual, the Da e m o n o l a t r i a
total population of approximately 400,000, among the ( De m o n o l a t ry ) , soon after being appointed Lorraine’s
worst witch-hunting regions of Europe; Lorraine’s rate procureur-général (public prosecutor), in 1591, and he
of executions per thousand population in its published it four years later at Lyons. Having pre v i o u s l y
French-speaking heartland ranks second in served fifteen years on the duchy’s highest court, the
French-speaking Eu rope. Lorraine was permanently Change de Na n c y,he had practical experience that no oth-
united after 1506 with the smaller duchy of Bar to the er author on witchcraft could match. (Lorraine had no
west, and the dukes of Lorraine owed fedual allegiance to t rue appellate court: The C h a n g e m e rely exe rcised an ill-
the Holy Roman Em p i re for most of their lands, but they defined supervision over the proceedings in the local
also owed homage to the kings of France for half of Ba r. c o u rts, which re g a rded its comments as advisory and occa-
Unusually rich local financial re c o rds re c o rd expenses sionally disre g a rded them.)
f rom over 1,000 executions in Lorraine between the With typical late-humanist bombast, Rémy boasted
1470s and 1630s. During the peak era of trials in his preface that he had prosecuted more than 900
(1570–1630), these re c o rds are almost 90 percent com- people who had been executed as witches during the
plete for Lorraine’s Francophone parts, and because p revious fifteen years, but he named only about 125
e ve ry execution re p resented a justifiable public expense, defendants, extremely few of whom can be traced in
local officials invariably re c o rded whenever witches we re L o r r a i n e’s abundant fiscal arc h i ves (and some of them
burned. Included among these same financial re c o rds, in were not executed). Instead, Rémy’s significance lies in
o rder to justify claims for reimbursement, are partial tri- the fact that he and his son Claude-Ma rcel occupied
al re c o rds for over 350 defendants. Lacunae push the the post of p ro c u re u r - g é n é ra l to the duchy of Lorraine
p robable total number of executions to about 1,600— for forty consecutive years after 1591, thereby making
slightly more than half as many as previously supposed. it the largest European state with chief prosecutors who
Although Lorraine’s probable overall total of witchcraft consistently encouraged rather than curbed witchcraft
e xecutions matched or even exceeded the estimated p rosecutions throughout the worst period of witch
totals from many of the “s u p e r h u n t s” sponsored by hunting in western Eu rope. The influence of both
Catholic prelates in western Ge r m a n y, the numbers Rémys was indirect but real: Their commitment
f rom its French-speaking heartland we re lower than ensured that the dukes would not question the persecu-
those from the Pays de Vaud in French Sw i t ze r l a n d . tion, while the Changewas highly unlikely to challenge
During the peak of witch hunting in both places local courts on witchcraft when the public pro s e c u t o r
(1590–1630), Protestant Vaud, with a population much held such a high-profile public position.
smaller than that of Francophone Lorraine, ave r a g e d L o r r a i n e’s re m a rkably abundant local financial re c o rd s ,
t h i rty re c o rded witchcraft executions per year against supplemented by hundreds of trial fragments, describe
only eighteen for Catholic Lorraine. m o re than twenty trials and executions for witchcraft
Several scholars have demonstrated recently just how b e t ween 1477 and 1486 and another cluster of witchcraft
heavily this region was affected by witchcraft trials trials in its Francophone heartlands between 1544 and
( Biesel 1997; Briggs 2002). Its earliest known exe c u- 1552: Ten witches we re burned in four districts in 1545,
tions for witchcraft occurred in both the duchy of Bar six more in 1550. After stopping completely betwe e n
and Lorraine itself, from the 1470s until the beginning 1555 and 1569, witchcraft trials resumed there during the
of the sixteenth century. After a long hiatus, a few 1570s; for the first time, they included Ge r m a n o p h o n e
d o zen witchcraft executions took place in mid- Lorraine. Despite ve ry incomplete financial re c o rds, at
sixteenth-century Lorraine. Apart from these episodes, least seventeen different districts re c o rded witch burnings
L o r r a i n e’s witchcraft executions we re spread uninter- during the 1570s; overall totals averaged almost six exe c u-
ruptedly over two generations (1570–1635). However, tions annually. In the following decade, financial re c o rd s
these executions we re distributed unevenly across its i m p roved and the number of re c o rded witch burnings
t h ree principal geographic parts. Most of them m o re than doubled, accelerating to about thirteen victims
o c c u r red in the Francophone heartland b a i l l i a g e s per year a c ross Lorraine’s Francophone areas, with
(bailiwicks) of Nancy and Vosges; there were hundreds Ge r m a n o p h o n e districts adding another four or five exe-
m o re in the Germanophone b a i l l i a ge d’ Al l e m a g ne in cutions per ye a r. For the first time, more than ten people
the northeast. Howe ve r, there we re re l a t i vely few we re burned as witches in one year in a few districts (in
e xecutions in the western duchy of Ba r, about half of St . - Dié in 1583; in Homburg in 1586; in Bitche in 1588;
which belonged to the huge zone supervised by the and possibly in Di e u ze in 1586).
Pa rl e m e n t of Paris (a sove reign judicial court, with After Rémy’s appointment as p ro c u re u r - g é n é ra l ,
jurisdiction over approximately one-half of France). nearly complete financial re c o rds show a furt h e r
T h e re is one key explanation for Lorraine’s grim re c o rd . i n c rease to about eighteen executions per year fro m
This bilingual but solidly Catholic duchy produced a 1591 to 1600 in Francophone Lorraine, although the
668 Lorraine, Duchy of |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 706 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.669 Application File
highest totals of the early 1590s came fro m and Lhermitte 1956). During her exo rcisms, she also
Germanophone districts (Di e u ze, Wa l l e rfangen, accused a high-ranking Franciscan, who fled to Fr a n c e
Val-de-Lièpvre, and Homburg). While the two genera- in order to avoid arrest and then defended himself in a
tions of Rémys ran Lorraine’s prosecutorial apparatus, pamphlet. In a transparently political trial of 1625, a
re c o rded executions for witchcraft in Fr a n c o p h o n e c o u rtier and key adviser to the former duke was burned
Lorraine remained at approximately constant leve l s : soon after his patro n’s death, charged with bew i t c h i n g
From 1591 until 1630, one can locate almost 740 the new duke’s marriage to the previous duke’s heire s s
re c o rded burnings, over eighteen per ye a r. As in the four years before; another official of the former duke
neighboring bilingual duchy of Luxembourg, Lorraine’s met the same fate in 1631.
Germanophone districts, the sparsely populated b a i l- Lorraine’s new ruler soon confronted the novel prob-
liage d’ Al l e m a g n e ( Hiegel 1961), seem pro p o rt i o n a t e l y lem of a demonically possessed village, Ma t t a i n c o u rt .
m o re heavily affected by witchcraft trials than its Its parish priest, a key adviser to Duke Charles IV and
Francophone regions, especially in the early 1590s and n ow venerated as a saint, ultimately had to re s i g n
again from 1618 to 1621. Meanwhile, far sketchier because neither he nor anyone else could control the
financial re c o rds from the autonomous duchy of Ba r, De v i l’s public scandals in his church whenever Ma s s
where the Rémys had no authority, suggest a probable was celebrated. Be f o re this scandal ended, it had
total of fewer than four witchcraft executions per ye a r e vo l ved from unsuccessful exo rcisms into the largest
between 1580 and 1630, in a region midway in size and single witch hunt in Lorraine’s history. Over forty peo-
population between Lorraine’s Germanophone districts ple we re burned for witchcraft, most of them accused
and its Francophone heartland. by demonically possessed adolescents. In order to end
One southeastern district, produced a disproportion- this panic, eight underaged witches, too young to be
ate share of Lorraine’s executions for witchcraft. e xecuted, had to be quarantined for over a ye a r.
St . - Dié, with less than 10 percent of Lorraine’s Ma t t a i n c o u rt’s hithert o - u n k n own tragedy offered a
Francophone population, accounted for over 35 per- Catholic version that foreshadowed the all-too-famous
cent of the recorded totals of executed witches from two d e velopments sixty years later among the Puritans of
dozen Francophone districts during the major persecu- Salem village in Massachusetts. Wi d e s p read attacks of
tions between 1591 and 1630. Overall, 300 people plague, coupled with the French invasion and occupa-
from this single district were burned as witches, all but tion of Lorraine, effectively ended Lorraine’s prolonged
ten of them between 1580 and 1632. One possible witch hunts in the early 1630s.
explanation for this grim re c o rd is that, unlike most
WILLIAM MONTER
other parts of Lorraine, much of this district belonged
to three great ecclesiastical lords (the cathedral chapter See also: FOURIER,ST.PIERRE;NUMBEROFWITCHES;PARLEMENTOF
of St.-Dié and the abbeys of Etival and Moyenmoutier). PARIS;RÉMY,NICOLAS;VAUD,PAYSDE.
References and further reading:
Each possessed the right of high justice and hunted
Biesel, Elizabeth. 1997. Hexenjustiz, Volksmagie und soziale
witches enthusiastically, but they all used ducal officials
Konflikte im lothringischen Raum.Trier: Spee.
to endorse their sentences and—because ecclesiastical
Briggs, Robin. 1989. “Witchcraft and Popular Mentality in
o f ficials should never shed blood—paid them to carry
Lorraine, 1580–1630 –1630.” Pp. 66–82 in Communities of
out the actual burnings.
Belief: Cultural and Social Tensions in Early Modern France.
In Lorraine, witchcraft persecutions extended upw a rd Oxford: Clarendon.
to the ducal household after 1600 and became notable ———. 1991. “Women as Victims? Witches, Judges and the
for the high rank of those accused. In 1604, after Community.” FrenchHistory5: 438–450.
Bernabite experts, a cardinal and a papal legate, had ———. 2002. Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural
been brought from Italy to conduct prolonged exo r- Context of European Witchcraft. 2nd ed. Malden, MA, and
cisms on the duke’s crippled second son, a minor court Oxford: Blackwell.
Delcambre, Etienne, and Jean Lhermitte. 1956. Un cas enigma-
o f ficial was finally accused and burned for bew i t c h i n g
tique de possession diabolique en Lorraine au XVIIe siècle:
the child. A few years later, the same monks exo rc i s e d
Elisabeth de Ranfaing.Nancy: Société d’Archéologie Lorraine.
the card i n a l’s cousin, a bishop of Ve rdun who had been
Hiegel, Henri. 1961–1968. Le bailliage d’Allemagne de 1600 à
b ewitched into marriage (because of his kinship with the
1632.2 vols. Sarreguemines: Pierron.
ducal house, the bishop’s career was unaffected by this
Monter,William. forthcoming. “The Catholic Salem, or How the
peccadillo). In the 1620s, as Lorraine’s annual ave r a g e s Devil Destroyed a Saint’s Parish (Mattaincourt 1627–31).” In
of witchcraft executions dropped off to about ten per Witchcraft in Context. Edited byWolfgang Behringer and James
year before their final surge in 1629–1630, two other Sharpe. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
p rominent men we re burned for this offense. The first, a
physician attached to the ducal family, was convicted of Loudun Nuns
causing the demonic possession of an extremely devo u t The spectacular exorcisms of Loudun’s Ursuline nuns in
n o b l ewoman with pretensions to sainthood (De l c a m b re the 1630s played an essential role in the most famous
Loudun Nuns 669 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 707 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.670 Application File
witchcraft trial of seventeenth-century France. It is In late September 1632, one of her young nuns had a
arguably the best-known witchcraft case in European nighttime apparition. The priest who gave religious dire c-
history, its historical fascination paralleling that of the tion to the convent had recently died of the plague; one
Salem witchcraft events in America. Recent generations night his ghost appeared to the nun and begged for
have portrayed the nuns’ torments on stage, in films, p r a yers. Shaken, she re p o rted this the following morning.
and even in an opera. The episode became so famous Jeanne des Anges accepted the apparition as genuine. T h e
for at least two reasons: in part because thousands of frightened nuns, obsessed by the thought of the specter
people observed the extraordinary recorded behavior of night and day, prayed earnestly, but within a few days the
the nuns in very unusual public exorcisms, and in part old priest was forgotten and the charismatic but suppos-
because a prominent priest, whom many believed inno- edly libertine Gr a n d i e r, whom the nuns had never met or
cent, was executed for causing the possessions. e ven seen, had taken his place in their thoughts. Fro m
Moreover, there has been continuing debate ever since n ow on, the nightly invasions became decidedly ero t i c .
over what roles the principal characters played and why, Jeanne des Anges said in her autobiography that “after the
up to and including King Louis XIII and his first min- demons had fully aroused in us the passion of love for this
ister, Cardinal Richelieu. Furthermore, this case does man, he did not fail to come at night into our house and
not stand alone; it was the second of four connected into our chambers to solicit us to sin” (Legué and To u re t t e
French cases of convent “possessions,” preceded by one 1985, 67). Soon the nuns began to experience extraord i-
in Aix-en-Provence and followed by cases in Louviers n a ry convulsions, uncontrolled laughter, running, swe a r-
and Auxonne. ing, screaming, and blaspheming. They lost all self-pos-
In the western French town of Loudun, the Ur s u l i n e session. They spoke in strange voices. These shocking
c o n vent began experiencing multiple assaults of demon- e vents we re happening to young women who we re re l a t e d
ic possession in 1632. Led by their mother superior, to leading families in the town. Clearly, in the minds of
Jeanne des Anges, the nuns accused a local parish priest, most observers, they we re possessed by devils. Exo rc i s m s
Urbain Gr a n d i e r, of being the author of these posses- we re begun, and Jeanne des Anges’s “d e m o n s” accused
sions. He fought against these accusations but was eve n- Grandier of having brought all this about.
tually arrested, tried, and, in the words of his sentence, One of the chief exo rcists was Tr i n c a n t’s nephew. It
found guilty “of the crime of sorc e ry, evil spells, and the was he who first compared the case of Grandier to that
possession visited upon some Ursuline nuns of this of Louis Ga u f r i d y, the priest who had allegedly caused
t ow n” (Bibliothèque Nationale, Fds fr. 24163). the demonic possession of another convent of
Grandier was a brilliant young parish priest assigned Ursuline nuns at Aix-en-Provence in 1611. T h e
to Loudun in 1617. At this time the town was part Loudun exo rcisms, initially started in secre c y, we re
Catholic, part Huguenot, each fearing the strength and then extended to include an audience of local gentry
intentions of the other. Catholics hoped that the hand- and ultimately became public extravaganzas open to
some, charismatic young priest would win many con- c rowds from far and wide. The onlookers, as many as
ve rts. For twe l ve years he was a great success; but then, 2,000 at a time, we re amazed at the contortions, the
almost cert a i n l y, he seduced Philippe, the daughter of his obscenities, and the immodesty of the young women.
friend, Louis Trincant, one of Loudun’s foremost citize n s A highlight of one performance came when Jeanne des
and a man whose widespread family connections re a c h e d Anges vomited up a piece of paper, allegedly a pact
up to Cardinal Richelieu. The whole Trincant clan sud- that Grandier had made with the Devil and signed
denly became Gr a n d i e r’s implacable enemy. He could with his blood. It still exists in the Bi b l i o t h è q u e
not be accused of Ph i l i p p e’s seduction without ru i n i n g Nationale in Paris (BN, Fds fr. 7618). Many believe d
her name; Trincant avoided this by accusing him of a e ve rything they saw and we re told, although some
hidden life of lechery with his female parishioners. T h e we re skeptical and thought the exo rcists we re manipu-
priest, constantly under attack during the coming ye a r s , lating the nuns. Then the exo rcists claimed that the
ultimately fought off these accusations. But in the mean- Devil could be forced to tell the truth under
time, his reputation and the stories about him had e xo rcism—a proposition opposed by leading Catholic
reached inside Loudun’s Ursuline conve n t . theologians of the time. This led to accusations of
The convent had opened in 1626 and had grow n witchcraft against some of Gr a n d i e r’s friends, made by
q u i c k l y. The nuns we re ve ry young, including their devils under exo rcism, and created a widespread fear
mother superior, Jeanne des Anges, who at the begin- that a general witch hunt was about to begin.
ning of the possessions in 1632 was still only thirt y Fo rt u n a t e l y, Gr a n d i e r’s friends we re too powe rful to
years old. She was a clever, strong-willed leader, ambi- be successfully attacked. Meanwhile, Grandier fought
tious and determined to make her convent a great suc- back against his accusers. By late 1633, the case was
cess. She was also a manipulator and had a tendency to becoming a national drama.
severe nervous problems under stress, for which she had Trincant and his supporters now appealed to
to be treated from time to time by Loudun doctors. Richelieu and the king to intervene. The question as to
670 Loudun Nuns |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 708 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.671 Application File
The 1634 execution at Loudun of the French parish priest Urbain Grandier, the victim of the most famous witchcraft trial in Europe. To the left
are the demonically possessed nuns being exorcized. (TopFoto.co.uk)
why the Crown acted is still unresolved. Perhaps it was Anges who saved her convent. As she re c ove re d ,
i m p o rtant to avoid widening a breach betwe e n “m i r a c l e s” occurred, and she became famous. To those
Huguenots and Catholics in Loudun; perhaps the who believed her, she was no longer a woman attacked
moral issue of a priest seducing a parishioner and going by the Devil for her weakness and sins but rather a
unpunished was a factor. Whatever his motivation, the p rey chosen as worthy of all he could inflict. He r
king ord e red an inquiry, with the explicit purpose of c o n vent, and she herself, became a center for visitors
finding Grandier guilty as a sorc e rer and punishing and pilgrims. Many re g a rded her death as that of a
him. In the trial some months later, seventy-two wit- saint. Like many other French convents, the Loudun
nesses came before an assembly of experienced judges Ursulines later fell on hard financial times, and their
and testified against Gr a n d i e r. The court found him house closed in 1772.
g u i l t y, and he was burned at the stake the same day
before a crowd of thousands. Unresolved Issues
It was thought the possessions would end when Since the day of Gr a n d i e r’s execution on August 18,
their alleged instigator was dead, but they did not. 1634, debates have raged over this case. Time has
This raised some doubts about the validity of all that a n s we red some questions; many are still in doubt. T h e
had happened. Meanwhile, the nuns we re left in ve ry first issue raised was whether the nuns we re tru l y
p ove rt y, with their school closed, no money coming possessed or sick or charlatans—or some combination
in, and their reputations in tatters. They we re of these. If they we re sick, what was the cause? If they
e xo rc i zed for months and sometimes years; Jeanne des we re charlatans, who was instructing them and
Anges was only finally cured in 1638. So m e teaching them what to do? Then there are questions
s u p p o rters came to their aid, but it was Jeanne des about why Richelieu invo l ved himself so deeply in this
Loudun Nuns 671 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 709 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.672 Application File
case. We re his primary concerns reasons of state, ensued, at which the nuns accused another priest,
moral issues, or personal re venge? All have been put Father Thomas Boullé, and a former mother superior,
f o rw a rd . Françoise de la Croix. The Parlement(sovereign judicial
And was Grandier really the libertine he was c o u rt) of Rouen executed Father Boullé for witchcraft
accused of being? Both direct and indirect evidence in 1647; Father Pi c a rd’s bones we re exhumed and
suggests that he was, but was that sufficient reason to burned with Father Boullé. The case against Madeleine
put him to death if he had not caused the posses- Ba vent was left unre s o l ved; she died in an asylum in
sions? Was he eliminated to avoid an open and 1653. The accusations against Mother de la Croix nev-
perhaps murd e rous rift developing in Loudun er reached court. For exorcists, the case was a succès de
b e t ween the Huguenots and Catholics? Then there scandale thatpromoted the value of exorcism.
a re the questions relating to the Church. Why was his Major possessions at Ursuline convents in
bishop so determined to ruin him? Why we re the A i x - e n - Provence (1609–1611) and in Loudun in the
e xo rcists permitted to perform public exo rc i s m s , 1630s provided a model for the incidents at Louviers.
c o n t r a ry to well-established general practice? To what For nearly two years, exo rcists flocked to the conve n t
extent we re all these events simply re flections of f rom Normandy and beyond to confront the possessed
family and personal conflicts in a provincial town at a nuns, performing over 100 public exo rcisms. T h e s e
time of great tension? we re scenes of high drama, in which the women
What we do know is that the questions raised about writhed and wailed—behavior supposedly signaling
the case played their part in the eventual decline of t o rt u re by demons. Exo rcists themselves also re s o rt e d
witch hunts in France. to violence at times, seeing the women as no longer
human but merely shelters for devils who must be
—ROBERT RAPLEY
obliged to submit to the Catholic Church. Ma n u s c r i p t
See also: AIX-EN-PROVENCENUNS;AUXONNENUNS;BEWITCHMENT; and printed accounts of the case appeared over a peri-
CONVENTCASES;EXORCISM;FRANCE;GHOSTS;LOUVIERSNUNS; od of twe l ve years (1643–1654). It inspired aro u n d
PACTWITHTHEDEVIL;POSSESSION,DEMONIC.
t h i rt y - five printed works, a number exceeded only by
References and further reading:
the Loudun case, which led to fifty-four works. T h e
Carmona, Michel. 1988. Les diables de Loudun: Sorcellerie et poli-
tragedy of Louviers is that of the considerable literature
tique sous Richelieu.Paris: Fayard.
the possession generated, ve ry little concerned T h o m a s
Certeau, Michel de. 2000. The Possession at Loudun.Translated by
Boullé, its chief victim. Instead, exo rcists, their sup-
Michael B. Smith. Chicago and London: University of Chicago
Press. p o rters, and their opponents brought to Louviers their
Ferber, Sarah. 2004. Demonic Possession and Exorcism in Early own polemic agendas, and a widespread fascination
Modern France. London and NewYork: Routledge. with lurid possession cases in this period ensured a
Huxley, Aldous. 1952.The Devils of Loudun.London: Chatto and readership for their works. Some major texts merit
Windus. a n a l y s i s .
Legué, Gabriel, and Gilles de la Tourette. 1985. Soeur Jeanne des Ac c o rding to one exo rcist, Esprit du Bosro g e r, a
Anges, supérieure des Ursulines de Loudon (XVIIe siècle):
Capuchin priest, the trouble had started in the 1620s,
Autobiographie d’une hystérique possédée.Paris: Millon.
when the convent’s first spiritual director, Father Pierre
Rapley, Robert. 1998. A Case of Witchcraft: The Trial of Urbain
David, had supposedly spread “d i a b o l i c a l” devo t i o n a l
Grandier.Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University
practices of “illuminism” (meaning overzealous, mysti-
Press.
cal, and unapproved spiritual practices) in the convent.
Villeneuve, Roland. 1980. La mystérieuse affaire Grandier: Le
diable à Loudun.Paris: Payot. Bosroger published a full account of the case in 1652,
e n t i t l e d La pieté affligee, ov Discovrs historiqve &
theologique de la possession des religieuses dittes de Saincte
Louviers Nuns Elizabeth de Louuiers ( Piety Afflicted, or Historic and
An outbreak of demonic possession in a convent at Theological Discourse of the Possession of the
Louviers in Normandy in the 1640s became the last in St. Elizabeth Nuns of Louviers). The supposed illumin-
a French series of incidents in which possessed nuns ism–witchcraft link became a distinctive feature of this
made successful accusations of witchcraft against their case. Both illuminism and public exo rcism are typical
spiritual directors. aspects of the intense Catholic spiritual revival charac-
In late 1642, at the Hospitaller convent of teristic of baroque France.
St e . - Elisabeth and St.-Louis, several nuns began to Another exorcist, Father Thomas Le Gauffre, saw the
display symptoms of demonic possession. They claimed possessions as an opportunity to promote the cult of his
the cause was the body of their recently deceased deceased friend, the influential Father Claude Bernard
spiritual dire c t o r, Father Mathurin Pi c a rd, who they (d. 1641), known as the “poor priest.” Be r n a rd had
said had been a witch. They also accused another nun, successfully performed exorcisms in his lifetime, and Le
Madeleine Ba vent, of witchcraft. Public exo rc i s m s Ga u f f re sought both to emulate and venerate Be r n a rd
672 Louviers Nuns |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 710 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.673 Application File
by using some of his personal relics to exorcise the nuns Love Magic
of Louviers. Le Ga u f f re published several accounts of Multifarious magical rituals devised to gain power over
successful exo rcisms using Be r n a rd’s relics, but the other people’s emotions (especially sexual desire )
sainthood campaign did not advance very far. through the subversion of free will constituted love
After Boullé’s execution in 1647, Madeleine Bavent magic. As the term reveals, love magic was commonly
remained in jail, her own fate still undecided despite used to arouse passion and to bind unwilling lovers. In
her confessions of witchcraft. An Oratorian priest more aggressive forms, it was aimed at destroying
named Charles De s m a rets undertook to defend her unfaithful lovers. The experiments or techniques of love
reputation—and make his ow n — by publishing magic could be learned by anyone, female or male,
Hi s t o i re de Magdelaine Ba vent, Religieuse du Mo n a s t è re young or old. In practice, however, one can detect a
de St. Loüis de Louviers (The St o ry of Ma g d e l a i n e noticeable gender bias: The practitioners and users of
Ba vent, Nun of the St.-Louis Convent of Louviers). love magic in Mediterranean Europe were commonly
The book mixed excerpted interrogations of Ba ve n t female laypeople, or less frequently, male ecclesiastics;
with a long autobiographical piece, reputedly dictated only in southern Italy do users seem to have been pre-
by Ba vent at her request. De s m a re t s’s account tried to dominantly male and from the laity. Its many practices
demonstrate, first, that Ba ve n t’s confessions to the make it difficult to draw any strict boundary here
Pa rl e m e n t of Rouen had been obtained under dure s s b e t ween learned and popular culture or betwe e n
due to the pressure of continuous new accusations put religion and magic. Everything rests on the beliefs that
f o rw a rd under exo rcism by the conve n t’s “d e m o n s” feelings can be manipulated through external events
(principally the demon of sister Anne Barré, named and that lovers can be entirely controlled by the arousal
“Leviathan”); and second, that her new confession was of discomfort and love sickness. The rituals rely on both
in effect the first time Bavent had been able to confess holy and demonic sources.
fully and honestly, having been obstructed by a succes-
sion of corrupt spiritual directors and hostile female Functions and Users
superiors at her convent. Love magic functioned as a means to cope with emo-
Some French critics again argued, as at Loudun, that tional insecurity and with the anxieties of everyday life
exorcists were frauds, exploiting exorcism for malicious by transforming unlucky circumstances into better
or self-promotional ends. PierreYvelin, a doctor at the ones. Often love magic involved a threat of physical dis-
c o u rt of the regent, Anne of Austria, had visited the tress: Victims should suffer and be deprived of food,
convent early in the case and wrote two short skeptical drink, sleep, and power until the user’s desires were
accounts. At this time, French physicians were divided met. Love magic was an attempt to gain power over the
over the question of possession, all allowing it as a pos- feelings and actions of another person with the aid of
sibility but often refuting individual cases. Two local the supernatural. Behind this aspiration at gaining such
Norman doctors, Pierre Maignart and Jean Lempèrière, power stood emotional anxieties, especially of women
who supported the diagnosis of possession at Louviers, in Mediterranean Europe. Their amorous anxieties were
replied aggressively to their Parisian colleague in print. reflected through a wide array of practices that revealed
The increasingly spiteful debate was only curt a i l e d the “different stages of love” and the “psychological
when the court in Paris intervened. states” (Sánchez Ortega 1991, 63) experienced in a
sexual relationship or in marriage.
SARAH FERBER
Di v i n a t o ry experiments promised useful informa-
See also: AIX-EN-PROVENCENUNS;CONVENTCASES;EXORCISM;
tion after a love r, or more rarely a husband, had
LILLENUNS;LOUDUNNUNS;POSSESSION,DEMONIC.
d i s a p p e a red. Mo re generally, a woman could assess her
References and further reading:
chances on the marriage market. Pr i m a r i l y, howe ve r,
Barbe, Lucien. 1899. “Histoire du couvent de Saint Louis et de
Sainte Elizabeth de Louviers et de la possession des religieuses practitioners of love magic sought to arouse affection,
de ce monastère.” Bulletin de la Société d’études diverses de l ove, or even hatred. They intended to compel
l’arondissement de Louviers(1898) 5: 103–434. unwilling lovers to appear and to fulfill their erotic and
[Bavent, Madeleine, and Charles Desmarets]. 1652. Histoire de a m o rous desires. Love magic was used not only to bind
Magdelaine Bavent, Religieuse du Monastère de Saint Loüis de people (and male members) and force them into
Louviers. Paris: Jacques Le Gentil. marriage but also to destroy already-existing re l a t i o n-
Du Bosroger, Esprit. 1652. La pieté affligee, ov discovrs historiqve &
ships. Rituals of love magic we re appropriate when a
Theologique de la Possession des Religieuses dittes de Saincte
man and a woman had just met, but they could be
Elizabeth de Louuiers.Rouen: Jean Le Boulenger.
applied at any time during a partnership or marriage.
Mandrou, Robert. 1968. Magistrats et sorciers en France au XVIIe
Married women relied on love magic to bind their
siècle: Une analyse de psychologie historique.Paris: Plon.
l overs or to make their husbands treat them with
Vidal, Daniel. 1990. Critique de la raison mystique: Bénoît de
Canfield, possession et dépossession au XVIIe siècle. Grenoble: g reater respect and care; prostitutes used differe n t
Millon. techniques to attract and hold clients.
Love Magic 673 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 711 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.674 Application File
Beliefs and Practices desired person, such magnets would attract the beloved
Love magic covered a multitude of differing practices through their innate power. Bodily fluids, like menstru-
that are not easily categorized because they often al blood, were mixed with the wine of the Eucharist or
overlapped. Di v i n a t o ry experiments, for example, with herbs like sage or rue (picked at dawn). W h e n
encompassed elements of necromancy or conjuration; d runk by the desired person, they we re believed to be
others were merely superstitious rituals. They all had, an excellent aphrodisiac. Alternative l y, a consecrated
however, the advantage of being simple and cheap.The host was added to the food or wine of the desire d
easiest way was to count out a handful of beans while person. Not only the ritual expertise of priests but
chanting “He loves me, he does not love me.” Another, sacramental objects in general (holy oil, holy water)
even more popular experiment in northern Italy and were central to a variety of love magical practices.
Spain was casting beans or casting a rope. The pattern Other magical rituals, conjurations especially,
in which the beans or the rope landed after being derived their power more clearly from demons and spir-
thrown into the air symbolized the degree of intimacy its (demonic magic). Unlike necro m a n c y, which
b e t ween two lovers. This ritual was commonly appealed to God in order to force the demons into obe-
preceded by a prayer to St. Helen or to St. Ursula and dience, in conjurations God and Christian elements
by making the sign of the cross over the beans. we re excluded from the ritual proceedings. Images of
Alternatively, other fortunetellers used fire, a sieve, saints were removed from the room where the conjura-
special cards, or scissors for the same ends. tion took place, as was the cross from the rosary. It was
Charms, incantations, and conjurations we re more by the power of words alone that the evil spirits fulfilled
a c q u i s i t i ve in nature. Some of them we re spre a d the sorceress’s will. Spells that were placed on body and
t h roughout Eu rope, whereas others we re particular to a mind would command the spirits (with variations) to
s p e c i fic place. Some love charms and incantations we re make a certain person unable to eat, sleep, think, write,
i n s p i red by official rituals of the Church, such as praying read, or have sex unless he came to the woman and
on a ro s a ry or saying a “p r a ye r” (Key of David). T h e y complied with her will. The aggre s s i veness of these
might call on the Virgin Ma ry, the saints, or the Ho l y practices lay in the attempt to destroy the will of anoth-
Spirit, and they might re q u i re the use of blessed candles er person entirely through especially violent metaphors.
or other religious apparatus for their effic a c y. T h e y
might appeal to events of religious legends or sacred his- Prosecution
t o ry, pleading, for example, that the Virgin Ma ry make a The vast bulk of documentation of prosecution for love
c e rtain person feel the love she felt when giving birth to magic comes from Mediterranean Eu rope, mainly fro m
her son. Like this example of sympathetic magic, many n o rthern Italy and the Iberian peninsula in the late six-
recitations we re based on we l l - k n own aspects of biblical teenth and early seventeenth centuries. Howe ve r, love
teachings and Christian doctrine. In early modern magic was a common allegation in fourt e e n t h - c e n t u ry
Venice, for example, Je s u s’s holy passion became a com- France and in medieval England. Two women we re
mon cultural image to induce pain and make the burned for using love magic in 1390 by the Pa rl e m e n to f
b e l oved suffer for the lover just as Jesus had suffered for Paris (sove reign judicial court, with jurisdiction ove r
mankind. Ad d i t i o n a l l y, devotional or simple wax or a p p roximately one-half of France). The Me d i t e r r a n e a n
pasta statutes we re made (or bought) in the name of the Inquisitions prosecuted love magic with i n c reasing fre-
person against whom the magic should work. They we re quency in the climate of the post-Tritendine reform and
p u n c t u red with pins or bound with string, but the convicted people of va r i o u s offenses, from the holding of
action was always accompanied by words—such as the h e retical opinions to coercion of free will to apostasy.
incantation of Sa n t’ Orsola to cause impotence— These “s u p e r s t i t i o n s” we re prosecuted with a compara-
c reating an analogy between the object and the victim. t i vely lenient approach by the Holy Of fice, which distin-
In this cosmology, “Emotions, like physical pains, could guished between professional sorc e resses (who often
be the result of external events and could readily be claimed economic motives) and simple users of love
ascribed to other people, their source sought outside magic. W h e reas the former had to endure exile and whip-
rather than in the self” (Roper 1994, 213). ping, the latter we re commonly freed after an abjuration.
Assistance was sometimes sought from priests—not
DANIELA HACKE
always with their knowledge. “Pr a ye r s” we re secre t l y
spoken during Mass when the priest was making the See also:CHARMS;GENDER;MAGIC,LEARNED;MAGIC,NATURAL;
sign of the cross over the Eucharist. Objects and
MAGIC,POPULAR;MAGICANDRELIGION;MARYTHEVIRGIN;
magical formulas were placed under the altar, attempt-
NECROMANCY;RITUALMAGIC;SPELLS;SUPERSTITION;WATER,
HOLY;WORDS,POWEROF.
ing in this way to absorb the liturgical power of the
References and further reading:
Mass. Some priests also willingly performed masses
Gentilcore, David. 1992. From Bishop to Witch: The System of the
over magical objects or baptized profane things, most
Sacred in Early ModernTerra d’Otranto.Manchester:
commonly a magnet. Ba p t i zed in the name of the Manchester University Press.
674 Love Magic |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 712 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.675 Application File
Hacke, Daniela. 2001. “Von der Wirkungsmächtigkeit des Although Lowes was indicted (and acquitted) twice
Heiligen: Magische Liebeszauberpraktiken und die religiöse for witchcraft, his offenses we re mostly secular. In the
Mentalität venezianischer Laien.” Historische Anthropologie2: Star Chamber, it was alleged that Lowes fought with his
311–332.
neighbors and launched many lawsuits. In the early
———. 2002. “Aus Liebe und aus Not: Eine Geschichte des
1630s, he was also indicted in the Court of King’s
Gefühls anhand frühneuzeitlicher Liebeszauberprozesse in
Bench for “barratry,” or vexatious litigation. In 1642, a
Venedig.” Zeitschrift für historische Forschung3: 359–382.
pamphlet entitled A Magazine of Scandall noted that a
Kieckhefer, Richard. 1989. Magic in the Middle Ages.Cambridge:
petition had been raised to eject Lowes as a scandalous
Cambridge University Press.
Martin, Ruth. 1989. Witchcraft and the Inquisition in Venice, m i n i s t e r. It also damned Lowes as a “c o m m o n
1550–1650.Oxford: Blackwell. Barrettor,” adding that he kept company with witches
O’Neil, Mary. 1987. “Magical Healing, Love Magic and the and used their services. It even alleged that he had
Inquisition in Late Sixteenth-Century Modena.” Pp. 88–114 in t h reatened to burn the houses of anyone who accused
Inquisition and Society in Early Modern Europe.Edited by him of witchcraft. The fact that he had protected an
Stephen Haliczer.Totowa, NJ, and NewYork: Barnes and accused witch in Brandeston thirty years earlier made
Noble.
him even more suspicious.
Roper, Lyndal. 1994. Oedipus and the Devil. Witchcraft, Sexuality
The arrival of Ma t t h ew Hopkins at Brandeston in
and Religion in Early Modern Europe.London and NewYork:
1645 provided the catalyst for accusations that would
Routledge.
d e s t roy Lowes. His neighbors charged him with a range
Ruggiero, Guido. 1993. Binding Passions: Tales of Magic, Marriage,
of m a l e fic i a . For example, a Brandeston deponent,
and Power at the End of the Renaissance.NewYork and Oxford:
Oxford University Press. Nathaniel Man, testified that Lowes had threatened him.
Sánchez Ortega,María Helena. 1991. “Sorcery and Eroticism in Ma n’s child sickened and died soon afterw a rd, a dire c t
Love Magic.” Pp. 58–92 in Cultural Encounters: The Impact of result of the witness’s previous dealings with Lowe s .
the Inquisition in Spain and the New World. Edited byMary E. L owe s — by this time in his eighties—was taken to
Perry and Anne J. Cruz. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University Framlingham Castle, where he underwent the swimming
of California Press. o rdeal in the moat. Su b s e q u e n t l y, he was chased around a
Thomas, Keith. 1973. Religion and the Decline of Magic.1971.
room until exhausted and, like other East Anglian sus-
Reprint, Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.
pects in these trials, deprived of sleep so that delirious
confessions could be extracted. Lowes finally admitted
Lowes, John (ca. 1565–1645)
that he kept seven diabolical imps, the largest of which
Vicar of Brandeston in Suffolk, the most prominent vic- he suckled, but he denied sealing a contract with the
tim of the 1645 panic instigated by the self-appointed Devil. He used the imps to kill cattle and imperil ship-
“Witch Finder General,” Ma t t h ew Hopkins. Although ping out of Great Yarmouth. To Hopkins himself, Lowe s
male defendants we re re l a t i vely rare in English witch- re p o rtedly confessed that he had indeed compacted with
craft cases, and men of gentry status rarer still, the case Satan and that to test out his imps, he had sunk a ship,
of John Lowes fits patterns from continental witch pan- d rowning fourteen men. Lowes was indicted and con-
ics by proving that no one was exempt from accusation victed at Bu ry St. Edmunds. De voutly maintaining his
when faced with an investigator of Ho p k i n s’s tenacity at innocence to the last, he was hanged on August 27,
a time of enormous unrest in En g l a n d . 1645, with several others condemned at the same trial.
L owes was a highly unusual vicar. Educated at St . L owes read the lesson at the execution himself.
John’s College, Cambridge, he began preaching at Bury A f t e rw a rd, the stew a rd of the manor noted that
St. Edmunds in 1594. Appointed to a living at e ve ryone was glad Lowes was finally out of the way.
Brandeston in 1596, he married a local woman in Others upheld his innocence but recognized the power
1599. In the next half-century, Lowes was rarely at of the parish to get its way against a common enemy.
peace with his neighbors. He insisted on a type and
intensity of preaching that annoyed his parishioners.
MALCOLM J. GASKILL
Accusations of Catholicism and sorc e ry we re made
against Lowes when he was in his forties, and he was See also: AGEOFACCUSEDWITCHES;CONFESSIONS;FAMILIARS;
later accused of accompanying a cunning man to a fair HOPKINS,MATTHEW;MALEWITCHES;PAMPHLETSAND
to buy “popish” trinkets. But these charges were proba- NEWSPAPERS;PROTESTANTREFORMATION;PURITANISM;
bly unfounded; it seems more likely that his leanings STEARNE,JOHN;SWIMMINGTEST.
References and further reading:
were Puritan. As early as 1594, he had been summoned
Deacon, Richard. 1976. Matthew Hopkins: Witch Finder General.
b e f o re a synod at Ipswich for failing to adhere to the
London: Muller.
rites of the Church of England. Complaints from his
Ewen, C. L’Estrange. 1938. Witchcraft in the Star Chamber.N.p.:
parishioners about his preaching and doctrine eve n
Printed privately for the author.
reached the prestigious Court of the Star Chamber in
Gaskill, Malcolm J. 2005. Witchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century
Westminster. English Tragedy.London: John Murray.
Lowes, John 675 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 713 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.676 Application File
Sharpe, James. 1996. Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in course with demons. Basing his understanding on
England, 1550–1750.London: Hamilton. scholastic demonology, Luther considered interc o u r s e
Stearne, John. 1973. A Confirmation and Discove ry of with demons a possibility, whereas making a pact with
Wi t c h c ra f t .1648. Facsimile edition. Exeter: Ro t a ,
the Devil played a subordinate role in his work.
Un i versity of Exe t e r.
Luther never demanded punishment for witches in
any of his early sermons on the Ten Commandments.
Luther, Martin Later in life, Luther repeatedly approached the subject
(1483–1546) of sorcery and witchcraft with reference to the first (and
Luther’s attitude toward witchcraft is significant not sometimes the second) commandment, but never with
only in itself but particularly because of its influence on the same intensity as in 1516. In his catechisms of
early modern Protestantism. Luther was undoubtedly 1529, Luther briefly prohibited sorc e ry: In the Large
the greatest Protestant authority of early modern times. Catechism, he related it to the first commandment, and
Abundant sources permit a comprehensive review of in the Small Catechism, to the second commandment.
Luther’s statements on the subject. This, however, does This context obviously makes sorc e ry a primarily re l i-
not facilitate a straightforward assessment of his views gious offense to Lu t h e r, eventually resulting in
and his role in the history of witchcraft trials. The demands for increasingly severe penalties for witches.
background to Luther’s attitude to almost everything, Lu t h e r’s exegetical works provide a continuous but
including witchcraft, was that of the late Middle Ages. less accessible source for the evaluating of his views on
Early academic biographies contained a few vague witchcraft. He discussed the crucial biblical re f e re n c e s
references to his parents, particularly his mother, being to witchcraft in many sermons, university lectures, and
superstitious, but they provided no explanation for Bible commentaries, interpreting them both tradition-
Lu t h e r’s lifelong preoccupation with theologically ally and with a new accentuation. For example, in both
complicated issues associated with witchcraft. sermons and lectures, Luther used Genesis 6:1–4 to
Luther’s first academic encounters with the subject of s u p p o rt the incubus notion. In a sermon expounding
witchcraft must have occurred while he was studying Exodus 7 (Ph a r a o h’s sorc e rers and Moses), he men-
theology in Erfurt. There is a marginal note “Incubus” tioned the fundamental fact that magic could only be
in the copy of St. Au g u s t i n e’s De civitate De i ( On the performed with God’s permission. In his treatise Misuse
City of God) that Luther used in 1509. Lu t h e r’s of the Mass, Luther used 1 Samuel 28 (on the witch of
sermons on the Ten Commandments, which he Endor) to support his rejection of physical metamor-
p reached at Wi t t e n b e r g’s municipal church in phosis, indicating that Samuel appeared to Saul only as
1516–1517, provide an abundance of material. T h e y a spirit but not corporaliter(bodily). In this way, Luther
contain an extensive rendering of contemporary views; n e ver abandoned the framew o rk of medieva l
such detailed knowledge presupposed a thoro u g h demonology derived ultimately from St. Augustine.
investigation of the subject, including some witchcraft Commenting upon Deuteronomy 18:10–12, which
manuals. Luther explicitly mentioned the St r a s b o u r g deals with the subject of witchcraft and magic in more
clergyman Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg and depth, Luther applied the He b rew terms for magical
e m p l oyed motifs from his Die Emeis (The Ants, practices to witchcraft practices of his time. Within this
1516–1517). One can assume that Luther was familiar context, he translated the wordMecashephas witchand
with expositions of the Decalogue by such other explained: “Witches are the evil whores of the devil who
Augustinian friars as Gottschalk Hollen. Lu t h e r’s steal milk, make bad weather, ride on goats and broom-
Decem praecepta Wittenbergensi praedicata populo o f s t i c k s , . . . slaughter infants in their cribs, bewitch the
1518, printed in German in 1520 as Der Zehn Ge b o t marriage bed, etc.” (K i rc h e n p o s t i l l e , in Luther 1883ff,
ein nützliche Erk l ä ru n g (A Useful Explanation of the vol. 10, book I/1, 591). This statement did not prove,
Ten Commandments), seems to re p resent the despite previous claims, that Luther believed in the
t e n t h - c e n t u ry “Canon Ep i s c o p i tradition,” re c o g n i z i n g reality of witches’ flying. Rather, it defined the term
the possibility of the evil arts (maleficium) while reject- witch,as used by both theologians and ordinary people
ing the idea of witches flying. in the sixteenth century.
Like other contemporary re p re s e n t a t i ves of this In 1526, in a series of sermons on Exodus, Lu t h e r
tradition, such as Ma rtin Plantsch or Ulrich Mo l i t o r, d e voted one sermon to a detailed exposition of the
Luther claimed that harmful magic was possible only b e s t - k n own biblical text about witchcraft, Exo d u s
with God’s permission. The Devil and his witches had 22:18 (“You shall not permit a sorc e ress to live” [T h e
no independent and autonomous powe r. Lu t h e r Holy Bible, Revised StandardVersion. London: Nelson,
retained this fundamental attitude tow a rd m a l e fic i u m 1966]). Without discussing flying, metamorphosis, or
and witches flying throughout his life, as he also the witches’ Sabbats, Luther repeatedly demanded the
maintained his attitudes toward two other key elements death penalty for sorcery, because of the maleficiumand
of witchcraft: the pact with the Devil and sexual inter- the pact with the Devil but above all because it violated
676 Luther, Martin |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 714 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.677 Application File
the first commandment. This sermon was not printed historians. In 1888, Johannes Diefenbach first put the
and had no further impact. It is important that Luther main responsibility for witchcraft prosecutions on
did not use the word He xe (witch) in any of his Bi b l e Luther; twelve years later, Rudolf Ohle denied Luther’s
translations. i n vo l vement entirely; fin a l l y, a Catholic scholar,
The Wittenberg reformers rarely took public action Nikolaus Paulus (Paulus 1910), succeeded in pro-
on such matters. It is of particular interest that Luther nouncing a comparatively fair-minded judgment by
personally excommunicated two supposed witches in placing Luther within the theological framework of his
Wittenberg after preaching on witchcraft in 1529. time.
Ap p a re n t l y, howe ve r, no secular prosecutions ensued.
JÖRG HAUSTEIN;
In 1540, a witchcraft trial did take place in Wittenberg;
four people we re condemned to death and burned at TRANSLATED BY HELEN SIEGBURG
the stake. Luther was not invo l ved directly but may
See also:AUGUSTINE,ST.; BIBLE;CANONEPISCOPI;CORPOREALITY,
have expressed approval. In his Table Talk,Luther occa- ANGELICANDDEMONIC;ENDOR,WITCHOF;EXODUS22:18
sionally mentioned magic and witchcraft but intro- (22:17); GEILERVONKAYSERSBERG,JOHAN;INCUBUSAND
duced no new aspects. It is striking that none of SUCCUBUS;MALLEUSMALEFICARUM;MALEFICIUM;MOLITOR,
Luther’s numerous letters ever mentioned witchcraft. ULRICH;PACTWITHTHEDEVIL;PLANTSCH,MARTIN;
Lu t h e r’s attitude tow a rd witchcraft did not agre e PROTESTANTREFORMATION;SEXUALACTIVITY,DIABOLIC;
with the new “c u m u l a t i ve” picture propagated by the SORCERY.
References and further reading:
Malleus Maleficarum(The Hammer of Witches, 1486),
Brauner, Sigrid. 1989. “Martin Luther on Witchcraft: A True
which Luther never read. Throughout his entire work,
Reformer?” Pp. 29–42 in The Politics of Gender in Early
Luther rejected the notions of flying, metamorphosis,
Modern Europe.Edited by Jean R. Brink, Allison P. Coudert,
and the Sabbat. Like Ulrich Molitor and other “conser-
and Maryanne C. Horowitz. Kirksville, MO: Sixteenth
vative” witchcraft theorists, Luther followed the Canon
Century Journal.
Ep i s c o p i tradition. It must be stressed, howe ve r, that Clark, Stuart. 1997. Thinking with Demons. The Idea of Witchcraft
Luther was no moderate representative of this tradition: in Early Modern Europe.Oxford: Clarendon.
He was not reluctant to condone punishment for Frank, Beatrice. 1984. “Etiam loqui volo vom Zaubern.” Archiv
witches. The essentially theological crimes of witches zur Weimarer Ausgabe5: 291–297.
and sorc e rers (who violated the first commandment Haustein, Jörg. 1990. Martin Luthers Stellung zum Zauberer- und
and turned to other gods, in this case to the De v i l ) Hexenwesen.Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Luther, Martin. 1883ff.Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgube. 58 vol-
demanded prosecution and punishment—in most cas-
umes. Weimar: Hermann Böhlau and Hermann Böhlau’s suc-
es, death. Among Lutherans, this aspect provided suffi-
cessor,Weimarer Ausgabe.
cient encouragement for witchcraft trials, as could
———. 1955–1986. Works.General editor, Helmut T. Lehmann.
Lu t h e r’s uncompromising opposition to and re p e a t e d
55 vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia.
criminalization of “white magic,” that is, harmless sor-
Paulus, Nikolaus. 1910. Hexenwahn und Hexenprozess, vornehmlich
cery with Christian motives. im 16. Jahrhundert.Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder.
Howe ve r, in his sermons and catechistic writings,
Luther deprived early modern witchcraft trials of one of Luxembourg, Duchy of
their essential motives: He forbade hunting for scape- Be t ween 1560 and 1683, approximately 2,500–3,000
goats in the form of sorcerers when unexplained misfor- witchcraft trials took place in the duchy of Lu xe m b o u r g ,
tune struck; instead, he referred the afflicted person to one of the seventeen provinces of the Ha b s b u r g
the will of God. Thus, he applied the theological notion Netherlands. At least 2,000 ended with the execution of
that sorcery required God’s permission to everyday life. the accused, making Lu xe m b o u r g’s witch hunts among
Luther was not interested in “witch hunting” but in the the most savage anywhere in western Eu rope. The fig u re s
existence of man before God. Since his own attitude cited in older re s e a rch are either far too high (va n
remained ambivalent, responses to his position va r i e d ; We rveke 1983– 1 9 8 4 claimed 20,000–30,000 exe c u-
both supporters and opponents of witchcraft trials tions) or far too low
claimed allegiance to Lu t h e r. His rejection of the ( Dupont-Bouchat 1978 listed only 355). The rate of exe-
notion that witches flew and held Sabbats re q u i re d cution was clearly lower in the Walloon, the Fre n c h -
Lutheran advocates of seve re prosecutions for witches speaking parts of Lu xembourg, than in the Ge r m a n -
and sorc e rers to avoid discussing these issues when speaking regions, where witch hunts we re pursued by
citing the biblical commandment to put such offenders special secret committees (m o n o p o l e s , He xe n a u s s c h ü s s e)
to death. w o rking in conjunction with minor territorial lord s .
In the late nineteenth century contexts of “Hi g h e r Often, only marginal notes in account books document-
Criticism” and the Kulturkampf (culture war), Luther’s ed trials in the so-called Ob e r p ropsteien ( Lu xe m b o u r g’s
position on witchcraft became the subject of heated s e venteen administrative districts), but manuscript
c o n t roversy between Catholic and Protestant churc h re c o rds surv i ve from some trials in small territorial lord-
Luxembourg, Duchy of 677 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 715 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.678 Application File
ships, such as Neuerburg and Hamm. The richest sourc e noble or monastic lordships we re fragmented by
on Lu xe m b o u r g’s witchcraft trials is the Fonds va n subdivision or mortgaged portions. In addition, some
We rwe k e : At the start of the twentieth century, the village communities also possessed criminal law rights,
a rchivist and historian Nicolas van We rveke collected and the provosts (appointed by Lu xe m b o u r g’s
a round 1,700 re f e rences to witchcraft trials from the g overnor) we re often local noblemen using their
re c o rds of Lu xe m b o u r g’s Provincial Council position to further their private intere s t s .
(Prov i n z i a l ra t), portions of which have since disappeare d . Ec c l e s i a s t i c a l l y, most of the provinces belonged to the
a rchdiocese of Tr i e r. Lu xembourg was divided
Territorial and Constitutional linguistically into German- and French-speaking areas.
History of Luxembourg
In order to understand Luxembourg’s severe witch Legal Practices in Luxembourg
hunts, it is essential to look at the duchy’s territorial and Witchcraft Trials
constitutional history. From 1441, Lu xe m b o u r g In Lu xembourg, accusations in criminal cases
belonged to the Netherlands, which was divided into (including witchcraft trials) could be made by a private
seventeen nominally sovereign territories or provinces individual (p a rtie form e l l e), who had to pro d u c e
in 1531, with its central government in Brussels and its evidence and witnesses and pay costs if his accusation
highest court, the Grand Conseil (Great Council), in was rejected. At the beginning of a criminal trial, both
Malines (Mecheln). King Philip II of Spain inherited accuser and accused we re imprisoned by court
this loose confederation of provinces in 1556. authorities. The accuser was released only after provid-
At the apex of Luxembourg’s government was a gov- ing sufficient sureties for the duration of the trial. In
e r n o r, holding office for life. The Ducal Council, its German-speaking parts of Lu xembourg, priva t e
highest administrative and legal authority, became a accusation was the more common method for making
Provincial Council. It served as the highest appellate witchcraft accusations; in French-speaking areas, judges
court in civil cases; families or individuals could bring or other officials initiated most such cases.
nullity suits before it on account of legal abuses in crim- In both systems, howe ve r, the peasantry played a
inal cases. The Provincial Council received many peti- s i g n i ficant role in spreading witch hunts. In Wa l l o o n
tions and supplications; it issued so-called l e t t res de districts, witchcraft trials we re initiated by a so-called
p u r g e s , c e rt i ficates confirming the good reputation of enquêtes generales(general investigations) ordered by the
individuals who had been cleared of witchcraft slanders. authorities, requiring their subjects to denounce people
It was not a sovereign court: Its verdicts could always be who we re reputedly witches to local courts. Local
appealed before the Grand Conseil in Ma l i n e s . officials could then begin witchcraft trials on the basis
Although we have no documented evidence that the of these denunciations. Some evidence suggests that
C a rolina Code (the 1532 code of criminal law pro c e- m o n o p o l e s (committees formed at the village level for
dure for the Holy Roman Empire) was observed even in the express purpose of bringing alleged witches
Luxembourg’s German-speaking areas, the influence of to court) we re formed in both German- and
French as well as German law was apparent in French-speaking parts of Luxembourg belonging to the
Lu xembourg. T h rough its ad hoc promulgation of a rchdiocese of Trier even earlier than in electoral Tr i e r
n u m e rous administrative and criminal law ord i n a n c e s or the prince-abbey of St. Maximin. These committees
that shaped local practice, the Provincial Council we re characterized by secret deals, corruption, and
e n s u red that Roman law had wide influence in bribery (to the detriment of the accused witches), and
Luxembourg. they often used violent means to raise taxes in their
At the end of the sixteenth century, the province was villages to finance their witch hunts.
divided into seventeen administrative districts After being arrested, alleged witches we re
(Ob e r p ro p s t e i e n), each headed by a subgove r n o r i n t e r rogated without tort u re and confronted with the
(Propst), who also presided over its criminal law court. witnesses against them. Sometimes an accused witch
Within these districts lay more than fifty territorial was allowed to name defense lawyers. Howe ve r, many
e n c l a ves belonging to minor lords, over whose court s defendants did not use this opportunity, either because
the Lu xembourg government only gradually obtained they believed firmly in their own innocence or because
i n fluence during the sixteenth and seve n t e e n t h using a lawyer only increased the costs of the trial. In
centuries, partly as a result of the witch hunts. In these the end, it was the application of torture that produced
c o u rts, uneducated jurors, mostly illiterate, judged the re q u i red confession from the accused. After
cases on the basis of a still mainly oral tradition of implementation of the sentence, the convicted witch’s
c u s t o m a ry law. Witchcraft trials occurred more p ro p e rty was confiscated and auctioned off. After the
f requently in these small lordships, often containing trial costs and a stipulated fine had been paid, a third of
from one to three villages, than in areas belonging to an the property belonged to the lord who presided over the
Ob e r p ro p s t e i . Fu rt h e r m o re, some of these minuscule local criminal law court.
678 Luxembourg, Duchy of |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 716 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.679 Application File
Re c o rds of Lu xe m b o u r g’s Provincial Council and forbidding the use of consortia of accusers or paid pri-
o rdinances issued by the Brussels government prov i d e vate accusers and reminding local lords of their duty to
some detailed evidence about flagrant legal abuses send witchcraft trial records to them for scrutiny and to
occurring during witchcraft trials. At the beginning of use only lawyers approved by them when drawing up
the sixteenth century, Luxembourg’s provincial govern- and assessing such re c o rds. Fi n a l l y, in 1623, the
ment tried to restrain the autonomy of local courts in Provincial Council promulgated a general ordinance of
its administrative districts and minor lordships by criminal law procedure, placing particular emphasis on
stipulating that they risked punishment if they arrested p ro c e d u res used in witchcraft trials. In addition to
or tortured an accused witch without first sending the repeating stipulations from previous ordinances, this
p e rtinent evidence to the provincial government for decree sought to give clear preference to official accusa-
a p p roval, or if they used, paid, or bribed priva t e tions and to limit the practice of private accusation.
accusers to circ u m vent the regulations of accusatorial Howe ve r, evidence of significant legal abuses in
legal pro c e d u re. For example, an ordinance of Au g u s t Lu xembourg witchcraft trials can still be found until
13, 1563, decreed that no one could be arrested and the trials ceased in 1683.
tortured merely on the basis of only one denunciation
and without a legal opinion on the case being provided Course and End of the Witchcraft
by a lawyer of the Provincial Council. trials
The mass persecutions of the 1580s and 1590s pro- After a few isolated cases in the middle and late fif-
duced so many scandalous breaches of the law that on teenth century, witchcraft trials in Lu xe m b o u r g
April 6, 1591, the provincial government published a i n c reased after 1500. The most seve re phase of per-
lengthy decree that seve rely censured the corru p t i o n secution began in 1560. From then until 1636, con-
and abuses evident in making both private and official tinual waves of persecution affected various are a s .
accusations of witchcraft at local courts. It explicitly The Provincial Council’s attempts to impose central-
p rohibited consortia of accusers, m o n o p o l e s (the ly stipulated norms and pro c e d u res on arbitrarily
witch-hunting committees) and “f ront men” who pursued local witch hunts we re insufficient to stem
brought accusations on behalf of others. Guaranteeing the rising tide of trials. Crises caused by the six-
the financial position of private accusers became t e e n t h - c e n t u ry economic decline of the province and
punishable: Ap a rt from official accusations, only i n t e n s i ve attempts to impose new Counter-
p r i vate accusations made at the accuser’s personal risk Reformation standards of discipline triggered re p e a t-
we re allowed. It was again stipulated that legal advice ed calls from the inhabitants of Lu xembourg for the
must be sought from Luxembourg’s Provincial Council d e s t ruction of witches. Minor territorial lords, who
at every stage of the pretrial investigation. In addition, felt themselves to be victims of witchcraft, hoped to
t o rt u rers could not conduct interrogations in the g row rich on the proceeds of witchcraft trials, or
absence of judges and the court scribe. Leading wanted to further their political ambitions, support-
questions and particularly the suggestion of possible ed the efforts of village witch-hunting committees in
accomplices we re prohibited, as was the public German-speaking Lu xembourg. The result was a
proclamation of lists of accomplices at executions. Trial local environment in favor of persecution, which the
costs were to be kept as low as possible. p rovincial government could influence only with dif-
Neither the Provincial Council in Lu xembourg nor fic u l t y. Mo re ove r, the provincial gove r n m e n t’s
the central government in Brussels intended or desired d e c rees we re circ u m vented by an ordinance of Ph i l i p
a complete cessation of witchcraft trials. The latter II in September 1592, urging that the vice of witch-
issued decrees in 1592 and 1606 calling for the merci- craft be fought on all fronts: Ecclesiastical and secu-
less persecution of soothsayers, workers of black magic, lar authorities should zealously persecute popular
heretics, witches, and sorcerers. Of greater significance magic, soothsaying, magical healing, and witchcraft.
was a reorganization of criminal law implementation, This ordinance by no means triggered the
aiming to deprive noble and ecclesiastical lords of their Lu xembourg witchcraft trials, as older re s e a rc h
power to exercise criminal law by subjecting them more suggested (Dupont-Bouchat 1978), but it did pro-
firmly to the authority of the provincial government. vide additional legitimacy for the persecution.
Howe ve r, the many nullity suits and petitions A woman was burned as a witch in Arlon as late as
brought before the Luxembourg provincial courts show 1675; a final phase of witch persecution arose in
that the centralizing efforts of the prov i n c i a l Echternach around 1680, resulting in several exe c u t i o n s
g overnment did not enjoy rapid success. Both local b e f o re ending in 1683. After the partial occupation of
l o rds with the right to exe rcise criminal justice and Lu xembourg by the French in 1684, Louis XIV’s 1682
village witch-hunting committees continued to resist its edict issued for France came into effect, decreeing that
d e c rees. The Provincial Council repeatedly issued new s o rc e ry could be punished with death only when accom-
mandates—for example, in 1598, 1605, and 1606— panied by sacrilege. At this point, trials for witchcraft
Luxembourg, Duchy of 679 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 717 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.680 Application File
ended in Lu xembourg, although cases of witchcraft slan- Gerichtspraxis.Edited by Herbert Eiden and Rita Voltmer.
ders and possession continued to be heard. Belief that Trierer Hexenprozesse—Quellen und Darstellungen 6. Trier:
witches could work m a l e fic i u m (harmful magic) Paulinus.
———. 2004. “... ce tant exécrable et détestable crime de sortilège.
remained widespread, howe ve r.
Der ‘Bürgerkrieg’ gegen Hexen und Hexenmeister im
RITA VOLTMER; Herzogtum Luxemburg (16. und 17. Jahrhundert).” Hémecht:
Zeitschrift für Luxemburger Geschichte56, no. 1: 57–92.
TRANSLATED BY ALISON ROWLANDS
See also:ACCUSATIONS;ACCUSATIONALPROCEDURE;DECLINEOF
Lycanthropy
THEWITCHHUNTS;LAWSONWITCHCRAFT(EARLYMODERN);
The theme of the transformation of human beings into
LAWYERS;LORRAINE,DUCHYOF;NETHERLANDS,SOUTHERN;
NUMBEROFWITCHES;POPULARPERSECUTION;RURALWITCH- animals can be found in the imaginary worlds of all
CRAFT;ST.MAXIMIN,PRINCE-ABBEYOF;TORTURE;TRIALS;TRIER, societies. Lycanthropy is the special case of transform-
ELECTORATEOF;WITCHHUNTS. ing a man into a wolf: The Greek-derived word lycan-
References and further reading: thropymeans “wolf-man,” as does its English, German,
Dupont-Bouchat, Marie-Sylvie. 1978. “La répression de la sorcel- Danish, or Italian counterparts. The Romans used an
lerie dans le duché de Luxembourg aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles: especially telling word for werewolf, namely versipellis
Une analyse des structures de pouvoir et de leur fonction-
or skin-changer.
nement dans le cadre de la chasse aux sorcières.” Pp. 40–154 in
There seem to be several possible roots for this belief.
Prophètes et sorciers dans les Pays-Bas XVIe-XVIIe siècle.Edited
It might derive from numerous myths, folktales, and
by Marie-Sylvie Dupont-Bouchat, Willem Frijhoff, and Robert
rituals that postulate a time when humans felt no clear
Muchembled. Paris: Hachette.
boundaries between themselves and the animal world,
———. 1999.“Démonologie, démonomanie, démonolâtrie et
procès de sorcellerie à Saint-Hubert au XVIIe siècle.” Pp. assuming, rather, some permeability between them.
237–252 in La bibliothèque de L’abbaye de Saint-Hubert en Second, it may be a relic of belief in an animal-shaped
Ardenne au dix-septième siècle: Première partie; Vie intellectuelle external double of the soul, which often appeared in
et religieuse d’une communauté Bénédictine.Edited by Luc Old Norse sources (hamr). Third, totemistic structures
Knapen. Louvain: Bibliotheek van de Faculteit der also seem to have existed in prehistoric Eu ro p e a n
Godgeleerdheid. societies (compare the Greek Hirpi Sorani who, clad in
Kmec, Sonja. 2002. “He xe n p ro zesse im He rzogtum Lu xe m b u r g :
wolf skins, venerated Apollo Soranus, originally a wolf
Echternach 1679/1680.” Hémecht: Zeitschrift für
god). Secret societies using wolf skins for disguise may
Lu xemburger Ge s c h i c h t e / Revue d’ Hi s t o i re Lu xe m b o u r g e o i s e5 4 :
have infested some European regions, like the cannibal-
8 9 – 1 3 0 .
istic secret societies in Africa whose members disguised
van Werveke, Nicolas. 1898. “Deux sentences du conseil de
t h e m s e l ves as lions or leopards in order to kill men.
Luxembourg, en matière de sorcellerie.” Publications de la
Section Historique de l’Institut grand-ducal de Luxembourg46: Fourth, lycanthropy is a known, specific form of mental
361–369. aberration, a psychic disease akin to schizo p h re n i a ,
———. 1983–1984.Kulturgeschichte des Luxemburger Landes: forcing the patient to act like the animal. Fifth, animal
Neue Auflage.Edited by Carlo Huy. 2 vols. Esch-sur-Alzette: transmutations also figure in dreams and drug-induced
Schortgen. ecstasies.
Voltmer, Rita. 2002a. “Abläufe, Ursachen und Hintergründe der In the Eu ropean traditions, two versions of this
grossen Hexenverfolgungen in den Territorien zwischen Reich
transmutation are known: Either it happens
und Frankreich im späten 16. und im 17. Jahrhundert.” Pp.
s p o n t a n e o u s l y, or else it is induced by another person
84–95 in Hexenwahn: Ängste der Neuzeit.Edited by Rosmarie
without the victim’s approval. These we re already the
Beier-De Haan, Rita Voltmer,and Franz Irsigler. Berlin:
usual patterns in classical antiquity: for example, on the
Minerva Farnung.
one hand, Vi r g i l’s Moeris, a shepherd - s o rc e rer who
———. 2002b. “Rechtsnormen, Gerichts- und Herrschaftspraxis
bei Hexereiverfahren in Lothringen, Luxemburg, Kurtrier und became a wolf by eating special herbs; or, on the other
St. Maximin während des 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts.” Pp. hand, King Lycaon of Arcadia, whose impiety Ze u s
60–71 in Hexenwahn: Ängste der Neuzeit.Edited by Rosmarie punished by changing him into a wolf. Among the
Beier-de Haan, Rita Voltmer, and Franz Irsigler. Berlin: Vikings, transformation into a bear was more common
Minerva Farnung. than transformation into a wolf: Their most formidable
———. 2002c. “Monopole, Ausschüsse, Formalparteien: t roops, the berserkers, we re clad in bear skins and,
Vorbereitung, Finanzierung und Manipulation von
falling into a trancelike state, fought like bears.
Hexenprozessen durch private Klagekonsortien.” Pp. 5–67 in
Howe ve r, the Ha ra l d s k va e d h i ( Ha ro l d’s Song; ca. 900
Hexenprozesse und Gerichtspraxis.Edited by Herbert Eiden and
C.E.) also mentioned “w o l f - f rocks,” warriors how l i n g
Rita Voltmer.Trierer Hexenprozesse—Quellen und
like beasts. Ei g i l’s saga Skalla Gr í m s s o n a r (The Saga of
Darstellungen 6. Trier: Paulinus.
Egil Sk a l l a - Grimsson, ca. 1230) described a berserk e r
———. 2002d. “Hochgerichte und Hexenprozesse: Zur
herrschaftlich-politischen Instrumentalisierung von named Kveld-Úlfr who lived as a man during daytime,
Hexenverfolgungen.” Pp. 475–525 in Hexenprozesse und while at night he became a wolf (as his name—Evening
680 Lycanthropy |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 718 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.681 Application File
Wolf—implies). Ac c o rding to Olaus Magnus (1555), animal trials have been documented from the thir-
we rew o l ves had become an epidemic in the Ba l t i c , teenth to the eighteenth century in which dangero u s
w h e re they gathered by pre f e rence during Christmas animals, especially pigs, were hanged by secular courts
time in order to undertake raids against the fore s t e r s for the homicide of small children. People molested by
(probably cases of criminal gangs acting under folkloric vermin and parasites regularly sought re d ress fro m
disguise). ecclesiastical courts against noxious pests like
The wolf-man fig u red as the subject of seve r a l cockchafers or mice. In the case of the werewolves, both
m e d i e val literary texts, the most famous of which was the religious and the secular authorities could be inter-
the Old French poem Bisclavetby Marie de France (ca. ested. Though the trials against this kind of delinquents
1200). When the hero’s wife recognized that the knight we re clearly a special form of witchcraft trials, some-
Bisclavet changed into a wolf for three days each week, times even combined with the accusation of participa-
she has his clothing hidden so that he could not tion in the Sabbat, a marked difference consisted in the
become a man again. The king, howe ve r, brought the fact that the accused we re nearly all men, although
wolf to his court and helped him punish his wife. The some of the we rew o l ves burned by Boguet we re
we rewolf in the anonymous romance Guillaume de women.
Palerne (early thirteenth century) was a positive figure, An instance of a case clearly referring to pathological
helping other persons several times. Small wonder, as he l yc a n t h ropy occurred in 1603 when the Pa rl e m e n t
was the son of the king of Spain transformed by a ( s ove reign judicial court) of Bordeaux pro c e e d e d
malignant sorceress. against a fourteen-year-old shepherd, Jean Grenier, who
In perfect synchronicity with the increasing persecu- confessed to using a wolf skin and an ointment when
tion of witches, the old beliefs about we rew o l ves we re roaming through the woods and hamlets, killing
adapted to demonological models. Once the doctrine animals and children. Both devices we re given to him
of the pact with the Devil became prominent, we re- by a gentleman in black who had marked him. Ot h e r
wolves brought to trial had to confess to have received we rew o l ves, including his father, accompanied him.
their abnormal powers from the Devil. T h e o l o g i a n s Gre n i e r’s hands and his way of moving and of eating
such as Heinrich Kramer, the author of the Ma l l e u s were described as congruent with that of a wild beast,
Ma l e fic a ru m ( Pa rt II, Question 1, Chap. 8–9), and and what pleased him most was watching wolve s .
many others discussed whether the Devil caused re a l Because he was under adult age, this apparently
animals to perpetrate those cruelties that were suppos- semi-imbecilic adolescent was not executed but
edly committed by men and women in animal form, sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in a monastery,
men and women who we re in reality lying asleep and where he died in 1610.
d reaming. Or should one rather think that the De v i l , Mo re common was the fate of one Peter St u m p f,
appearing in the form of a wolf, committed the crimes who changed himself into a wolf through a belt that the
the lyc a n t h rope only dreamt of? Or did he only cause Devil had given to him. Having murd e red and
an illusion to that effect in the people’s mind? T h e d e vo u red thirteen children—including his own son—
p roblem was that any real transformation into a wolf two pregnant women, and many sheep and cows, he
had been declared impossible by the unsurpassable was hunted down, tortured, condemned, and executed
authority of St. Augustine. with exe m p l a ry cruelty at Bedburg near Cologne in
From the early sixteenth century, records of a consid- 1589, together with his lover and a daughter with
erable number of trials against we rew o l ves have been whom he had had incestuous relations. This is an
p re s e rved, the common accusations being slaughter of example of a werewolf confession by a man tortured on
animals and men, committed in lupine form, and pact suspicion of multiple homicides. Generally re c u r re n t
with the Devil. An inquisitorial trial held in the diocese patterns we re the following: The transmutation was
of Besançon in 1521 against two we rew o l ves, Pi e r re effected through magic formulas, an ointment, a skin, a
Bourgot and Michel Ve rdung, mentioned by Jo h a n n shirt, a belt, a drink, all provided by the Devil; often the
We ye r, is one of the earliest instances, and one of the magic worked only for a certain time; there was some
last seems to have been a trial before a jury of the arch- connection with the phases of the moon. The grave s t
bishop of Salzburg in 1720. During the two centuries crimes committed we re the slaughter of men and
between these dates, dozens of such trials were carried animals and cannibalism. If such a being re c e i ved a
out; the French judge Henri Boguet boasted of try i n g wound while a wolf, it appeared on the very same part
s e veral lyc a n t h ropes in his Discours des s o rc i e r s of his human body.
( Discourse on the Execrable Speech of the Wi t c h e s , Especially in the sixteenth century, the werewolf, or
1602). Boguet’s Franche-Comté, appare n t l y, was the rather certain “historical” we rew o l ves, became the
center of the early modern hunt for we rew o l ves. It is subject of artistic treatment in the manner of handbills,
re m a rkable that no juridical persecution dire c t e d the most famous example being a woodcut of 1512 by
against a real wolf has been found, whereas not a few Lucas Cranach the El d e r. The eighteenth-century
Lycanthropy 681 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 719 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.682 Application File
Enlightenment put an end to the persecution of German term for witchcraft—He xe re ye (He xe re i) —
we rew o l ves, who we re henceforth treated as madmen. appeared in court records. But there certainly were
Nineteenth-century romantic literature was full of such many earlier examples of lynchings of female and male
c re a t u res, and in the twentieth century a number of sorcerers. As a general rule, lynchings served as a safety
films were produced about them. valve in areas where people believed in witchcraft but
authorities would not, for whatever reasons (religion,
PETER DINZELBACHER
law, laziness, Western rationalism), comply with their
See Also: ANIMALISTICANDMAGICALTHINKING;ANIMALS;AUGUS- demand for persecution.
TINE,ST.; BOGUET,HENRI;FRANCHE-COMTÉ;MAGNUS,OLAUS: A number of spectacular lynchings are known from
MALLEUSMALEFICARUM;METAMORPHOSIS;WEYER,JOHANN.
the period before legal witch hunting in Europe. In his
References and further reading:
famous sermon on hailstorms, Agobard of Lyo n s
Dinzelbacher, Peter. 2002. “Animal Trials: A Multidisciplinary
re p o rted frequent lynchings of supposed t e m p e s t a r i i
Approach.” Journal ofInterdisciplinary History32, no. 3:
(witches who raise storms), as well as killings of sorcer-
405–421.
ers who were held responsible for diseases of livestock in
Douglas, Adam. 1992. The Beast Within: A History of the Werewolf.
NewYork: Avon Books. the year 810. Ac c o rding to Agobard, the common
Dunn, C.W. 1980. The Foundling and the Werewolf: A Literary people in their fury over crop failure developed the
History of Guillaume de Palerne.Toronto: University of Toronto e x t r a vagant idea that foreigners we re secretly coming
Press. with airships to strip crops from their fields and
Edwards. Kathryn A. 2002. Werewolves, Witches, and Wandering transport them to Magonia(the home of witches). Such
Saints: Traditional Belief and Folklore in Early Modern Europe. anxieties led to seve re aggression; on one occasion
Kirksville, MO: Truman State University Press.
a round 816, Agobard barely pre vented a crowd fro m
Höfler, Otto. 1973. Verwandlungskulte, Volkssagen und Mythen.
killing three foreign men and a woman, whom they
Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften.
considered to be Magonians. As their supposed airships
Lecouteux, Claude. 1992. Fées, sorcières et loups-garous.Paris:
and their country’s name suggest, crop failures we re
Imago.
blamed on magic. Bishop Agobard there f o re empha-
Lorey, Elmar M. 1998. Heinrich der Werwolf: Eine Geschichte aus
der Zeit der Hexenprozesse mit Dokumenten und Analysen. sized that thunderstorms were always caused by natural
Frankfurt am Main: Anabas. or divine agencies. His account of the popular back-
MacCulloch, J.A. 1915. “Lycanthropy.” Pp. 8:206–220 in The d rop of these stories may have been distorted, since
Encyclopaedia ofReligion and Ethics.Edited by James Hastings. some of its details appear highly unusual for European
Edinburgh: Clark. witchcraft. For example, in 1080 Pope Gre g o ry V I I
Mandrou, Robert. 1979. Possession et sorcellerie au XVIIe siècle. ( ruled 1073–1085) admonished King Harald of
Paris: Fayard. Pp. 33–109.
Denmark not to hold old women and priests responsi-
Odstedt, Ella. 1943. Varulfen i svensk folktradition: Mit deutscher
ble for storms and diseases and not to slaughter them.
Zusammenfassung.Uppsala: Lundequistka Bokhandeln.
The pope explained that these catastrophes were God’s
Otten, Charlotte F., ed. 1986. A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in
punishment for human sins and that killing innocent
Western Culture.Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
people would only increase his fury. No other sourc e
Roberts, Keith. 1999. “Eine Werwolf-Formel: Eine kleine
Kulturgeschichte des Werwolfs.” Pp. 2:565–581 in c o n firms these Danish witch hunts, but there is no
Mittelaltermythen.Edited by Ulrich Müller and Werner reason to doubt the contents of this papal letter.
Wunderlich. Saint Gall, Switzerland: UVK. In 1090, a complex situation can be observed in
South, Malcolm, ed. 1987. Mythical and Fabulous Creatures. A Ba varia with the burning of three women, who had
Source Book and Research Guide.NewYork: Greenwood. been convicted of harming or poisoning people (venefi-
c a e) and of having spoiled or destroyed the cro p s
(perditrices frugum), presumably by causing hailstorms.
Lynching Ac c o rding to the Benedictine chronicler of
Illegal witch hunts, or lynchings, are an important yet Weihenstephan, only the fact that the nearby bishop’s
poorly explored issue. It is difficult to provide sound see was vacant, together with related political tensions,
overall estimates of the relation between legal and illegal enabled the rabble to carry out their persecution. T h e
e xecutions of witches because official re c o rd s c h ronicler considered this pro c e d u re as essentially
documented exclusively the actions of secular and the illegal and called the victims “m a rtyrs.” Their corpses
ecclesiastical authorities, and refer to vigilantism only if we re re c ove red and buried by the monks within the
post facto legal action was taken against the murderers. walls of the monastery.
Surprisingly, this problem occurred right at the begin- The report was sufficiently detailed to reveal that the
ning of Europe’s witch hunts, when a man named supposed lynching must have been a rather elaborate
Gögler was punished for accusing women of witchcraft procedure. After being captured, the suspected witches
in Lucerne (Switzerland) in 1419. According to Joseph first had to undergo an ordeal by water, a swimming
Hansen, this incident was the first time that the test. Un e x p e c t e d l y, they passed it and could there f o re
682 Lynching |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 720 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.683 Application File
not be executed. Thereafter they were publicly tortured, woman was stoned to death in 1599 after the inquisi-
in order to force them into confessions, again tors had released her after her public abjuration. In
unsuccessfully.The villagers turned next to the nearby Spain, the same scene was repeated almost a century lat-
episcopal city of Freising, where two men of “high e r, in 1691, in the Canary Islands. Meanwhile, in the
rank,” presumably nobles, summoned a public “ En l i g h t e n e d” Netherlands, where capital punishment
meeting. The women we re transferred to Freising and of witches ended sooner than anywhere else in Europe,
t o rt u red again. Although the suspects still refused to lynchings took place in Amsterdam in 1624, in
confess, they were carried to the banks of the river and Rotterdam in 1628, and in Huizen, a village southeast
ritually burned to death (Monumenta Ge r m a n i a e of Amsterdam, in 1746. In “e n l i g h t e n e d” England, a
Historica, S c r i p t o re s , XIII, 52). Howe ver illegal the woman was lynched in 1751—five years later than in
p ro c e d u re may now appear, the persecutors obv i o u s l y Huizen.
respected some procedural rules. Mo re important, the Lynchings are known from France to Poland, wher-
authorities remained passive in the face of a grassroots e ver legal systems made it difficult or impossible to
movement. punish known witches with death. The famous skepti-
For the High Middle Ages, our sources are scanty and cism of French lawyers and the reluctance of judges in
d i f ficult to interpret. In 1115, for instance, a St y r i a n most French p a rl e m e n t s to confirm death penalties for
c h ronicle laconically re p o rted that thirty women we re witchcraft left the rural population dissatisfied and
burned at Graz in one day (c o n c rematae sunt triginta a p p a rently provoked numerous illegal exe c u t i o n s ,
m u l i e res in Greez una die). Capital punishment for which we now call lynchings. In the 1580s, processions
females was highly unusual throughout Eu ropean histo- of “White Penitents” in the Ardennes and Champagne
ry, and burning was restricted to a ve ry few crimes, such t r i g g e red massive but often illegal witch hunts. Ma n y
as arson, sodomy, counterfeiting, or domestic incest. similar instances occurred over a wide zone fro m
None of these, howe ve r, we re typical female Languedoc to the Ardennes during the last great French
crimes; nor we re they likely to trigger a witch panic in the 1640s, when the crime of witchcraft
large-scale persecution. In cases of here s y, a more eve n had been virtually “d e c r i m i n a l i ze d” by the p a rl e m e n t s
gender distribution could be expected. Witchcraft there- (sovereign judicial courts). Sometimes sheer cost seems
f o re was a likely candidate for the cause of this mass to have triggered such behavior. For example, in the
burning, particularly in conjunction with major subsis- easternmost zone subject to the Parlement of Paris, the
tence crises or epidemics of “u n n a t u r a l” diseases. T h e Barrois mouvant(that area in the French sphere of influ-
s c a rcity of surviving sources suggests that there we re ence in the duchy of Lorraine), from which it was pro-
some sporadic witch hunts during the High Mi d d l e hibitively expensive to appeal to Paris, sporadic lynch-
Ages. Gi ven the tensions between popular witch beliefs ings have been recorded in pardons from the dukes of
and the reluctance of the authorities, ecclesiastical or Lorraine.
s e c u l a r, to accept demands for persecution, we would Eastern Europe saw much illegal witch hunting. For
expect acts of lynching rather than legal persecutions, example, in the parts of Hungary under Ottoman rule,
especially in Alpine regions, Scandinavia, or Ru s s i a . lynchings we re the only way of punishing witches,
In the early modern period, De n m a rk under King because the Tu rkish authorities never accepted accusa-
Christian III (ruled 1534–1559) offered the most tions of witchcraft in the courts. Incidents like the
surprising case of lynching. After a tumultuous period lynching in Wolhynia of a nobleman, who was put to
of civil war, territorial expansion, and rapid political, the stake by an agitated rabble, led by the parish priest,
social, and religious reforms, a witch panic—the fir s t because he was blamed for an epidemic, were recorded
one in a Protestant territory—became a major, large-scale only because his widow afterward sued the murderers.
persecution. Peasants hunted witches in the open fie l d s A Polish historian, Janusz Tazbir, claimed that half of all
“like wolves,” as was re p o rted approvingly by Pe d e r victims in Poland and the Ukraine we re burned in
Palladius, royal adviser and leading Danish churchman lynchings, although he provided no support i n g
of his age as superintendent of ecclesiastical affairs for evidence.
No rw a y, Iceland, and the Fa e roe Islands. In Ju t l a n d If lynchings occurred in Eu rope long before witch-
alone, fifty-two women were killed in 1543; lynchings craft became a capital crime, one could expect that they
we re re p o rted in other parts of De n m a rk and in did not stop after witchcraft laws we re re p e a l e d .
Da n i s h - ruled southern Sweden as well. By 1547, the Pre v i o u s l y, Church law had denied the capacity of
government in Copenhagen tried to curb the persecu- supposed witches to cause harm, and now secular law
tion through restrictive laws. did so, in both instances leaving people alone with their
Illegal persecutions we re not confined to nort h e r n m i s e ry and fear and punishing those who dared to
Europe. The relative leniency of the Spanish or Roman challenge the authorities. The results we re pre d i c t a b l e .
Inquisitions also led to occasional lynchings. One finds In England, numerous incidents of swimming
them, for instance, at Reggio Emilia in It a l y, where a witches—the swimming test—illustrated the
Lynching 683 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 721 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.684 Application File
continuing discrepancy between popular perc e p t i o n s her house burned down in order to conceal the murder.
and legal practices (Davies 1999). In 1808, The New YorkTribune reported that a slave was forced
C a m b r i d g e s h i re villagers broke into the cottage of Ann t h rough seve re tort u re to confess to the murders in
Iz z a rd, restrained her husband from protecting her, November 1859. He was subsequently burned at the
dragged her out of bed, threw her naked into the yard , stake. But the re p o rt strongly suggested that he had
scratched her arms with pins, and beat her stomach, indeed been innocent and that the instant exe c u t i o n
b reasts, and face with a length of wood. The parish had been staged to protect the true culprits.
constable refused to help, but a compassionate neighbor, Witch huntings we re frequently re p o rted fro m
Alice Russel, gave her shelter. On hearing this, the vil- Mexico and Russia in the second half of the nineteenth
lagers returned, arguing that “the protectors of witches c e n t u ry—both countries at the periphery of We s t e r n
a re as bad as a witch and deserve the same tre a t m e n t” civilization but certainly both independent, or post-
( Davies 1999, 111)—an argument reminiscent of the colonial and governed by elites educated in the spirit of
demonologist Ma rtín Del Rio—and attacked Russel as a the Enlightenment. However, among Russian peasants,
h a r b o rer of witches; she died a few days later from her belief in witchcraft remained strong. Lynchings we re
wounds. The mob threatened Iz z a rd with ducking, but mostly linked to crop failures, drought, epidemics, lack
the fif t y - s i x - year-old woman managed to flee from the of milk, or love magic, particularly around 1880, with
village and subsequently sued her attackers. The mur- four killings re c o rded in this year alone. These lynch-
d e rers re c e i ved short prison sentences, and the constable ings often included a swimming test, seve re beatings,
remained unpunished. In Dorset, a young farmer and mutilation of the corpse of the deceased. Although
named John Bi rd was tried as late as 1871 for seve re l y there is no consistent body of sources, researchers have
beating Charlotte Gr i f fin, an eighty-five - ye a r - o l d collected over 100 cases of lynchings from ethnograph-
woman, with a stick because he believed she was ic, juridical, psychiatric, and newspaper re p o rt s ,
b ewitching him and “hag-riding” him at night. A reaching from urban areas in the Ukraine to re m o t e
surgeon classified Bi rd as a “simple, we a k - m i n d e d , rural areas of Eu ropean Russia. Countermeasure s
monomaniac,” (Davies 1999, 41) but the judge found against witchcraft included disinterring the bodies of
that Bi rd acted mainly because he believed in witches. suspected witches and transporting their dangero u s
Four years later, Ann Tennant was killed in remains to remote forests. The witch craze was fueled
Wa rw i c k s h i re with a pitchfork because her attacker, by cases of demonic possession (k l i k u s h e s t vo), which
James Haywood, believed that she had bewitched him. could be seen as an antiwitchcraft movement, because
The killer claimed that he had not intended to kill the the aim of the female peasant demoniacs, that is,
old woman but had meant merely “to draw her blood in “shriekers,” was to identify witches.
o rder to break her power over him” (Davies 1999, 41). Some recent postcolonial African examples show
On a different occasion he said that he considered it his extreme discrepancies between Western and native per-
duty to kill witches and that there we re fifteen more in ceptions. The South African Witchcraft Su p p re s s i o n
his village. Haywood was charged with murd e r, but a Act of 1895, refurbished in 1957 and amended in
surgeon considered him insane, and the jury acquitted 1970, seemed completely pointless from an African
him on that ground. If all believers in witchcraft had point of view. Instead of persecuting the evildoers, it
been diagnosed as insane, English asylums would have prevented their chiefs from handling cases of witchcraft
been ove rflowing with inmates. p ro p e r l y, thus damaging their authority. Tr a d i t i o n a l
In the United States, witch killings we re not healers, diviners, or other people who could detect
confined to the Native Americans. A man and his wife, witches were outlawed, and the witches were protected
both citizens of Texas, attributed his incurable disease instead. As a consequence, the people took the law into
to Antonia Alanis, a woman in a neighboring village. In their own hands and started to kill those whom they
Fe b ru a ry 1860, his father, one of the we a l t h i e s t suspected of having harmed their children or livestock,
Mexican landowners in the area, hired several men to either secretly or in mob lynchings. Gruesome dimen-
kidnap the witch. They killed one of her daughters, sions we re reached in Tanzania, where antiwitchcraft
who was trying to protect her mother, wounded movements had already been active during the colonial
a n o t h e r, “lassoed” the suspected witch, and “d r a g g e d period. According to Simeon Mesaki, an anthropologist
her on the gro u n d” (The Times, April 17, 1860, 12) f rom the Un i versity of Dar es Salaam, between 1970
toward the village of Camargo (NuevaVilla). There she and 1984 3,692 persons we re killed as witches in
was kept prisoner for two weeks and repeatedly beaten. Tanzania, 69 percent of them female. In this
Because the bewitched man’s health failed to improve, a Swahili-speaking country, the Bantu people of Sukuma,
witch doctor suggested that the witch had to be burned living under traditional conditions in the nort h e r n
(The Times, April 17, 1860, 12). Another lynching was provinces of Mwanza and Shinyanga, were particularly
re p o rted from Arkansas, where a widow named Hi l l affected. With 2,246 witch killings, plus another 826
had been murd e red together with a slave woman and lynchings between 1985 and 1988, Mesaki offered a
684 Lynching |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 722 | 46049 Golden Chap.L av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.685 Application File
grand total of 3,072 from this area between 1970 and LANGUEDOC;PANICS;PARLEMENTOFPARIS;POPULAR
1988 (Mesaki 1994, 52). PERSECUTION;SWIMMINGTEST;WEATHERMAGIC.
Mesaki considered the “witch-killing in References and further reading:
Behringer,Wolfgang. 2004. Witches and Witch Hunts: A Global
Su k u m a l a n d” as an indirect result of the villagization
History.Cambridge: Polity.
program imposed in the 1960s by the socialist govern-
Davies, Owen. 1999. Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736–1951.
ment of Julius Kambarage Nye re re (party leader until
Manchester: Manchester University Press.
1987). However, there are many parallel examples from
Gijswijt-Hofstra, Marijke. 1999. “Witchcraft After the Witch
other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. In the late 1970s, the
Trials.” Pp. 95–189 in The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
persecution in the People’s Republic of Benin (formerly Vol. 5 of The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe.
Dahomey) was linked to a tetanus epidemic, and the Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark. London and
witch hunts in Ghana in 1997 accompanied an Philadelphia: Athlone and University of Pennsylvania.
o u t b reak of meningitis. Protests by human rights Levack, Brian P. 1999. “The Decline and End of Witchcraft
organizations against these lynchings caused the Prosecutions.” Pp. 1–93 in The Eighteenth and Nineteenth
m i l i t a ry government of Je r ry Rawlings (ru l e d Centuries,Vol. 5 of The Athlone History of Witchcraft and Magic
in Europe. Edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark. London
1981–2001) to allocate four camps, or “s a n c t u a r i e s , ”
and Philadelphia: Athlone and University of Pennsylvania.
for the protection of suspected witches in Oc t o b e r
Mesaki, Simeon. 1994. “Witch-Killings in Sukumaland.” Pp.
1997, presumably following the example of So u t h
47–60 in Witchcraft in ContemporaryTanzania.Edited by Ray
Africa. Like sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia seems
Abrams. Cambridge: African Studies Centre.
to count among contemporary hotspots of witch
Monumenta Germaniae historica. Scriptores rerum Germanicarum.
hunting. Newspaper reports mentioned mob lynchings Welmar, Germany. 13:52.
in the late 1980s in both Java and Papua New Guinea. Soman, Alfred. 1986. “Witch Lynching at Juniville.” Natural
History95: 8–15.
WOLFGANG BEHRINGER
Tazbir, Janusz. 1966. “Z dziejow falszerstw historycznych w Polsce
See also:AFRICA(SUB-SAHARAN); AGOBARDOFLYONS; w pierwszej polowie XIX wieku.” Przeglad Historyczny57:
CONTEMPORARYWITCHCRAFT(POST1800); HANSEN,JOSEPH; 580–598.
Lynching 685 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 723 | 46049 Golden Chap.fm mk First Pages 10/29/2005 p.xiv Application File |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 724 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.687 Application File
M
Macfarlane, Alan (1941–) (for example, the inexplicable death of cattle or illness
Alan Douglas James Ma c f a r l a n e’s place among witch- of a child), that misfortune would be attributed to the
craft historians was established in 1970 by his first (and suspected witch’s malevolence. Macfarlane argued fur-
subsequently reissued) book, Wi t c h c raft in Tudor and ther that this pattern of witchcraft accusations was
St u a rt England: A Regional and Compara t i ve St u d y, t h e attributable to changes in the nature of the village com-
published version of his Oxford DPhil thesis. This the- m u n i t y. Population pre s s u re was increasing competi-
sis was completed under the supervision of Ke i t h tion for resources, and the spread of market forces and
Thomas, who then published his own major work on agrarian capitalism was eroding traditional community
witchcraft and related beliefs in 1971. Macfarlane has values. More particularly, richer villagers were ambiva-
published extensively on both history and anthro p o l o g y lent in their attitudes tow a rd an ever more numero u s
and has, among other things, written works challenging poor, a situation that eased as the poor law became an
s t a n d a rd interpretations of English historical deve l o p- established part of English culture in the seve n t e e n t h
ment. Macfarlane was educated at Wo rcester College, century. The accuser of the witch thus transferred any
O x f o rd, where he earned his BA, MA, and DPh i l guilty feelings about not giving charity by accusing the
d e g rees, subsequently gaining an MPhil at the London person to whom he had refused alms of witchcraft.
School of Economics and a PhD at London Un i ve r s i t y’s T h i rd, Macfarlane added anthropological insights to
School of Oriental and African Studies. He subsequent- historical materials, not least those that interpre t e d
ly worked at the Un i versity of Cambridge, where he has witchcraft in terms of the breaking and re f o r m u l a t i n g
been professor of anthropological sciences since 1991. of social relationships.
Macfarlane’sWitchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England Ma c f a r l a n e’s thesis can be criticized on a number of
reestablished witchcraft as a serious topic of study l e vels. He tended, perhaps, to write the elite too much
among historians of England and has proved influential out of his model of accusations. The supposed re l a t i o n-
among historians of witchcraft more generally. It was a ship between witchcraft and socioeconomic change is
work that entirely changed perceptions of early modern re n d e red problematic by the experience of a number of
Eu ropean witchcraft. Its novelty lay in three main other counties in southeastern England, notably Ke n t ,
d i rections. First, Macfarlane had worked through all Su r re y, and Middlesex, that underwent essentially the
of the main court re c o rds for En g l a n d’s most same socioeconomic changes as Essex but experienced
witchcraft-ridden county, Essex. The courts in question m a s s i vely lower levels of witchcraft accusations. And the
included the assizes, which tried most cases of witch- applicability of essentially non-Western anthro p o l o g i c a l
craft, defined as felony by statutes of 1563 and 1604; models to early modern Eu ropean witchcraft evidence
Essex borough courts; the county Quarter Sessions; and has been questioned (it is notew o rthy that little subse-
the Essex ecclesiastical courts. These court re c o rd s , quent work on early modern witchcraft has followe d
together with a series of pamphlets about Essex witch- Ma c f a r l a n e’s lead here). Indeed, Macfarlane has re t re a t-
craft trials, provided him with a massive body of evi- ed from some of the positions he established in 1970,
dence. Second, on the strength of these materials, he especially those suggesting links between witchcraft
demonstrated that the motivating force for witchcraft accusations and the supposed breakup of the traditional
accusations lay not in the activities of clergy or judges village community. Ne ve rtheless, the originality of his
but rather in disputes between villagers. Most frequent- focus on village disputes and interpersonal tensions as
ly, Macfarlane argued, a witchcraft accusation occurred the background to witchcraft accusations remains a
after a slightly richer villager had turned away a poorer, major conceptual bre a k t h rough that has informed
and usually female, neighbor who had come begging at n u m e rous subsequent studies.
his door.The woman, possibly with an existing reputa-
JAMES SHARPE
tion for being a witch, would go away muttering or
cursing in her disappointment. If misfortune befell the See also:AFRICA(SUB-SAHARAN); ANTHROPOLOGY;ENGLAND;
household of the person refusing charity a little later ESSEX;HISTORIOGRAPHY;THOMAS,KEITH;WITCHHUNTS.
Macfarlane, Alan 687 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 725 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.688 Application File
References and further reading: flying witches as “nonsense,” and lesser citizens like the
Macfarlane, Alan. 1987. The Culture of Capitalism.Oxford: Basil famous diarist Marino Sanudo called the executed peo-
Blackwell: chap. 5, “Evil: the Root of All Evil.” ple “martyrs.” The conflict dragged on for three years,
———. 1999. Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A Regional
with local inquisitors continuing to capture “w i t c h e s”
and Comparative Analysis.1970. London: Routledge and Kegan
and the Venetian government immediately blocking
Paul: reissued with introduction by James Sharpe.
any trials, until July 1521, when the Venetian govern-
ment finally managed to terminate all trials (De c k e r
Machiavellianism 2003, 55–66). By then It a l y’s leading jurist, Andre a
Ma c h i a vellianism was a political doctrine that ve n e r a t e d Alciati became the first secular author to brand the
the power and security of the state, disparaging re l i g i o n witch hunts as a nova holocausta (new holocaust) in his
and religious morality except insofar as they proved useful essay De lamiis et strigibus ( On Witches and Ev i l
to the state, thus contributing to a perspective that re g a rd- Spirits). Alciati, inspired by Ma c h i a vellianism, indeed
ed the belief in witchcraft as superstitious nonsense. i n vented the almost Du rkheimian interpretation that
The printing re volution created new audiences that the Inquisition was not fighting witchcraft but was cre-
the Church could not control and fostered the rise of ating the witches instead (see Hansen 1901, 310–312).
public opinion. Ad m i n i s t r a t i ve institutions of emerging It seems unnecessary here to summarize the early
Eu ropean states, such as courts, councils, academies, and modern debates on Machiavelli, who was considered an
u n i versities, provided platforms for discussion and bre d atheist by theologians of all denominations and could
n ew attitudes tow a rd spiritual affairs. Ni c c o l ò t h e re f o re hardly be used officially as a source of inter-
Ma c h i a velli (1469–1527) saw the full potential of pretation in the confessional age. Admirers of his way of
Renaissance politics. His classic Il Pr i n c i p e (The Pr i n c e ) , analyzing politics thus re s o rted to quoting Cornelius
written in 1513 and published posthumously in 1531, Tacitus, whose Histories Ma c h i a velli had commented
reduced religion to an instrument of a rational ru l e r. In upon in his Discorsi ( Discourses). This indirect re f e r-
his D i s c o u r s e s (also published in 1531), the former ence to Machiavelli is usually called “Tacitism,” a hid-
Fl o rentine official implied that religion served only to den form of Ma c h i a vellianism. Meanwhile, re l i g i o u s
frighten and discipline the populace. The implications of authors of all confessions condemned any pre d o m i-
such an attitude marked a paradigm shift, where by poli- nantly political decision as inspired by Ma c h i a velli, in
tics moved to the center of history and divine pre d e s t i n a- contrast to decisions motivated by religious considera-
tion became irre l e vant, if not nonexistent. Ma c h i a ve l l i’s tions. Around 1600, when the first chairs of politics
c o n t e m p o r a ry, the Paduan philosopher Pi e t ro we re established at universities (a consequence of the
Pomponazzi, who denied the immortality of the soul and p ro g re s s i ve formation of national bureaucracies), the
the existence of hell, similarly emphasized the political term p o l i t i c i a n was equated with Ma c h i a ve l l i a n i s m by
usefulness of religion for rulers. In such a context, magic religious authors. For Martín Del Rio, himself a former
and witchcraft we re just other inventions, ridiculous to a chief prosecutor of the Spanish Netherlands before
man of virtue, a rational ru l e r, or an official who acted joining the Jesuit order and becoming a leading demo-
f rom necessity and “reason of state.” Ma c h i a ve l l i’s books, nologist, politiciwere officials and advisers who tried to
although put on the Roman Catholic Churc h’s In d e x stop witch hunts for secular or “political” reasons.
l i b ro rum pro h i b i t o ru m ( Index of Prohibited Books), Del Rio certainly knew of the contemporary attack
molded the debate about politics throughout the early on Ma c h i a vellianism launched by his fellow Sp a n i s h
modern period. Even in the confessional age of the Jesuit Pe d ro de Ribadeneira (1526–1611). Howe ve r, in
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, religious ze a l o t s his Disquisitiones Magicae libiri sex ( Six Books on
continually complained about Ep i c u reans, Py r r h o n i a n s , In vestigations into Magic, 1599–1600), Del Rio also
l i b e rtines, or atheists, usually meaning anyone conspicu- re f e r red to debates about witchcraft in Ba varia,
ously lacking in religious zeal, and displayed a common- w h e re the opponents of witch hunting we re called
sense attitude tow a rd such things as witchcraft. “cold and political Christians” or “politicians.” In
The antagonism between religious zeal and “politics” C o u n t e r - Reformation Ba varia, it is striking to see the
was already visible in Italy during Machiavelli’s lifetime. sharp rift between two part i e s — zealots and moder-
The bishop of Brescia triggered a large-scale persecu- ates—within the Catholic camp. The same “p o l i t i c i a n s”
tion of witches in the Valcamonica in the summer who opposed witch hunting domestically also suggested
of 1518. The valley’s worldly overlord, the Republic of entering negotiations with their Protestant enemies to
Venice, stopped the persecution almost as soon as the p re vent further bloodshed. The hard-liners, howe ve r,
n ews arrived. The Council of Ten summoned the whom even Pope Urban VIII labeled ze l a n t i , p re f e r re d
inquisitors to Venice, provoking conflict betwe e n to have their enemies killed first and to make peace
the republic and Pope Leo X, who tried to protect the a f t e rw a rd. The p o l i t i c i e m p l oyed an Erasmian interpre-
authority of his inquisitors. Venetian politicians like tation of the parable of the wheat and the tare s
Vi c e - Doge Luca Tron bluntly branded all stories of ( Ma t t h ew 13:29), later adopted by the Jesuits Ad a m
688 Machiavellianism |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 726 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.689 Application File
Tanner and Friedrich Spee, whereas the zealots wished Royal So c i e t y, Joseph Glanvill, defended the existence
to root out the weeds re g a rdless of the damage, in ord e r of witchcraft. Even before a last series of witchcraft tri-
to pre vent future heresies and crimes and avoid Go d’s als occurred under heavy popular pressure in the early
vengeance. It seems fair to call their approach radical, 1680s, several intellectuals, embarrassed by Gl a n v i l l’s
because the idea of getting to the root (Latin ra d i x) of equating disbelief in witchcraft with atheism, attacked
crime, or here s y, dominated their thinking. The interd e- him harshly. Aggre s s i ve rebuttals came from Jo h n
pendence of their fantasies of eradication and their Wagstaffe, who sailed in the waters of Ma c h i a ve l l i a n
a d h e rence to radical measures, whether unlimited tor- and Hobbesian atheism. Suddenly it was no longer the
t u re in criminal trials or wars of conquest in foreign pol- question of witchcraft alone that was being debated,
i c y, linked these ideas with a certain type of re l i g i o s i t y. but a much wider issue: religion. Mo re cre d i b l y, Jo h n
In contrast, the politicians sought balanced judg- We b s t e r, a Nonconformist chaplain in the Civil Wa r,
ments in the service of their prince and country. and later a physician, attacked Glanvill for attempting
Bavaria’s politicians were led by such jurists as the chan- to “defend these false, absurd, impossible, impious and
cellor of the privy council, Dr. Johann Georg Herwarth bloody opinions” (Webster 1677, 36).
von Hohenburg (1553–1626), who was succeeded by Iro n i c a l l y, those considered godless by Christian
his ally Dr. Joachim Donnersberger (1565–1650). Both t h e o l o g i a n s — Ma c h i a vellians, libertines, atheists—
came from urban patrician backgrounds, Do n n e r s b e r g e r we re moderate in their attitudes tow a rd unnecessary
f rom the Ba varian capital of Munich and He rw a rt h bloodshed, whereas ardent supporters of confessional
f rom the imperial city of Augsburg. Both had re c e i ved a o rt h o d oxies we re responsible for the worst persecu-
solid academic education at foreign universities, a doc- tions. But in western Eu rope the witch hunts faded or
torate in France or It a l y, and had practiced law at the we re forcibly stopped as the powers of the central gov-
Re i c h s k a m m e r g e r i c h t (imperial chamber court). T h e ernments increased. France was, of course, the model
He rw a rths we re a banking dynasty, with Pro t e s t a n t case, where political centralization successfully suffo-
branches in Augsburg, France, and England, and the cated not only popular unrest but also popular witch
Catholic branch had entered princely service in Ba va r i a , hunting. French p a rl e m e n t s usually controlled their
e ventually joining the landed nobility and becoming districts tightly, and the Pa rl e m e n t of Paris upheld few
leaders of the Ba varian parliament. He rw a rth re c ru i t e d death penalties after 1625. Louis XIV (ru l e d
able officials from the Ba varian high nobility as well as 1643–1715) brought these executions to an end by
members of the imperial aristocracy, including the royal decree in 1682. By and large, France mirro re d
Ho h e n zollern and Wolkeinstein dynasties. He rw a rt h general Eu ropean developments, somew h e re in the
p e r s o n i fied an open Catholicism, keeping international middle gro u n d .
contacts even beyond confessional boundaries. T h e s e All over western Eu rope, executions of witches petere d
“cold and political Christians” managed to end Ba va r i a n out in the 1680s, in England as well as De n m a rk ,
persecution and launched a political debate instead. No rw a y, and Iceland; in the formerly panic- stricken
Ma c h i a vellianism played an important role thro u g h- duchies of Holstein and Mecklenburg; in all of nort h e r n
out Eu rope during the period of witch hunting and, for Germany; in the Swedish realm in the Baltic; in the
o bvious reasons, frequently encountered the burning Spanish Netherlands; and in the Rhineland and the Sa a r
issue of witchcraft as an extreme symbol of re l i g i o u s l y region, where particularly fie rce hunts had been common
i n s p i red policy. Be yond It a l y, it was France where secular only decades before. National, regional, or parochial his-
policy developed first; for example, Guillaume Fa re l torians offered tales of local hero e s — p rofessors, theolo-
equated Ma c h i a vellism, libertinism, and Ep i c u re a n i s m gians, lawyers, or princes—successfully fighting the sea of
(Schneider 1970, 105). We must understand Je a n superstition. Howe ve r, the executions even stopped in
B o d i n’s attacks against Ep i c u reans, skeptics, and places without a single hero. A new generation of politi-
Pyrrhonists in these terms. Clearly the insult “p o l i t i q u e” cians, educated at the same unive r s i t i e s — w h e t h e r
emerged to censure those, like Chancellor Michel de Catholic or Protestant—and usually raised in the spirit of
l’Hôpital, who shunned religious radicalism (either C a rtesian rationalism, suppressed any attempt at witch
Catholic or Huguenot) during the French Wars of hunting, if necessary by sending in troops, an instru m e n t
Religion, following the maxim that peace with two of power their predecessors had lacked. With the rise of
religions was preferable to war with none. After a gener- nation-states, “reason of state” replaced religious ze a l .
ation of civil war, religious radicalism became more dis- Howe ve r, the term p o l i t i c i a n retained connotations of
c redited in France than anywhere else in Eu rope. Clearly Ma c h i a vellianism, still visible in works by other authors
the strongest opponents of witch hunting in France are on witchcraft like Christian Thomasius or even in the
to be sought among “libert i n e s” like Gabriel Naudé, the a rticles in Johann Heinrich Ze d l e r’s Un i ve r s a l - L e x i c o n i n
defender of accused sorc e rers (Naudé 1625). the mid-eighteenth century.
In England, similar conflicts emerged during and
after the Civil War, when a high-ranking member of the WOLFGANG BEHRINGER
Machiavellianism 689 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 727 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.690 Application File
See also:ALCIATI,ANDREA;BAVARIA,DUCHYOF;DECLINEOFTHE Presbyterian Covenanters, Mackenzie was far more
WITCHHUNTS;DELRIO,MARTÍN;ERASMOS,DESIDERIOUS; sympathetic to accused witches. More than anyone else,
GLANVILL,JOSEPH;HOBBES,THOMAS;PARLEMENTOFPARIS; he was responsible for the decline in the number of
POMPONAZZI,PIETRO;SKEPTICISM;SPEE,FRIEDRICH;TANNER,
witchcraft convictions and executions in Scotland dur-
ADAM;THOMASIUS,CHRISTIAN;WAGSTAFFE,JOHN;WARSOF
ing the late seventeenth century.
RELIGION(FRANCE); WEBSTER,JOHN.
Ma c k e n z i e’s initial invo l vement in witchcraft trials
References and further reading:
o c c u r red during the large Scottish witch hunt of
Behringer,Wolfgang. 2004. Witches and Witch Hunts: A Global
1661–1662, when he was appointed to serve as a judge
History.Cambridge: Polity.
Bireley, Robert. 1990. The Counter-Reformation Prince: Anti- at a number of trials in Midlothian and East Lothian.
Machiavellianism or Catholic Statecraft in Early Modern Europe. This hunt was marked by a great many pro c e d u r a l
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. abuses, including the pricking and torturing of witches
Clark, Stuart. 1996. Thinking with Demons. The Idea of Witchcraft by local authorities. Mackenzie made frequent re f e r-
in Early Modern Europe.Oxford: Clarendon. ences to these trials in his writings, and it is likely this
Decker, Rainer. 2003. Die Päpste und die Hexen.Darmstadt: experience shaped his conviction that only trained
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
judges should try witches. In The Laws and Customs of
Del Rio, Martín. 1599–1600. Disquisitiones Magicarum libri sex.
Scotland in Matters Cr i m i n a l (1678), he objected that
Lourain.
many witches we re tried by “c o u n t ry men” who
Glanvill, Joseph. 1665. Some Philosophical Considerations Touching
received conciliar or parliamentary commissions to try
the Being of Witches and Witchcraft.London.
witches in the localities. He also attacked the trade of
———. 1681. Sadducismus Triumphatus, or Full and Plain
Evidence Concerning Witches and Apparitions.London. the prickers who we re employed to locate the De v i l’s
Hansen, Joseph, ed. 1963. Quellen und Untersuchungen zur mark as a “horrid cheat” (Mackenzie 1678, 90–91).
Geschichte des Hexenwahns und der Hexenverfolgungen im Mackenzie served as an advocate in the High Court
Mittelalter.Bonn: C. Georgi. 1901. Reprint, Hildesheim: of Ju s t i c i a ry during the 1670s and in 1677 was
Georg Olms. appointed lord advocate, a position he held until 1686.
Hunter, Michael, and David Wootton, eds. 1992. Atheism from the In this capacity he secured a number of acquittals of
Reformation to the Enlightenment.Oxford and NewYork:
accused witches. In 1680, for example, he directed the
Oxford University Press.
acquittal of Bessie Gi b b, mainly on the grounds that
Naudé, Gabriel. 1625. Apologie pour tous les grands personnages, qui
the magistrates and the bailie of the burgh of Bo’ n e s s
ont esté sopconnez de magie.Paris. Translated as The History of
who had proceeded against her were not competent to
Magic byWay of Apology for All the Wise Men Who Have
try her. Mackenzie was likewise critical of the use of tor-
Unjustly Been Reputed Magicians.London, 1657.
Pomponazzi, Pietro. 1925. De immortalitate animae [1516]. ture in Scottish witchcraft trials. Upon his recommen-
Messina: Giuseppe Principato. dation in 1680, five witches whose confessions we re
Schneider, Gerhard. 1970. Der Libertin.Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler. shown to have been the product of several types of tor-
Stolleis, Michael. 1988. Geschichte des öffentlichen Rechts in ture were set at liberty. Mackenzie did not object to tor-
Deutschland, Erster Band: Reichspublicistik und ture as such: he defended his own use of the practice in
Policeywissenschaft, 1600–1800.Munich: C. H. Beck. treason trials on the basis of reason of state and claimed
Thomasius, Christian. 1701. De Crimine Magiae.Halle.
that its use was authorized by the law of nations. But he
———. 1712.Disputatio Juris Canonici de Origine ac Progressu
insisted that its use be restricted to the Privy Council
Processus Inquisitorii contra Sagas.Halle.
and the justice general (who presided over the Justiciary
Wagstaffe, John. 1669. The Question of Witchcraft Debated: Or a
Court, the central court at Edinburgh), a policy similar
Discourse Against Their Opinion That AffirmWitches.London.
to that declared by the Parlementof Paris in 1624.
Webster, John. 1677.The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft.
London. Mackenzie apparently harbored no doubts regarding
Wootton, David. 1984. “The Fear of God in Early Modern the existence of witches. He introduced the section on
Political Theory.” Pp. 56–80 in Canadian Historical Association: witchcraft in Laws and Cu s t o m s by responding to the
Historical Papers 1983.Ottawa: Canadian Historical s i x t e e n t h - c e n t u ry skeptic Johann We ye r, whom he
Association. re f e r red to as “that great patron of witchcraft”
Zedler, Johann Heinrich, ed. 1732–1750. Grosses vollständiges (Mackenzie 1678, 81). Mackenzie claimed that witches
Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschaften und Künste.64 vols.
should suffer death, not just for poisoning and murder
Halle: J. H. Zedler.
but also for “enchanting and deluding the world.” Even
charmers, who served as healers, were in his eyes guilty
Mackenzie, Sir George of at least apostasy and heresy. Nevertheless, he claimed
(ca. 1636–1691) that witches were not so numerous as in the past, and as
As lord advocate of Scotland, Sir George Mackenzie of an advocate and judge he tended to doubt the validity
Rosehaugh played a crucial role in the decline of of the charges brought against most witches. T h i s
Scottish witch hunting. Sometimes called “Bl o o d y judicial skepticism underlay his demand for adherence
Ma c k e n z i e” for his relentless persecution of the to due process and the use of caution in the trial of
690 Mackenzie, Sir George |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 728 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.691 Application File
witches. He would accept confessions only if they were a rchaeological investigations and artistic studies,
in no way extorted, if they contained nothing that was including poetry; he also joined the Bavarian army and
impossible or improbable, and if the person confessing participated in a battle. Following contemporary aristo-
was neither melancholic nor suicidal. His skepticism cratic fashion, he traveled around the European conti-
was particularly apparent when he defended the nent seeking antiques for his collections. Like his con-
accused witch Maevia before the High Court of temporary, Voltaire, he was a famous playwright who
Justiciary during the 1670s. In this pleading, he argued was also fascinated by scientific research.
that acts of maleficent magic could only be proved by Maffei engaged in empirical research and read wide-
either confession or the testimony of two re s p e c t a b l e ly; his interests reached from philology to natural sci-
eyewitnesses. He also insisted that diseases could not be ence and from archaeology to tragedy to magic.
said to have been inflicted by magical means just Jonathan Israel called Maffei called “one of the chief
because those diseases had no known natural causes. heralds of the Venetian En l i g h t e n m e n t” (Ra d i c a l
In defending Maevia, Mackenzie relied heavily upon En l i g h t e n m e n t 2001, 142); his rich corre s p o n d e n c e
S c r i p t u re and the works of theologians to support his re veals various sides of the Italian and Eu ro p e a n
c l i e n t’s cause. He made an eloquent statement of the Enlightenment. Ma f f e i’s eclectic approach to culture
Protestant belief in the sovereignty of God, citing scrip- typified Italy’s emerging Enlightenment, that had as its
tural passages regarding Jesus’s casting out of the Devil main concerns the discove ry, encouragement, publica-
and asked rhetorically how God could have allowe d tion, and advancement of rational scholarship. After
Satan “to reign like a Sovereign, as our fabulous repre- composing short essays on various scientific topics,
sentations would now persuade us” (Mackenzie 1672, Maffei wrote about the causes of lightning (Della for-
185). In discrediting the belief in witches’ flight, he mazione dei fulmini; or On the Formation of
i n voked the authority of the Canon Ep i s c o p i , St . Lightning) in 1747. Meanwhile, he engaged in religious
Augustine, and even the Jesuit Martín Del Rio, insist- controversy, defending the Jesuit point of view against
ing that flight, like metamorphosis, was the product of the Jansenists in 1742 with his Theological History of the
illusion. These citations we re calculated to disarm his Doctrines and Opinions Ex p ressed by the Church on
critics and ward off charges of atheism, but they also Divine Grace, Free Will and Predestination.
reveal how critics of the trials could use religious argu- Be f o re analyzing his polemics against superstition
ments to reinforce their positions. and magic between 1749 and 1754, it seems useful to
recall that Maffei engaged in controversies among
BRIAN P. LEVACK
scholars and historians on many different subjects. For
See also:ACQUITTALS;CANONEPISCOPI;CONFESSIONS;DECLINEOF example, he argued about history with Mo n t e s q u i e u
THEWITCHHUNTS;DEVIL’SMARK;FLIGHTOFWITCHES; and debated tragedy with Vo l t a i re. Ma f f e i’s polemical
PRICKINGOFSUSPECTEDWITCHES;SCOTLAND;SKEPTICISM; talents were also displayed in three works against magic.
TORTURE;TRIALS;WEYER,JOHANN;WITCHHUNTS. The first, Artemagica dileguata (Magical Arts Vanished,
References and further reading: 1749), argued mainly against Gi rolamo Ta rt a ro t t i
Lang Andrew. 1909. Sir George Mackenzie: King’s Advocate, of
(whom Maffei appreciated, as did Ludovico Muratori).
Rosehaugh: His Life and Times 1636(?)–1691. London:
Maffei contested Tartarotti’s main assertions about the
Longman, Green.
d e finition and reality of demonic magic; he claimed
Levack, Brian P. 2002a. “Judicial Torture in Scotland During the
that fourteen other authors had also opposed its exis-
Age of Mackenzie.” Pp. 185–198 in MiscellanyFour.Edited by
tence. The second, Arte magica distrutta ( Magical Art s
Hector L. MacQueen. Edinburgh: Stair Society.
———. 2002b. “The Decline and End of Scottish Witch- De s t royed, 1750), was written under a pseudonym to
Hunting.” Pp. 166–181 in The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context. defend his previous work. The third, Arte magica
Edited by Julian Goodare. Manchester: Manchester University a n n i c h i l a t a ( Magical Arts Annihilated, 1754) re f u t e d
Press. accusations of heresy by Ta rt a rotti and others. Hi s
Mackenzie, Sir George. 1672. Pleadings in Some Remarkable Cases. polemic against Ta rt a rotti went beyond the witches’
Edinburgh: George Swintoun. Sabbat (or congresso notturno) to attack the whole theo-
———. 1678. The Laws and Customs of Scotland in Matters
ry. Maffei denied the existence of both witchcraft and
Criminal. Edinburgh: George Swintoun.
magic because both we re impossible in nature. Ma f f e i
also rejected any apparent proof from scriptural
Maffei, Scipione (1675–1755) s o u rces, stressing the deep diversity of practices
An Italian skeptic about witchcraft and an described there. Ac c o rding to He n ry Charles Lea
Enlightenment thinker, born into a noble family of (1957: III, p. 1449), he ove rcame Johann We ye r’s
Verona, Maffei is probably best known as the editor inconsistencies by asserting that, even before Je s u s ,
of the periodical Giornale de Letterati d’Italia (Journal t h e re was no magic and no witchcraft. Maffei defin e d
of the Literati of It a l y) . His life was filled with all such evidence as fables and ridiculed anyone who
wide-ranging activities. He devoted several years to defended their re a l i t y. No sane intellect can believe in
Maffei, Scipione 691 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 729 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.692 Application File
magic or witchcraft, he claimed; all “m i r a c l e s” can be the line between coercion and supplication is difficult
explained by natural laws. Maffei claimed that Pliny the to discern or is even explicitly crossed.
El d e r, to him the most important ancient author, Such difficulties have led many scholars to focus on
rejected magic on the basis of his philosophical theories elucidating the words’ specific meanings in the circum-
rather than because of atheism, as Ta rt a rotti assert e d . stances in which they we re employed. Although this
But when Maffei tried to persuade his opponents to solution threatens to leave us with no vo c a b u l a ry for
reject tales of magic and witchcraft found in ancient discussing phenomena that, howe ver ill-defined, are
sources, they charged him with impiety. generally acknowledged to be more or less unive r s a l ,
Maffei was anxious to provide plausible natural this approach seems justified in the current context
explanations for all supernatural phenomena. Rejecting because the “Western tradition” is the culture fro m
any moderate position about magic and witchcraft, he which these words derived their meanings and within
e m p l oyed skeptical arguments and offered natural which the opposition between them was defin e d .
explanations in pursuit of a scientific theory. Maffei was Fu rt h e r m o re, the latest chapter in the re l a t i o n s h i p
p a rticularly acute in denouncing supposedly rational b e t ween them in the Western tradition is the social
judgments that we re shaped as ort h o d ox. Hi d d e n s c i e n c e s’ attempt to formulate them as generalize d
fables, as he showed in surveying both scriptural and categories of human activity and apply them to other
l i t e r a ry sources, we re utterly unreliable. His position cultures—an approach that ultimately leads back to the
was original for his time and place. issue of their general applicability.
Even within Western tradition, definitions of magic
MICHAELA VALENTE
and religion pose difficulties because both concepts
See also:ENLIGHTENMENT;MIRACLES;MURATORI,LUDOVICO; changed over time and have meant different things to
SKEPTICISM;TARTAROTTI,GIROLAMO;VOLTAIRE; different groups in society. In order to proceed with this
WEYER,JOHANN. entry, minimal definitions will be required as a basis for
References and further reading: the following discussion of their specific development.
Ferrone, Vincenzo. 1995. The Intellectual Roots of the Italian Here, magicwill signify the manipulation of spirits and
Enlightenment: Newtonian Science, Religion, and Politics in the
occult forces to produce material effects, whereas re l i-
Early Eighteenth Century.Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities
g i o n i n vo l ves the worship of god(s) and obedience to
Press.
their moral instructions with the hope of gaining mate-
Israel, Jonathan. 2001. Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the
rial rewards and a favorable situation in the afterlife. It
Making of Modernity, 1650–1750.Oxford: Oxford University
should be noted that although these definitions pre-
Press.
Lea, Henry Charles. 1957. Materials Toward a History of s e rve the Western tradition’s formal polarization of
Witchcraft.Edited by Arthur C. Howland. 3 vols. NewYork magic and religion, the ambiguity and overlap between
and London: Thomas Yoseloff. the concepts of manipulation and worship open up the
Maffei, Scipione. 1749. Arte magica dileguata: Lettera... al padre possibility of magical practices within religion, which in
Innocente Ansaldi.Verona. fact frequently occurred.
———. 1750.Arte magica distrutta risposta di don Antonio Fiorio
veronese arciprete di Tignale, e Valvestino, vicario foraneo.Trent: Judaism, Paganism, and Magic
G. A. Brunati.
One root of the Western distinction between magic and
———. 1754. Arte magica annichilata.Verona: Antonio
religion and of their antagonism was the Hebrew God’s
Andreoni.
insistence that his people worship only him. The
Parinetto, Luciano. 1998. I lumi e le streghe: Una polemica italiana
Hebrew Bible contains numerous prohibitions of div-
intorno al 1750.Paterno: Dugnano.
Romagnoli, Gian Paolo, ed. 1998. Scipione Maffei nell’Europa del ination and other activities presumed to involve other
Settecento.Verona: Consorzio editori veneti. gods and spirits, which are often interpreted as a repu-
diation of magic. However, the Bible also contains sto-
Magic and Religion ries of Hebrew priests producing magical effects in
Both the words magicand religionare products of a spe- competition with foreign magicians in order to demon-
cific process of historical development within a specific strate the superior power of their god, and the Hebrew
culture, and attempts to employ them as generalized people from the lowest to the highest levels of society
categories of human activity have generated increasing engaged in prophesy, divination, exorcism, incanta-
controversy. The word magic has proved particularly tions, cursing, protective spells, use of amulets, oaths,
problematic because of its negative moral connotations. and ordeals similar to the magic forbidden by the Bible.
The common assumption that magic represents a bina- The religious authorities accepted these practices so
ry opposite to religion, a practice in which spirits can be long as their acknowledged source of power was
coerced, whereas religion more modestly supplicates its Yahweh and they did not compromise the priests’ dom-
god(s), has been found inadequate because not all reli- inance of the community’s spiritual life. Similar magical
gions involve a conscious deity, and even when they do, or folk-religious practices persisted in Jewish popular
692 Magic and Religion |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 730 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.693 Application File
culture through the Middle Ages into modern times, and the Christian sacraments had magical connotations
and the learned mystical tradition embracing Merkavah as well. The resolution of this paradox was to assert that
and Kabbalah was open to magical influences as well. magical effects produced by Christian actions were mir-
Both the folk and the mystical traditions existed at the acles, manifestations of God’s power freely exercised,
edge of Jewish orthodoxy, always in danger of straying whereas magic depended on evoking the power of
from monotheism or of presuming too much power, so demons. The concept of demons was derived from both
their existence only added ambiguity to, instead of Greco-Roman daimones, spirits that could be good,
undercutting, the biblical injunctions against magic. bad, or indifferent, and that played a significant role in
The other root of the Western distinction betwe e n magic, and Jewish demons, who were inherently bad
magic and religion, and the specific root of the term spirits (angels were good ones) that undermined God
m a g i c , lies in Gre c o - Roman culture. Sp e c i fic a l l y, the and harmed humans. Early Christianity associated
English word “m a g i c” derives from the Latin m a g i a , demons with Satan, who acquired increased promi-
b o r rowed from the Greek m a g e i a , which itself came nence as the leader of God’s enemies, and turned magi-
f rom the Persian magu, or priest. The Persian term cians into the Devil’s foot soldiers.
e n t e red Greek as m a g o a round the time of the Pe r s i a n While this process of demonization increased the
Wars as an insult associating Greeks who practiced moral menace posed by magic, Christianity simultane-
magical arts like healing or belonged to ecstatic cults ously argued against its practical threat. The differe n c e
with hostile foreigners. The term mageia came into b e t ween miracles and magic was not simply that miracles
common use during the Hellenistic period and was we re good and magic was bad but also that miracles we re
adopted by the Romans during the last century B.C.E. genuine and magic was false. For centuries, some pagan
Although not always used in a derogatory way original- philosophies had questioned the efficacy of magic,
l y, over time magic’s negative connotations became attributing its effects to fraud, illusion, and natural
fixed, gradually increasing both cultural oppro b r i u m p rocesses, but Christians, who believed in miracles,
and legal restrictions. As with the Hebrew proscription denied its efficacy on different grounds. Like the Jew s ,
of magic, the Greco-Roman denigration did not imply they considered their God to be omnipotent: there f o re
denial of its power, although the potential of fraud was he, and only he, could contravene the laws of nature .
noted; nor did it amount to a repudiation of its prac- B o r rowing arguments from the pagan philosophers, they
tices and beliefs, which we re quite similar to those of e m p h a s i zed the extent to which magic relied on natural
o f ficial religion. Instead, the issue was the danger that p rocesses, illusion, and fraud and argued that any addi-
u n regulated spiritual activity was perc e i ved to pose to tional power demons had was granted them by Go d .
the community. The earliest Greek condemnations These two intertwined themes—that magic invo l ve s
concerned the disruption it threatened to intro d u c e the idolatrous worship of evil demons and that its powe r
into the community’s relationship to its gods, where a s is ultimately illusory — we re developed in late antiquity
the Romans were concerned with its potential damage and reiterated and elaborated down through the Mi d d l e
to private citize n s’ health and pro p e rt y, the way it Ages. Howe ve r, their exact implications we re subject to
e m p owe red women and there by undercut patriarc h y, changing interpretations, and the balance between them
and, later, its potential to damage imperial authority. shifted as well. Focusing on the demonic basis of magic
Not all magicians accepted this intensifying vilifica- could heighten the threat it posed, whereas emphasizing
tion. Philosophers interested in magic, Neoplatonists in its illusory nature could diminish its import a n c e .
p a rt i c u l a r, called their practices t h e u r gy, d i f f e re n t i a t i n g Howe ve r, just because magic often invo l ved natural
them from lesser traditions called g o e t i a . They argued p rocesses and trickery and demons deceived people into
that magic and prayer alike work through the natural thinking they, not God, had powe r, did not mean magic
sympathetic bonds that permeate the universe and could not harm people: it was perfectly possible to see
emphasized the extent to which magic operates through magic as both illusory and dangerous. Si m i l a r l y, the
occult natural processes, thereby beginning a tradition demonic element could be seen as either a purely moral
known as “natural magic.” At its extreme, their concept issue (idolatry) to be punished with penance or exc o m-
of magic resembled a form of mysticism. However, by munication, rather than as a public danger re q u i r i n g
the time they developed their theories, their main criminal prosecution and secular punishment. Thus, in
opposition no longer came from traditional pagan reli- late antiquity, Christian emperors, influenced by the cler-
gions but instead from a new creed, Christianity, which g y’s desire to expurgate paganism and confident in their
would prove far more hostile to magic. own powe r, made all practice of magic a capital offense.
In the Early Middle Ages, in contrast, St. Boniface
Magic and Christianity d e c l a red belief in witches and we rew o l ves to be un-
Christianity inherited Judaism’s rejection of magic, but Christian, and the Canon Ep i s c o p icondemned the belief
Jesus, the early Apostles, and Christian saints also fol- of some women that they flew at night on the backs of
lowed Hebrew tradition by producing magical effects, animals with the goddess Diana as an illusion and
Magic and Religion 693 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 731 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.694 Application File
punished it with penance. Such variations in emphasis to a god. Fu rt h e r m o re, a certain amount of natural mag-
re flect not only changing intellectual fashions but also ic invo l ved invocation of spirits that, despite the magi-
the worldly power available to Christian authorities: c i a n s’ protestations that they we re neutral, almost
when the opportunity permitted it, they readily sup- mechanical connectors in the celestial system, sounded
p ressed magic by force as well as decrying it as va i n ; much like demons to the uninitiated. The Christian
w h e re secular rule was weak, they simply disparaged it community already had a variety of less dubious means
and punished its practitioners with penance. of approaching its God and understanding nature and an
Even with the might of the Roman Empire at their array of specialists engaged in them. Theologians there-
disposal, the Christians could not expunge magic or f o re reiterated that any invocation of spirits was idolatry,
magicians from their midst. By the time the we s t e r n that there we re no good or neutral demons, that no form
e m p i re fell, they had largely succeeded in eradicating of magic leads to knowledge of God or the Holy Sp i r i t ,
formal pagan cults, but they were far less successful in and that there is a fundamental difference between mira-
eliminating magic from popular culture. Furthermore, cles and magic. For several centuries, natural magic
the conversion of the Germans, while similarly elimi- e n j oyed general acceptance as a body of knowledge with-
nating formal pagan opposition, was even less success- in natural philosophy concerned with hidden pro c e s s e s
ful at the popular level, because in the process of con- in nature, but it never gained general acceptance as a set
version, Christian missionaries pragmatically tried to of practices or as a legitimate source of more general wis-
win acceptance by superimposing their religion on dom or approach to Go d .
existing forms as much as possible. To some extent, The refutation of natural magic’s religious claims
Christian clergymen took over magical roles previously formed one part of a much larger process by which
played by pagan priests, like blessing fields and animals, medieval Christianity rationalized its beliefs, the intel-
and to a much greater extent they simply continued lectual movement known as Scholasticism that system-
t i m e - h o n o red practices after purging them of explicit a t i zed ideas about the supernatural dimension of evil
paganism. For its part, the European populace gradual- into the demonology that underlay the early modern
ly accommodated its traditions to the new creed, substi- persecution of witches. Belief in the immanent opera-
tuting God, Jesus, the Virgin Ma ry, and the saints for tion of a hierarchy of demons working against the
pagan deities in their spells and Christian symbols for Christian community under the overall dominion of
pagan signs in their charms. This process intro d u c e d the Devil became an integral part of late medieval cul-
s i g n i ficant changes into both popular magic and t u re even as it became more aware of the disparity
C h r i s t i a n i t y. Because popular magic was amorphous between approved and actual beliefs and practices. Not
and routinely adapted to and adopted from other spiri- just malevolent witches, who we re thought to be pri-
tual systems, whereas Christianity was more rigid, these marily women, but all practitioners of magic, no matter
changes created a disjunction between formal doctrines h ow beneficent their activities or high-minded their
and accepted rituals and actual beliefs and practices. intentions, were perceived as human agents of this dan-
The resulting tensions remained latent for centuries but gerous diabolic conspiracy. Even among the elite, only a
eventually came to a head when secular power reached minority followed this reasoning to its logical conclu-
levels that made their resolution seem practicable. sion, so at the height of the witch persecutions, local
Before that day of reckoning, though, new elements healers and learned astrologers and alchemists contin-
e n t e red the mix in the High Middle Ages, when the ued to practice, and ord i n a ry people continued to
importation of Arabic scholarship and revival of classi- e m p l oy a vast array of magical remedies and pro t e c-
cal learning prompted a revival of learned natural mag- tions, but neve rtheless, the demonological paradigm
ic. This system claimed to avoid demonic agency by shaped law codes, informed jurists and magistrates,
manipulating hidden forces of nature rather than spir- i n s p i red artists and writers, frightened ord i n a ry peas-
its. Alchemy and astro l o g y, in part i c u l a r, lent them- ants and townspeople, gave malicious or vengeful peo-
selves to this interpretation, and generations of learned ple a weapon against anyone (particularly women) who
magicians from the twe l f t h - c e n t u ry Re n a i s s a n c e could plausibly be accused of magic, and forced every-
t h rough the Neoplatonic movement in the Hi g h one (and again particularly women) to be more con-
Renaissance to the early Scientific Re volution in the scious of gaps between the dictates of their religion and
s e venteenth century dreamed that they could gain their actual beliefs and practices. The witch persecu-
acceptance in the Christian community. They pointed tions re flected a number of trends and tensions in
to the value of their arts in re vealing the secrets of Eu ropean society: one of the most important was the
nature and argued that their cultivation would lead to a d e s i re, inherited from late antiquity, to purge the
fuller understanding of the Christian God. culture of magic and society of its various practitioners.
Un f o rt u n a t e l y, natural magic posited that the unive r s e Even as the early modern witch persecutions got
is an organic, living whole bound together and permeat- u n d e rw a y, Eu rope was rent by the Pro t e s t a n t
ed by an incorporeal spirit that seemed suspiciously close Reformation, which affected the relationship betwe e n
694 Magic and Religion |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 732 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.695 Application File
religion and magic in several important ways. To begin by antiquity, the relationship between magic and reli-
with, by replacing the Church, with its sacraments, saints, gion soon began to be affected by a radically new fac-
and good works, with individual faith as the key to salva- tor, the rising importance of science and, particularly,
tion, Protestantism heightened the importance of the the new mechanical philosophy. Recent research has
purity of each individual’s beliefs and practices. It became shown that the traditional Whig interpretation of the
m o re problematic for Christians to go to a cunning rising scientific worldview as the implacable foe of
woman on Thursday and church on Sunday if they could magic contains considerable oversimplification, for nat-
not just confess and do penance in between. Second, just ural magic was an integral part of the natural philoso-
as Protestantism eliminated the spiritual hierarchy that phy out of which science emerged and played a role in
mediated between the individual and God, so too it scientific thought well into the eighteenth century.
reduced the importance of demons in magic in favor of However, mechanical philosophy rejected the notions
the direct invo l vement of the Devil, strengthening the of occult causation, spiritual agency, and an organic
connection between magic and evil. T h i rd, the re l i g i o u s unity to the physical universe, putting it at odds not
c o n flict intensified the scrutiny of popular practices on only with magic but with Christianity as well. To some
both sides of the confessional divide, as Protestants and extent, this common opponent pushed magic and reli-
Catholics competed in their zeal to prove their spiritual gion together, so, for example, defenders of witchcraft
s u p e r i o r i t y. Fi n a l l y, by denigrating Catholicism as rife beliefs argued that denial of witches’ magical powers
with magical rituals and doctrines and minimizing its and the Devil’s immanence logically undercut other
own magical elements, Protestantism codified the divi- supernatural beliefs more central to Christianity, like
sion between religion and magic. Some Protestant sects miracles, angels, and the afterlife. Religion enjoyed the
tried to eliminate all traces of magic, re g a rding rituals as protection of powerful social patrons, though, whereas
symbolic only, consigning miracles to biblical times, and magic was a social orphan, so Enlightenment thinkers
disparaging any claims of miraculous processes or super- could rebut and lampoon magical beliefs far more
natural effects in the present as rank magic no differe n t openly and caustically than they could religious ones.
f rom the pretenses of marketplace charlatans. Disbelief in magic (though not in religion) became a
The decline of the witch persecutions in the seve n- sociocultural marker of membership in the intellectual
teenth century invo l ved another shift in the re l a t i o n s h i p elite, and social pressure, class snobbery, and sycophan-
of Christianity to magic. Faced with the disorder and tism played at least as great a role as experimentation
injustices the witch persecutions created and perhaps and reasoned argument in the ultimate triumph of sci-
reacting to their success in curbing if not eliminating ence. The philosophes used the vulnerability of magic,
magical practices, Eu ro p e’s civil and, somewhat more which Christianity had done so much to create, not
re l u c t a n t l y, its religious authorities gradually abandoned only to deprecate magic but also to attack religion indi-
their concern about the danger posed by the Devil and rectly.Theologians generally responded to this scientif-
m a l e volent magicians and placed increasing stress on the ic assault by de-emphasizing the magical aspects of reli-
i l l u s o ry nature of magic, both in terms of its efficacy and gion and highlighting its moral message. During the
of its ultimate cause. While maintaining the theore t i c a l eighteenth century magic disappeared entirely from
possibility of magical effects and the De v i l’s invo l ve m e n t learned discourse, and Christianity lost its central place
in human affairs, they increasingly questioned the likeli- in intellectual life, relegated to the role of metaphorical
hood of magic having caused harm in any part i c u l a r narrative and ethical adviser.
instance, and they emphasized that since the Devil is Rumors of the death of God and assumptions about
s u b s e rvient to God, any power he or his servants mani- the end of magic have proved greatly exaggerated: belief
fest is a sign of Go d’s displeasure and should lead people in the reality and power of both surv i ved education,
to scru t i n i ze their own consciences rather than punish ridicule, and repression (in the case of magic) in popu-
the apparent perpetrators. They still opposed magical lar culture, and both have revived in recent decades—
practices, but now (again) for their impiety and fraudu- e ven, in the New Age movement, together.
lent claims. Without abandoning their fundamental Ne ve rtheless, what intellectuals contested in the eigh-
belief in magic and the reality of the Devil, they shifted teenth century, their descendents in the nineteenth and
emphasis away from the danger they posed to their illu- twentieth centuries assumed they had won, and so they
s o ry nature—this time not because they lacked the pow- turned from scientific debates about the reality of mag-
er to combat them forc e f u l l y, but rather because they ic to social-scientific explanations of magical and
re a l i zed that they had too much of it. religious beliefs. Individual belief in magic and religious
enthusiasm we re pathologized by the emergent
Magic, Religion, Science, and the Social discipline of psyc h o l o g y, and psychologists competed
Sciences with philosophers, historians, sociologists, and anthro-
As the witch persecutions ended because of a shift of pologists in constructing sociocultural theories to
emphasis within the traditional framework bequeathed explain magico-religious thinking’s long hold on
Magic and Religion 695 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 733 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.696 Application File
human consciousness and to celebrate its eve n t u a l c l a s s i fic a t o ry system linking individual consciousness,
demise. Ni n e t e e n t h - c e n t u ry theorists like Au g u s t e social relations, and the larger environment and that
Comte, G. W. F. Hegel, and Karl Ma rx pioneered an integrates society by re a f firming social identity.
etic approach to the problem, proposing grand narra- Durkheim paid less attention to magic because he felt it
tives in which different formulations of magic, religion, was distinguished by its private intent and secret execu-
and science formed succeeding stages in the evo l u t i o n tion from re l i g i o n’s public purpose and open practice
of human cognition linked to the development of and there f o re re vealed re l a t i vely little about the larger
material civilization. So m ewhat later, Max We b e r social re a l i t y. Fo l l owing Du rk h e i m’s sociological
championed a more emic approach that insisted on the a p p roach, Ma rcel Mauss, his nephew, actually fir s t
need to understand what peoples’ religious beliefs worked out this distinction between religion and mag-
meant to them, and, in opposition to Marx, pointed to ic. A. R. Radcliffe-Brown took the tradition in another
the ways they could shape the development of socioeco- d i rection, opposing any distinction between re l i g i o n
nomic structures. and magic and focusing on the relationship betwe e n
By the late twentieth century, at least eight major their rituals and other aspects of society, an appro a c h
interpretive approaches had emerged, which have been that became the norm among anthropologists in the
termed the intellectualist, the emotionalist, the phe- mid-twentieth century. Radcliffe-Brown’s student E. E.
nomenological, the structural-functional, the symbolic, Eva n s - Pr i t c h a rd continued to link religious forms to
the structuralist, the feminist, and the cognitive social structure but broadened his approach to include
(Cunningham 1999). the idea that the Africans he studied utilized two modes
The intellectualist interpretation (whose exponents of thought, mystical and empirical, in explaining events
include Herbert Spencer, E. B. Tyler, J. B. Frazer, and a and reacting to them, for he found that structural-func-
number of British anthropologists since World War II) tionalist explanations clarified only limited aspects of
re g a rds magical and religious thinking as pre s c i e n t i fic his subjects’ magico-religious beliefs.
attempts to explain otherwise inexplicable phenomena Eva n s - Pr i t c h a rd’s theory about two complementary
and magical and religious rituals as attempts to influ- modes of thought echoed the ideas of Lucien
ence otherwise uncontrollable processes. Early intellec- L e v y - Bruhl, who first proposed an evo l u t i o n a ry schema
tualists distinguished magic from religion as differe n t i n volving a pro g ression from primitive mystical con-
stages in the evolution of conceptualization, where a s sciousness into modern rational thought but later modi-
later ones were more concerned with the relationship of fied it to the notion that the two modes of understanding
both to science. The emotionalist approach (exe m p l i- coexist. Because of his focus on the content of thought,
fied by R. R. Ma rett, Sigmund Freud, and Bro n i s l a w as opposed to the process of thinking, Levy-Bruhl was an
Malinowski) explains both magical and religious beliefs early exemplar of the symbolist approach in anthro p o l o-
as ways of coping with stressful emotions, whether the g y. From this point of view, stru c t u r a l - f u n c t i o n a l i s m’s
frustration caused by an inability to control an impor- p o rtrayal of religion as an expression of social stru c t u re is
tant situation, long-repressed infantile conflicts, or the just one possible type of symbolization. Anthro p o l o g i s t s
need to express feelings generated by significant life like Ma ry Douglas, J. H. M. Beattie, Victor Tu r n e r,
e vents. The phenomenological approach (including Arnold Van Ge n n e p, and Clifford Ge e rtz bro a d e n e d
Rudolf Otto, Karl Jung, and Mi rcea Eliade) seeks to symbolic interpretations to include the ways that the rit-
study the contents of consciousness as people experi- uals and beliefs of magic and religion symbolize basic
ence them, with Otto treating the transition from mag- biological and psychological processes, social transitions,
ic to religion not as a product of material development and the cosmic ord e r. They also emphasized that symbol
but as a widening of the range of human feelings, systems can actually shape the social ord e r. The anthro-
w h e reas Jung and Eliade treat magic and religion as a pologist S. J. Tambiah has gone one step further by
unitary set of symbols either inherited or recognized in a p p roaching magic as a rhetorical art in which perf o r m a-
nature that represent and help resolve critical life events t i ve acts and utterances do not just symbolize or guide
and foster psychological development. but actually constitute transferences of (social) qualities
Although these three schools of thought have made and changes of (social) state.
contributions that have been assimilated into the Tambiah’s focus on magico-religious symbolism as a
current understanding of magic and religion, the main- form of performative rhetoric is rooted in semiotics, the
s t ream of contemporary thought focuses on their science of symbol systems, which is the basis for the
relationship to the larger society and culture. The first approach called structuralism. Primarily associated with
such approach, structural-functionalism, began with Claude Levi-Strauss but also including Edmund Leach
Emile Durkheim’s insistence that social phenomena be and Maurice Go d e l i e r, it approaches culture from the
explained in social rather than psychological terms. point of view of Sa u s s u rean linguistics, treating it as a
He applied that idea to religion by saying it symbolizes set of communications systems exemplified by language
social stru c t u res in a way that serves as a general in which the relationship of symbols to each other is
696 Magic and Religion |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 734 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.697 Application File
paramount. Leach’s early work was characterized by a makes use of a specialized cognitive process separate
p a rticularly direct reliance on linguistic stru c t u r a l i s m , f rom language that interacts with perceptual and con-
but Levi-Strauss put more emphasis on the unconscious ceptual mechanisms in constructing knowledge and
structures of the human mind, and Godelier attempted consolidating memories. E. Thomas Lawson and
to synthesize stru c t u r a l i s m’s focus on culture and lan- Ro b e rt McCauley have focused more specifically on
guage with Marxism’s concern for socioeconomic reali- religious and magical ritual, arguing that specific rituals
ties. Fo l l owing Ma rx’s repudiation of religion as the are surface manifestations of three underlying cognitive
“opium of the people,” Godelier regarded religion and mechanisms. Pascal Boyar argues that many ideas about
magic as inextricably linked, with religion an illusory magical causation and the resultant ritual actions are
explanatory system and magic an imaginary method for re l a t i vely mundane consequences of the normal func-
causing effects. Levi-Strauss also re g a rded magic and tioning of our system for making inferences, while
religion as complementary, although in ve ry differe n t Patrick McNamara suggests that perception of the hid-
terms: he posited that religion involves treating physical den workings of spirits, gods, or karma is triggered by
reality as if it has human characteristics, whereas magic our mechanisms for detecting intentionality and the
involves treating human ritual actions as if they have a subsequent application of our “theory of mind.” What
direct connection to physical reality. Lesch, in contrast, these last two theories, in part i c u l a r, indicate is that
came to question whether words like religionand magic magico-religious beliefs may stem not from some mal-
can be used to discuss cultures that do not include cog- function of the nervous system but from its re g u l a r
nates, and has expressed doubts whether magic in par- functioning. We repeat things associated with success,
ticular has any meaning at all. a void things associated with failure, and deal with the
Feminist interpretations of magic and religion focus world on the assumption that it is sentient, because in a
on the links between gender, power, and the legitimacy dangerous world it is safer to treat something as smart
of spiritual activity. Because religions since antiquity that is not than vice versa.
have been patriarchal, both in their conceptualizations One final approach goes beyond cognitive psyc h o l o g y
of spiritual reality and in their secular stru c t u re s , to explore the physiology of trance states and mystical
women have tended to be particularly linked to magic, communion. For example, the recent re s e a rch of Eu g e n e
the illicit, or at least unofficial, practice of spirituality. d’ Aquili and Andrew Newburg has found that if either
Fu rt h e r m o re, because men dominated scholarship on the sympathetic (arousing) or the parasympathetic (qui-
this topic until the 1980s, early theories about religion eting) nervous system is pushed too far, it activates the
and magic overlooked the role of and the impact on o t h e r, and this simultaneous activation of the two
women. Feminist scholars in a variety of disciplines opposing systems results in an ecstatic state and the sup-
have worked to correct this imbalance, with a historian p ression of the brain center that maintains our aware-
of religion like Ross Shepard Kraemer, for example, cri- ness of the border between ourselves and the external
tiquing classicists’ traditional reliance on male-centered world. This, in their estimation, accounts for the sensa-
s o u rces when studying Gre c o - Roman religion; the tion of mystical communion, and it can be achieved, as
a n t h ropologist Julia Kristeva critiquing anthro p o l o g y experience suggests, by either an overload or pro l o n g e d
for its neglect of matriarchal Neolithic religions and the d e p r i vation of activity and sensory stimulation. A differ-
p rocess of re p ression by which patriarchal cults sup- ent approach to trance states has been pursued by
planted them; and the theologian and philosopher Michael Winkelman, who has connected the physiolog-
Mary Daly launching a much broader attack on patriar- ical, psychological, and anthropological dimensions of
chal religion as part of a broader critique of patriarchal shamanistic healing to develop a rich understanding of
institutions generally. h ow that form of magic works. Fi n a l l y, in an older set of
Fi n a l l y, the cognitive approach has developed fro m studies, d’ Aquili and another set of collaborators focused
dissatisfaction with Sa u s s u rean assumptions about the on the effects of rhythmic group rituals on their part i c i-
workings of the human mind, in particular, the reliance pants, arguing that they “t u n e” the part i c i p a n t s’ nervo u s
on semiotics and privileging of linguistics. Instead of systems to common neural rhythms, inducing gro u p
seeing meaning as coming from the re l a t i o n s h i p harmony to facilitate collective action or promote intra-
between signs, it adopts generative linguistics’ focus on mural accord. This concept of “t u n i n g” the nervous sys-
the relationship between deep stru c t u res rooted in the tem seems to hold particular promise for expanding our
brain and their specific manifestations in speech. understanding of religion and magic, suggesting that rit-
Fu rt h e r m o re, it rejects the assumption that language ual actions, incantations, fasting, hallucinogenic dru g s ,
determines people’s perception of reality, instead treat- meditation, and similar practices provide an array of
ing language as one of several specialized mental techniques for physiologically “t u n i n g” our processes of
processes that structure perception and mentation. For p e rception and cognition so that we apprehend and
example, Dan Sperber argues that symbolism is a mech- interact with the world in different and, in differe n t
anism for handling irregular types of information that contexts, useful ways.
Magic and Religion 697 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 735 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.698 Application File
Mo re generally, the physiological and cognitive Styers, Randall. 2004. Making Magic: Religion, Magic, and Science
a p p roaches together suggest that although the distinc- in the ModernWorld.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
tion between magic and religion may be an artifact of Thomas, Keith. 1971. Religion and the Decline of Magic. New
York: Schribner’s.
the historical development of the Western tradition,
Trachtenberg, Joshua. 1977. Jewish Magic and Superstition: A
and specific magico-religious practices and beliefs are
Study in Folk Religion.NewYork: Atheneum.
manifestations of specific cultures, the terms refer not
Winkelman, Michael. 2000. Shamanism: The Neural Ecology of
simply to cultural constructs, but rather to cultural con-
Consciousness and Healing. London: Bergin and Garvey.
s t ructs built upon the common foundations of more
basic human processes and experiences.
Magic Circle
EDWARD BEVER A sacred space creating a physical barrier to the envi-
ronment within which many magical rites, such as
See also:ANGELS;ANTHROPOLOGY;BIBLE;CANONEPISCOPI;
invocations of demons and other similar ceremonies,
CLERICALMAGIC;DEMONOLOGY;DEMONS;DEVIL;DOUGLAS,
are performed is called a magic circle.
MARY;ENLIGHTENMENT;EVANS-PRITCHARD,EDWARDE.; FREUD,
Embodying wholeness, perfection, and unity, the
SIGMUND;IDOLATRY;INVOCATIONS;JESUS;JEWS,WITCHCRAFT,
ANDMAGIC;KABBALAH;MAGIC,LEARNED;MAGIC,NATURAL; c i rcle had not only magical but also universal re l i-
MAGIC,POPULAR;MALINOWSKY,BRONISLAWKASPER; gious significance. Remnants of cult circles, not
MECHANICALPHILOSOPHY;MIRACLES;OCCULT;PROTESTANT unlike the we l l - k n own Stonehenge, exist thro u g h o u t
REFORMATION;ROMANCATHOLICCHURCH;SCIENCEAND the world, proving their ancient origins. Circ u l a r
MAGIC;SHAMANISM. forms we re used in old Ba bylonian magic. Me d i e va l
References and further reading: and Renaissance ceremonial magicians employe d
Ankarloo, Bengt, and Stuart Clark, eds.1999–2002.The Athlone
them; Rembrandt van Rijn’s famous etching of Dr.
History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe.6 vols. London and
Faustus shows the scholar focusing on a magical circ l e
Philadelphia: Athlone and University of Pennsylvania Press.
on the ground, which is re flected in the window
Boyer, Pascal. 2001. Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins
panes. Some American Indian tribes or, for that mat-
of Religious Thought.NewYork: Basic Books.
t e r, today’s Wiccans, have used magic circles, but for
Clark, Stuart. 1997. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft
in Early Modern Europe.Oxford: Clarendon. d i f f e rent re a s o n s .
Cunningham, Graham. 1999. Religion and Magic: Approaches and
Theories.NewYork: NewYork University Press.
Ancient and Medieval
D’Aquili, Eugene G., et al. 1979. The Spectrum of Ritual: A
Magic Circles
Biogenetic Structural Analysis. NewYork: Columbia University
To summon an angel, a spirit, or a demon, a magician
Press.
generally requires a magic circle. The German monk
Flint, Valerie. 1991. The Rise of Magic in Early Modern Europe.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Caesarius of Heisterbach, a rich source for both learned
Glucklick, Ariel. 1997. The End of Magic. NewYork: Oxford and folk magic, included a story in his Dialogus
University Press. Miraculorum (Dialogue on Miracles, ca. 1225) about a
Janowitz, Naomi. 2002. Icons of Power: Ritual Practices in Late knight who denied that demons exist and was dramati-
Antiquity.University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. cally refuted by a monk, who drew a magic circle and
Kieckhefer, Richard. 2000. Magic in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: conjured demons. In his Autobiography, Benevenuto
Cambridge University Press.
Cellini vividly described experiencing a similar episode
Levack, Brian. 1995. The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe.2nd
in the Roman Colosseum in the 1520s.
ed. London: Longman.
Handbooks of ceremonial magic from late antiquity
Luck, George. 2003. Ancient Pathways and Hidden Pursuits:
to the present dealt repeatedly with the matter,
Religion, Morals, and Magic in the Ancient World.Ann Arbor:
although the form of the circle was not invariable and
University of Michigan Press.
McNamara, Patrick. 2001. “Religion and the Frontal Lobes.” Pp. almost everygrimoireshowed a different form of magic
237–256 in Religion in Mind: Cognitive Perspectives on Religious c i rcle. The we l l - k n own, widely adapted, and re l a t i ve l y
Beliefs, Ritual, and Experience.Edited by Jensine Andresen. ancient Key of Solomon described the essential clothing
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. and requirements (knife, rings, scepter, fire, parchment,
Neusner, Jacob, et al. 1989. Religion, Science, and Magic in Concert ink) needed to create a properly equipped magical circle
and in Conflict.Oxford: Oxford University Press. from which an operator might safely evoke a demon. As
Newberg, Andrew, Eugene G. d’Aquili, and Vince Rause. 2001.
the book instructed, the circle had to be 9 feet in diam-
Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief.
eter and traced with the consecrated knife. Four penta-
NewYork: Ballantine.
cles were to be engraved with the names of the Creator,
Noegel, Scott, et al. 2003.Prayer, Magic, and the Stars in the
inscribed with the same knife. The characters inscribed
Ancient World.University Park: Pennsylvania State University
in the circle we re Greek and He b rew; the formula
Press.
Peters, Edward. 1978. The Magician, the Witch, and the Law. “alpha–omega,” the first and last letters of the Gre e k
Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. alphabet, had to be repeated several times.
698 Magic Circle |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 736 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.699 Application File
Johann Georg Faust invoking a demon while inside a magic circle. (Stapleton Collection/Corbis)
A few other examples show how more recent imita- touches the earth (or floor) and continues beneath.
tors have twisted this formula. The grimoire Le Dragon Some kind of marking is often placed on the gro u n d
rouge (Red Dragon),supposedly dating from 1522 but to show where the circle bisects the earth: a cord laid
originally printed in 1822, called the circle the in roughly circular shape, a lightly drawn circle of
“Triangle of the Pacts.” It had to be made with the skin chalk, or objects (even tarot cards) showing its out-
of a kid lamb nailed with four nails, and the triangle lines. Details like knives and pentacles re c a l l
within the circle had to be traced with an enameled So l o m o n’s ancient key.
stone. The Ma g u s , published in London in 1801 by
CHRISTA TUCZAY
Francis Ba r rett, who attempted to re n ew occultism in
England, instructed the operator to engrave the letters
See also:CONTEMPORARYWITCHCRAFT(POST1800); DEMONS;
FAUST,JOHANNGEORG;GRIMOIRES;INVOCATIONS;RITUAL
alpha and omega and various divine names. His penta-
MAGIC.
cles inscribed within the circles contained mostly
References and further reading:
Hebrew names and formulas.
Butler, E. M. 1949. Ritual Magic.Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Magical Circles in Fanger, Claire, ed. 1998. Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of
Medieval Ritual Magic.University Park: Pennsylvania State
Neopagan Rituals
University Press.
In much of Wicca today, a circle becomes a sacre d
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. 1989. The Encyclopedia of Witches and
space to meet the gods and goddesses. Human men-
Witchcraft.NewYork and Oxford: Facts on File.
tal energy creates the circle, which restricts negative
Luhrmann, T. M. 1989. Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft: Ritual
energy and spirits. The circle, usually 9 feet in diam- Magic in Contemporary England.Cambridge, MA: Harvard
e t e r, simply marks the point where the sphere University Press.
Magic Circle 699 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 737 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.700 Application File
Pearson, Joanne Elizabeth. 2000. Religion and the Re t u rn of mixing with non-Western traditions, popular practices,
Magic. Wicca as Esoteric Sp i r i t u a l i t y.Lancaster: Un i versity of mysticism, and fringe science to form the magico-re l i-
L a n c a s t e r. gious New Age move m e n t .
Thorndike, Lynn. 1923. The First Thirteen Centuries.Vol. 2 of
The History of Magic and Experimental Sciences. NewYork:
Roots of European
Columbia University Press.
Learned Magic
Waite, Arthur Edward. 1969.The Book of Ceremonial Magic.
Early medieval culture, including magic, combined two
1911. London: Rider. Reprint, NewYork: Bell Publishing.
basic influences: the traditions of the Germanic peoples
Magic, Learned who overran much of the western Roman Empire and
Since the Early Middle Ages, European culture has con- the traditions of the “Romans” themselves, that is, the
tained a tradition of literate or “learned” magic as well earlier inhabitants of the late western empire. Germanic
as the orally transmitted traditions of “popular” magic. traditions were almost exclusively oral and affected
The two differed both in their content as well as their early medieval popular culture more than they did the
mode of transmission, but they were connected by a learned culture. Much of Roman culture was also oral,
reciprocal exchange of influences. Furthermore, like but two of its strands were written and became the basis
popular magic, learned magic encompassed a number of medieval learned culture: the texts of pagan writers
of disparate traditions. Although written texts were and of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
fewer and more interconnected than the innumerable Of the two, pagan writers contributed more substan-
local and regional popular traditions, they were more tially to early medieval learned magic. The Bible, of
widely accessible, particularly after the invention of the course, confirmed the existence and power of magical
printing press in the late Middle Ages brought a quan- f o rces, chiefly in the form of miracles, and some late
tum jump in the availability of texts. The printing press Roman Christian commentators re c o rded some magical
also accelerated the interaction between learned and practices with evident approval. In general, though, the
popular traditions, gradually merging them to the point Judeo-Christian tradition, from the He b rew Bible to the
at which they are barely distinguishable today. l a t e - Roman Church Fathers, disparaged the appare n t
The roots of the learned tradition lay in antiquity, p ower of magic as illusory and warned its adherents to
with magical techniques and theories transmitted dire c t- shun such practices as deliberate or implicit traffic k i n g
ly through a small number of texts pre s e rved in the with demons. A few pagan authors similarly disputed
Eu ropean provinces of the western Roman Em p i re and the power of magic, but the vast majority accepted the
i n d i rectly through a much larger number of texts pre- existence of hidden, or occult, forces that directly influ-
s e rved and elaborated on in Byzantine, Arab, and Jew i s h enced the material world. They re c o rded some of the
c u l t u res, which western Eu ropeans increasingly encoun- wide variety of beliefs and practices held across the
t e red in the High and late Middle Ages. During the Mediterranean world, including both simple popular
Renaissance, learned magic reached a high point in the practices and complex learned systems like astro l o g y.
Neoplatonic movement, which saw “n a t u r a l” magic, or Proponents of philosophically grounded systems typi-
k n owledge of the hidden forces of nature, as a route not cally valued their magic as far superior to the mundane
simply to power but also to transcendent know l e d g e , practices of village healers and marketplace for-
comparable in many ways to religious mysticism. At the tunetellers, theurgy as opposed to goetia, which antici-
same time, western Eu ropean learned magic descended pated the divide between learned and popular magic in
into necro m a n c y, or the deliberate summoning of later Eu ropean culture. The pagan writers whose writ-
demons through complex esoteric rituals, which con- ings influenced learned medieval magic included not
tributed significantly to fears of a conspiracy of diabolic only philosophers, historians, and others who intended
magicians that motivated early modern witch persecu- to re c o rd and evaluate actual magical practices but also
tions. Such fears put a significant damper on open poets and storytellers whose fictional accounts (whether
i n vo l vement with many forms of learned magic, espe- or not they re flected actual beliefs and practices) we re
cially those involving spirits as opposed to occult natur- accepted as real during the Middle Ages.
al mechanisms. Forms of the latter, like astrology and
a l c h e m y, continued to be practiced openly through the Early Medieval Learned Magic
early modern period, and popular magical practitioners Only a small number of texts survived the collapse of
u t i l i zed books drawn from the learned tradition with the Roman Empire in the west, so no coherent system
i n c reasing fre q u e n c y, but in elite circles, open invo l ve- of learned magic was preserved there. The few miscella-
ment with spiritual magic virtually disappeared. Cove rt neous surviving works containing knowledge of magic
practices probably declined as well, given the dangers were consulted, and through use, their knowledge grad-
i n vo l ved, but some residual activity appears to have ually diffused into popular culture. They were supple-
remained. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mented by a growing body of texts recording popular
the open practice of learned magic re v i ved and evo l ve d , practices, often mixed with classical knowledge, so
700 Magic, Learned |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 738 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.701 Application File
rather than forming a distinct tradition, the surviving of magic in the Jewish Kabbalah, in which the magi-
texts contributed a learned component to what has cian, speaking God’s own language (Hebrew), can gain
been called the “common tradition” of medieval magic, both wisdom and power. For Renaissance magi such as
which included healing, divination, talismans, love Ficino and Pico, magic was a quasi-mystical way to
magic, and sorcery (Kieckhefer 2000, 56). approach God.
With the twelfth-century Renaissance, this situation Such Renaissance magi practiced and publicize d
changed. Growing contact with the Byzantine and their magic in the face of Christianity’s traditional hos-
especially the Arab world introduced educated tility to any supernatural phenomenon beyond the mir-
Eu ropeans to increasingly specialized know l e d g e , acles ascribed to God and subsumed within the doc-
including complex and sophisticated forms of magic trine and rituals of the Church. They argued that their
rooted in antiquity and further elaborated over the magic was fundamentally different from the magical
intervening centuries. These techniques required highly practices that the Church opposed. These had tradi-
d e veloped literacy and mathematical skills, and they tionally relied on spirits, conscious incorporeal entities,
we re grounded in Aristotelian physics, Pt o l e m a i c which in Christian doctrine could only be agents of
astronomy, and Galenic medicine. In particular, astrol- God, angels, or demons (agents of the Devil); and,
ogy (fortune telling based on the re l a t i ve positions of because Go d’s supernatural work was generally done
the stars), astral magic (harnessing the power thought t h rough the Church, any independent operator work-
to emanate from the heavens), and alchemy (transmut- ing through nonapproved spiritual channels was almost
ing one element into another, part i c u l a r l y, changing c e rtainly working consciously or unconsciously with
base metals into gold) all re q u i red intensive study of demons. Howe ve r, the tradition in which these
texts, careful calculations, and, in the last case, elaborate Renaissance magi worked styled itself as “natural mag-
equipment. Later, practice of the Jewish magical and ic” or the “occult sciences,” the study and manipulation
mystical tradition known as the Kabbalah re q u i red a of hidden natural forces. This concept of magic dated
p recise knowledge of He b rew, and necro m a n c y, the f rom the introduction of the learned magical systems
conjuring of spirits, involved complex rituals following during the twe l f t h - c e n t u ry Renaissance; it was one
elaborate written scripts. Such arts both influenced and aspect of that much larger re i n t roduction of classical
were influenced by popular practices, but each of these knowledge, particularly natural philosophy.While con-
traditions constituted an intricate, autonomous system. ceiving the universe as an organic, living whole perme-
To g e t h e r, their content as well as their mode of trans- ated and bound together by incorporeal spirit, natural
mission made them a separate variety of magic, distinct magic de-emphasized the role of individual conscious
f rom the popular traditions practiced in innumerable spirits in favor of a more mechanistic concept of the
European localities. occult dimension of nature. To the extent that
Renaissance magi still invoked spirits, they insisted that
Apogee of Learned Magic: they were not demonic and could be manipulated like
The Renaissance any other natural phenomenon, without recourse to a
The high point of learned magic undoubtedly came diabolical pact. Natural magic was, in their estimation,
during the Renaissance, when a group of humanists the alternative to demonic magic and hence was
revived Neoplatonism and linked it to writings ascribed p e rfectly compatible with Christianity. Ficino, in
to a mythical ancient magus, Hermes Trismegistus. particular, attempted to fuse Christianity and magic in
Neoplatonism, founded by the philosopher Plotinus in what he called “Platonic theology.”
the third century C.E., held that a network of natural
sympathetic bonds connects all things in the universe Necromancy and the Proscription of
and can be manipulated through complex rituals. The Witchcraft
Hermetic writings were thought to go back to ancient Although natural magic won widespread acceptance as
Egypt but were actually a collection of second- and the branch of natural philosophy that dealt with hidden
t h i rd - c e n t u ry-C.E. Greek treatises on philosophy, processes in nature, learned magicians still faced formi-
astronomy, alchemy, and magic. The leaders of the dable obstacles in their broader quest to gain legitima-
Renaissance movement included Marsilio Ficino, who cy for their practices. One barrier was the Church’s
translated Hermetic manuscripts and wrote original deeply rooted suspicion of any heterodox spiritual sys-
works on astrological medicine and astral magic, and tem. Another was the fact that, as the learned magicians
Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola, who went to had to admit, their beliefs and practices were closely
Rome and set forth for public debate 900 theses that related to other forms of magic that were malign or
asserted the underlying compatibility of all religions, even explicitly demonic, some of which also belonged
defended the value of Neoplatonic magic as a means of to the learned tradition—particularly necro m a n c y,
understanding the inner workings of nature, and which originally meant divination by conjuring the
claimed to have found a higher and more potent form spirits of the dead but had come to mean conjuring
Magic, Learned 701 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 739 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.702 Application File
spirits, including demons, for any magical purpose. witchcraft as vehemently as any demonologist, where a s
Necromancy, which involved complex rituals contained Johann We ye r, who had once been Agrippa’s assistant,
in illicit books, enjoyed considerable popularity in the coupled skepticism about witchcraft and defense of
late Middle Ages, especially in an underworld on the accused witches with a harsh condemnation of learned
fringe of clerical and courtly circles. Many necromantic magicians! In the end, the position each took pro b a b l y
rituals appealed specifically for God’s permission, and m a t t e red less than their collective contribution to the
most necromancers probably rationalized their activi- sheer volume of discussions of witchcraft, for quibbles
ties as within the bounds of Christian behavior, but about the source and extent of witches’ powers or the
many of their rituals were unquestionably performed n a t u re of their congress with the Devil mattered less in
for destructive or exploitative ends, and some explicitly the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries than
invoked evil spirits. the apparent consensus that some people had give n
The witch persecutions that began in the late Mi d d l e t h e m s e l ves over to the Devil and sought to harm others
Ages and climaxed in the early modern period stemmed by practicing m a l e ficium (harmful magic).
f rom multiple causes, but one was surely the actual prac- We ye r’s attack on learned magicians was echoed by
tice of necromancy by members of the educated elite. A numerous demonologists, who denounced their activi-
good number of the late medieval sorc e ry trials that con- ties as frequently as they denounced their popular
tributed to the growth of witch fears and the consolida- c o u n t e r p a rts, insisting that their magic pro b a b l y
tion of belief in a conspiracy of Devil-worshipping evil i n vo l ved demons, whatever the magicians claimed
magicians invo l ved people who had actually practiced about natural magic, and arguing that even if it did not,
harmful magic. Ne c romancy was particularly impor- it was still irreligious and probably fraudulent. In this
tant, both because it tended to be practiced by people age, even benign magic, although less serious than
with the wealth to buy books and the education to re a d witchcraft, was still subject to penalties like fines, incar-
them and because it made the link between malefic ceration, and banishment, and there was always a
magic and diabolism particularly clear. Not only did it chance that it could lead to an accusation of witchcraft.
i n vo l ve the explicit invocation of demons, but also it C o n s e q u e n t l y, being known as a learned magician
often made illicit use of Christian symbols, prayers, and became increasingly dangerous during the sixteenth
rites in the process. Fu rt h e r m o re, at times, necro m a n c y century, and the number of prominent men who iden-
was practiced by small groups of people, supporting the t i fied themselves as such appears to have declined sig-
notion that evil magicians met in secret. T h e re is no evi- n i ficantly during the height of the witch persecutions
dence that necromancers formed a widespread under- from 1550 to 1650. Astrologers and, to a lesser extent,
g round conspiracy that had renounced God and signed alchemists continued to practice, for their occult art s
on with the Devil, but their actual beliefs and practices clearly invo l ved natural forces, and local cunning folk
helped make fears about such a sect plausible. and provincial wizards continued to offer their services,
increasingly furtively, but learned magicians practicing
Learned Magic, Witchcraft the invocation of spirits had largely disappeared fro m
Persecutions, and the the Eu ropean stage by the seventeenth century.
Scientific Revolution Nostradamus, for example, insisted that he was not a
Ne c romancy was not the only way that learned magic magician and claimed he had burned his magic books
contributed to witchcraft beliefs, for learned magicians e ven as he cultivated a Eu ropean-wide reputation for
p a rticipated vigorously in the sixteenth-century debate p rophesying. Si m i l a r l y, John Dee insisted that he was
about witchcraft. Se veral voiced skepticism about the not a magician even as he studied the occult arts and
notion that witchcraft was a diabolic counterreligion of employed scryers to communicate with spirits in hopes
m a l e volent magicians, like Cornelius Agrippa, who of attaining transcendent insights. In all pro b a b i l i t y, a
defended a peasant woman accused of witchcraft in f ew individuals on the fringes of upper-class society
1519 and who re p o rtedly called witchcraft a delusion s e c retly practiced learned magic, hoping to harness
and a dream; Paracelsus, Gi rolamo Cardano, and Je a n - occult powers for their own or their clients’ purposes,
Baptiste Van Helmont all tried to explain witches’ pow- but they kept a low profile and have left few traces.
ers in nondemonic terms. After a “w i t c h” let him Although natural magicians disappeared rather
o b s e rve her anointing herself with a mixture (which he a b ruptly from the Eu ropean scene, natural magic did
described), then fell into a profound sleep and upon not. As a body of explanations about the more obscure
awakening, claimed to have flown away, Gi a m b a t t i s t a workings of the physical world, it held a respected place
Della Po rta argued that witches’ flights to Sabbats we re in natural philosophy. Natural magic played a role in all
hallucinogenic dreams. Of course, all of them accepted medieval philosophies of nature and continued to do so
that magic could work, and their opposition to witch in the professional activities and conceptual schemes of
beliefs was at most conditional. Other learned magi- many early modern scientists. Both William Gi l b e rt
cians, like Johannes Trithemius, denounced witches and and Van Helmont took magic ve ry seriously, and
702 Magic, Learned |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 740 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.703 Application File
Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei cast horo s c o p e s tinuing attraction of magical beliefs, even for a signifi-
p ro f e s s i o n a l l y. Kepler was deeply influenced by cant portion of the elite. It seems certain that some peo-
Hermeticism and Neoplatonism, and his re s e a rch on ple read surviving treatises on learned magic and
p l a n e t a ry motion was encouraged by his faith in the attempted to practice what they read, but learned magic
existence of a magical geometry of the planets and a had been pushed to the outermost margins of Eu ro p e a n
unifying spirit in the universe. Isaac Newton studied intellectual life by the combination of religious disap-
alchemy as well as optics, and his greatest achievement, p roval, intellectual disre g a rd, and social disdain.
the universal laws of gravitation, invo l ved the accep- The open and serious practice of learned magic only
tance of an essentially occult force in nature, gravity. re v i ved in the middle of the nineteenth century, when
However, because natural magic was so closely integrat- Alphonse Louis Constant began publishing books on
ed into medieval natural philosophy, its explanatory learned magic under the pseudonym of Eliphaz Levi and
power declined as science changed. Astrology, for exam- quickly gathered a circle of disciples and pupils. T h i s
ple, had been explained in terms of Aristotelian cosmol- re v i val gained momentum when it was institutionalize d
ogy, and the idea of occult influences on health and dis- in a number of secret societies modeled on Fre e m a s o n ry,
ease fit with Galenic medicine, but the magical systems which was at that point already well over a century old.
lost their intellectual underpinnings as venerable scien- The first of these, the Societas Ro s i c ruciana, was found-
t i fic systems fell out of favo r. Fu rt h e r m o re, the most ed in 1866 to study the Kabbalah, the Hermetic texts,
vehement advocates of the new mechanical philosophy and other ancient traditions. It was soon followed by the
objected to any notion of action at a distance, so even Theosophical So c i e t y, which started in 1875 and
though gravitation and magnetism made this position focused on introducing non-Western esoteric traditions
impossible to sustain in the long run, in the short run, to Eu rope and the United States. The process culminat-
mechanical philosophers argued strenuously against ed in 1888 with the founding of the Hermetic Order of
magical notions like the physical power of sympathy the Golden Dawn, which had the express purpose of
and antipathy or the ability of the heavens to dire c t l y practicing the magic that such older groups we re mere l y
influence human affairs. More fundamentally, and per- studying. In the following decades, books about the
haps most importantly, the magical notion of a purpo- practice of venerable magical traditions spread gradually,
s i ve universe held together by conscious forces ulti- stimulated by a series of charismatic magicians like
mately could not be reconciled with the new scientific Aleister Crowley and George Iva n ovitch Gu rdjieff and
conception of an inanimate universe governed by s u p p o rted by attempts to study occult phenomena sci-
mechanical processes. e n t i fically that appeared to confirm their existence.
Howe ve r, their following and impact remained limited
Learned Magic after until the passing of the Fraudulent Mediums Act that
the Witch Persecutions eliminated witchcraft from British law in 1951 and the
Except for astro l o g y, the practice of learned magic lan- rise of the psychedelic “c o u n t e rc u l t u re” in the late 1960s
guished in Eu rope for the better part of two centuries, opened the floodgates to widespread incorporation of a
f rom the mid-1600s to the mid-1800s. The devo u t variety of magical traditions, including those that had
re g a rded it as irreligious if not diabolical; scientists made up Eu ropean learned magic, into the New Age
rejected it as they embraced the new mechanical philos- c u l t u re that invo l ves a range of magical practitioners and
ophy; the p h i l o s o p h e s ridiculed it; and the upper classes whose books comprise a section of virtually eve ry con-
in general adopted disbelief as a cultural marker distin- t e m p o r a ry bookstore .
guishing themselves from the common herd. Po p u l a r
EDWARD BEVER
practitioners now used books, including texts adapted
f rom learned magical traditions, but it is uncertain how
See also:AGRIPPAVONNETTESHEIM,HEINRICHCORNELIUS;
many indulged in the more complex and arcane rituals. ALCHEMY;APULEIUSOFMADAURA;ASTROLOGY;CARDANO,
W h a t e ver they did, like whatever isolated members of GIROLAMO;CONTEMPORARYWITCHCRAFT(POST1800); DEE,
the elite did, was furt i ve and left few traces. A few JOHN;DELLAPORTA,GIAMBATTISTA;DEMONOLOGY;
famous eighteenth-century fig u res like Em a n u e l ENLIGHTENMENT;FAUST,JOHANNGEORG;HERMETICISM;
Swedenborg and Franz Anton Mesmer are sometimes INVOCATIONS;KABBALAH;KEPLER,JOHANNES;MAGIC,NATURAL;
c o n s i d e red magicians, but Swedenborg was a mystic MAGIC,POPULAR;MECHANICALPHILOSOPHY;MEDICINEAND
who did not practice magic, whereas Mesmer combined
MEDICALTHEORY;NECROMANCY;OCCULT;PARACELSUS,
modern technology and magnetic instruments with
THEOPHRASTUSBOMBASTUSVONHOHENHEIM;RITUALMAGIC;
SCIENCEANDMAGIC;SKEPTICISM;SYMPATHY;THORNDIKE,LYNN;
i n s t i n c t i ve showmanship rather than practicing any eso-
TRITHEMIUS,JOHANNES;WEYER,JOHANN.
teric tradition. Fi g u res like Casanova and “Count
References and further reading:
C a g l i o s t ro” we re merely adve n t u rers and charlatans who
Ankarloo, Bengt, and Stuart Clark, eds.1999–2002.The Athlone
used magic to perpetrate conscious frauds. Of course, History of Witchcraft and Magic in Europe.6 vols. London and
their ability to perpetrate frauds demonstrates the con- Philadelphia: Athlone and University of Pennsylvania Press.
Magic, Learned 703 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 741 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.704 Application File
Clark, Stuart. 1997. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft i n s p i red astro l o g y, geomancy, and alchemy. Many of the
in Early Modern Europe.Oxford: Clarendon. recipes, spells, and beauty and household tips that we re
Evans, R. J. W. 1973. Rudolf II and His World: A Study in p resented in Books of Se c rets (as works on magic we re
Intellectual History, 1576–1612.Oxford: Oxford University
sometimes called) also passed into manuals of natural
Press.
magic. Its practical, use-oriented bias and the organize d
Fanger, Claire, ed. 1998. Conjuring Spirits: Texts and Traditions of
appearance of the discipline in early modern academies,
Medieval Ritual Magic.University Park: Pennsylvania State
along with publications that allowed for ve r i fication and
University Press.
repeatability of experiments, have led some historians to
Flint, Valatie. 1991. The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. v i ew natural magic as a precursor to science pro p e r.
Gibbons, B. J. 2001. Spirituality and the Occult: From the Ap a rt from a shared belief in hidden forces affecting
Renaissance to the Modern Age.London: Routledge. objects at a distance, the forms or curative and love
Gouk, Penelope. 1999. Music, Science, and Natural Magic in magic practiced by wise women and the black magic
Seventeenth-Century England.New Haven: Yale University practiced by witches had little or nothing to do with the
Press. aims of natural magic, which sought not to influ e n c e
Grafton, Anthony. 1999. Cardano’s Cosmos: The World and Works
people or fate but rather to understand better the work-
of a Renaissance Astrologer.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
ings of nature and to create useful products for the ben-
Press.
e fit of human society.
Kieckhefer, Richard. 1998. Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s
Manual of the Fifteenth Century.University Park: Pennsylvania
Basic Belief Structure
State University Press.
———. 2000. Magic in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge At the base of natural magic lies the founding belief
University Press. that the world is infused with a soul, or anima mundi
Maxwell-Stuart, P. G., ed. and trans. 1998. The Occult in Early (world soul), emanating directly from the Divine Mind
Modern Europe: A Documentary History.NewYork: St. Martin’s. and endowing all material forms with spirit. According
Thomas, Keith. 1971. Religion and the Decline of Magic. New to this Hermetic and Neoplatonic tradition, there is a
York: Scribner’s. correspondence between microcosm (all earthly things
Vickers, Brian, ed. 1984. Occult and Scientific Mentalities in the
and beings as well as the little microcosm of the human
Renaissance.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
body) and macrocosm (the planets and stars) that links
Walker, D. P. 1958. Spiritual and Demonic Magic from Ficino to
all things together through sympathies and antipathies,
Campanella.London: Warburg Institute.
creating a harmonious cosmic consensus. These reso-
Webster, Charles. 1982. From Paracelsus to Newton: Magic and the
nances between sublunary and celestial beings are sim-
Making of Modern Science.Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press. ilar in their workings to how we understand modern
Yates, Francis. 1964. Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition. physical forces like gravity, causing things to be attract-
London: Routledge. ed to or repelled by each other.
Magnetism, as described by Athanasius Kirc h e r
Magic, Natural (1667), for example, was an immaterial sympathy that
A set of beliefs and practices relating to the ability of bound all beings and all levels of existence together in a
human beings to affect their condition for the better and hierarchical chain held in the hand of God. According
to create helpful objects through the manipulation of to Kircher, the same force governed the declination of
natural forces. Na t u ra l magic, which worked with and the magnet, the resurgence of plants, the association of
within the laws of nature for useful and licit purposes, animals with sun (cock) and moon (stag), the phenom-
was distinguished by its practitioners from a rt i fic i a l ena of heliotropic and selenotropic flowers, and the
magic, which made use of machines and technological v i rtues of the snake-stone, a homeopathic remedy for
p rocesses, and from d e m o n i c magic, which superseded snakebite (Godwin 1979, 74). Pa rts and qualities of
natural laws through intervention of supernatural beings e a rthly things, including the organs of the body and
and was considered wicked and illicit. (D i v i n e m a g i c , their ailments, we re classified along with their corre-
t h rough which God created miracles and prodigies, had sponding celestial counterparts according to va r i o u s
no relation whatsoever to human understanding.) T h e theoretical schemas based on active versus passive, male
natural magician, or magus, was a learned man who versus female, solar versus lunar, and so forth. A magus
sought to explore the workings of nature for speculative strove to identify hidden “signatures” that revealed the
or mystical purposes (e.g., Marsilio Ficino in the fif- exact place of things in the cosmic order so as to be able
teenth century), for domestic or utilitarian aids (e.g., to manipulate their properties for his benefit.
Giambattista Della Po rta in the sixteenth century), or as For example, the early Renaissance practitioner of nat-
a pseudoscientific experimental re s e a rch program (e.g., ural magic might construct a talisman out of gold (a solar
Athanasius Kircher in the seventeenth century). T h e metal) in the shape of an animal under the celestial re i g n
philosophical roots of natural magic grew out of the of the sun’s influence, such as a rooster or a hawk. By
same mystical Hermetic and Neoplatonic tradition that engraving an image of the sun on it with characters to
704 Magic, Natural |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 742 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.705 Application File
signify Jove (re p resenting the penetrative solar powe r ) furnaces for coloring plates, fabricating damask knive s ,
and setting a solar gem like a carbuncle or ru by into it, he p re s e rving apples in sawdust, transforming spectators into
could induce healthful influ xes into the formed metal. In monsters by boiling an ass’s head in oil, constructing a
o rder to benefit from the solar spirit thus called into the talking head, breeding animals to produce cre a t i ve hybrid
talisman, he could wear it around his neck, there by races, or creating a quasi-perpetual motion machine.
a l l owing the celestial influence to permeate his body.
ZAKIYA HANAFI
The art of the magus lay in gathering particular nat-
ural materials while the planet whose influx they con- See also:ALCHEMY;AMULETANDTALISMAN;ASTROLOGY;DEE,
tained was reigning; he then formed them according to JOHN;DELLAPORTA,GIAMBATTISTA;HERMETICISM;MAGIC,
their planetary resonance and obtained for himself the
LEARNED;MAGIC,POPULAR;OCCULT.
References and further reading:
gifts that the heavens had to offer.What nature provid-
Agrippa Von Nettesheim, Henry Cornelius. 1982. Occult
ed, he manipulated or operated on, turning it to his
Philosophy or Magic(Translation of Book 1 ofDe occulta
uses. This interventionist attitude tow a rd nature and
philosophia,1533).Translated byW. F.Whitehead, using 1651
natural products, which the magus saw as being per-
English translation. Reprint of Hahn and Whitehead edition
fected by human knowledge and skill, is also at the basis (Chicago, 1898). NewYork: AMS.
of the technological attitude. In fact, by the end of the Della Porta, Giambattista. 1957. Natural Magick.Edited by Derek
seventeenth century, natural magic had a solidly techni- J. Price. London, 1658. Reprint, NewYork: Basic Books.
cal bias to it and gradually became assimilated into the Ficino, Marsilio. 1980. The Book of Life [DeVita Triplici].
new sciences. Translated by Charles Boer. Irving, TX: Spring Publications.
Godwin, Joscelyn. 1979. Athanasius Kircher: A Renaissance Man
The Magus and the Quest for Lost Knowledge.London: Thames and
Hudson.
Natural magicians took pains to distinguish their arts
Hanafi, Zakiya. 2000. The Monster in the Machine: Magic,
from the diabolical crafts of common conjurers, witch-
Medicine, and the Marvelous in the Time of the Scientific
es, and diviners, although the distinction was not
Revolution.Durham, NC, and London: Duke University Press.
always clear to some contemporaries who marveled at
Schumaker,Wayne. 1989. Natural Magic and Modern Science.Vol.
their arcane feats. Giambattista Della Po rta, for 63. Binghamton, NY: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and
instance, was denounced to the Inquisition several Studies.
times, along with his fellow members of the Academy
of the Secrets of Nature, for dabbling in the occult and
Magic, Popular
resorting to demonic aid. Like others who were accused
Witchcraft beliefs belong to a larger constellation of
of straying into impious and dangerous practices in
magical concepts that were articulated in related but
their pursuit of knowledge, he responded to the charges
distinct ways by learned and popular traditions in liter-
by pointing out that all technological inventions are
ate premodern societies. Magical concepts take many
classified as magic by the vulgar until their functioning
different forms but share a belief that the world is influ-
is explained and their prodigious quality subsides.
enced by occult or hidden forces (spirits) that can be
Perhaps that is why, in the late sixteenth century,
manipulated through words, ritual actions, or spiritual-
Della Porta also described the preparation and learning
ly potent objects. Popular magic describes the set of
needed to become a natural magician as ve ry ard u o u s
beliefs current among the general populace (as opposed
and wide-ranging: the adept must be “a ve ry perf e c t
to specialist magical practitioners in the literate elite)
Philosopher” and “a skillful Physician”: “moreover it is
about the nature of these forces and the rituals and
required of him that he be an Herbalist,” “and as there
objects that can be used to influence them. Magic was
is no greater inconvenience to any Artificer, than not to
a pervasive part of early modern European popular cul-
k n ow his tools that he must work with,” he must be
ture, and early modern witch beliefs were strongly
equally pro ficient “in the nature of Metals, Mi n e r a l s ,
influenced by this tradition both directly and through
Gems and Stones.” “Fu rt h e r m o re, what cunning he
its interaction with Christian theology.
must have in the art of Di s t i l l a t i o n . . . no man will
doubt of it: for it yields daily ve ry strange inve n t i o n s ,
and most witty devices.” Be yond that, “he must also The Cultural Context of Popular Magic
k n ow the Mathematical Sciences, and especially Magic is the oldest system for understanding and influ-
Astrologie,” and, finally, optics (Della Porta 1957, 3). encing the unseen processes that affect human life and
As is apparent from this curriculum, the late has been an important part of almost all cultures. It has
Renaissance magus was typically a scholarly person traditionally been distinguished from science by its
engaged in experimental re s e a rch with his colleagues or belief that the nonmaterial forces that drive the unive r s e
w o rking alone in his laboratory. Some examples of the a re conscious, and from religion by the belief that these
experiments of a natural magician from this period f o rces can neve rtheless be controlled rather than mere l y
include stuffing live geese into boiling water, building supplicated, although this distinction is less clear-cut
Magic, Popular 705 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 743 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.706 Application File
than it once seemed. Both religion and science condemn the range of magical beliefs particular to specific places
magic as superstitious, and social elites have sometimes and times across Europe.
tried to suppress it, but traditions of popular magic have Although the content of early modern popular mag-
generally adapted and endure d . ic varied enormously, certain common purposes, modes
T h e re is not much distinction between learned and of thought, and practices can be discerned. First, popu-
popular magic in simple societies, although there are lar magic sought both agricultural productivity and
often adepts with special knowledge and powe r s human health and re p roduction. Agricultural pro d u c-
(shamans) in them.As class stru c t u res and literacy deve l- tivity was fostered through a series of rituals tied to the
oped, specialists (priests) dedicated their lives to master- yearly cycle, supplemented by additional rituals to deal
ing esoteric knowledge and ritual skills, creating a body with specific problems like adverse weather and disease
of written re c o rds that pre s e rved and elaborated them. in animals. Si m i l a r l y, human health and re p ro d u c t i o n
Learned magic thus separated from popular practices, we re promoted through rituals tied to the life cyc l e ,
though they remained heavily interconnected. Howe ve r, especially the points of greatest vulnerability: birt h ,
not all specialists necessarily became part of the elite, so i n f a n c y, marriage, pro c reation, pre g n a n c y, and death
in many civilizations popular magic invo l ved both the (to help the soul’s transition to the afterlife). A huge
beliefs and practices of low-status practitioners who per- array of additional magical rituals supplemented these
formed services that the formal priesthood either could to combat specific maladies. Diagnosis often invo l ve d
not or would not, and the eve ryday magical beliefs and some form of magical divination, which was also used
practices of the general populace. to identify thieves, locate lost objects, and foretell the
The rise of the world religions challenged the learned f u t u re. Other common forms of popular magic we re
magic of earlier priesthoods and popular magic alike. In used to foster love, promote good luck, locate hidden
addition, sleight-of-hand and other forms of illusion treasures, ward off evil magic, or inflict harm on others.
that we re often used by magical specialists as part of Across the Continent, these activities involved the ritu-
their rituals were also utilized and developed by enter- al use of words, gestures, and objects (sometimes com-
tainers and con artists to amuse paying audiences and bined with natural agents), which we re understood to
defraud the credulous. By the late Middle Ages in operate through nonmaterial spirits.
Eu rope, the popular magic of local practitioners and Within particular localities, popular beliefs tended to
o rd i n a ry people thus existed alongside a tradition of comprise an aggregate of long-standing local traditions,
conjuring as entertainment and theft, in a mutually m o re recent arrivals from adjacent territories via oral
enriching relationship with learned magic (although transmission, elements of learned magical traditions
learned magicians often scorned their popular counter- c o n ve yed by a combination of written and oral com-
parts) and in an antagonistic relationship with the offi- munication, related religious notions imported by the
cial religion (even though popular magic contained clerical elite, innovations developed by authoritative
many religious elements and the priesthood participat- practitioners, and mutations introduced by the vagaries
ed semiofficially in some popular practices). of oral transmission and unconscious adaptation to
changing circumstances. Individual beliefs existed in
Popular Magic in Early the context of the local magical cosmology and the larg-
Modern Culture er popular culture, and they both expressed and helped
Popular magical beliefs and practices in early modern shape social relationships.
Europe were extraordinarily diverse. Peasants in the
British Isles, for example, believed that fairies or elves, Popular Magic, Christian Authority,
diminutive people with magical powers, lived in the and Witchcraft Fears
wild areas between and beyond the cultivated fields. Because Christianity supplied early modern Eu ro p e’s
Hungarian peasants believed that babies born with overall cosmology, popular beliefs and rituals, even those
teeth would grow up to be magically adept shamans that originated in paganism, we re at least loosely framed
capable of rendering diverse magical services to the in Christian terms, or their implications we re simply
community. Peasants in other parts of the Balkans i g n o red. A larger intellectual framew o rk for popular
nearby believed that such infants would die and come magic remained largely unarticulated, for any attempt
back as va m p i res unless decapitated before being would have constituted here s y. Meanwhile, working in
buried. The poor of Venice frequently named their chil- the opposite direction, late medieval theologians assim-
dren “Nane” and “Marita” because they believed people ilated both learned and popular magic into Christian
with these names could not be bewitched, and doctrine by asserting that both inherently invo l ved evil
Scandinavians believed that the ghosts of victims of spirits or demons, thus making all magic diabolical and
infanticide haunted watery places unless they were bap- all magicians agents of the Devil. Only a minority of
tized. Such examples could be multiplied a thousand- Eu ropeans accepted this line of reasoning entire l y, and
fold and would still convey only a partial impression of civil authorities generally treated beneficent magicians
706 Magic, Popular |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 744 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.707 Application File
less harshly than people thought to practice harmful or FOLKLORE;GHOSTS;LOVEMAGIC;MAGICANDRELIGION;
explicitly diabolical magic, but this reductionist pro c e s s MALEFICIUM;OCCULT;PEOPLEOFTHENIGHT;SCIENCEAND
of systematic diabolization neve rtheless became an MAGIC;SHAMANISM;SPELLS;SUPERSTITION;VAMPIRE;WEATHER
i m p o rtant part of the early modern belief in a wide-
MAGIC;WORDS,POWEROF.
References and further reading:
s p read conspiracy of diabolical witches.
Burke, Peter. 1978. Popular Culture in Early Modern Europe.New
There was, as far as we can determine, no conspiracy
York: Harper and Row.
of Devil-worshiping sorcerers in late medieval Europe.
Devlin, Judith. 1987. The Superstitious Mind: French Peasants and
Nor was there any underground pagan religion with a
the Supernatural in the Nineteenth Century.New Haven: Yale
theology and priestly hierarchy.There was, however, an University Press.
immense body of popular magic that existed outside, Ginzburg, Carlo. 1983. The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian
and in some cases against, the formal doctrines of the Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.Baltimore:
established church. The desire to root this out, as dis- Johns Hopkins University Press.
obedience and moral laxity if not as diabolism, was Kieckhefer, Richard. 1976. European Witch Trials: Their
incorporated into many law codes. From this point of Foundation in Popular and Learned Culture, 1300–1500.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
view, the witch persecutions were only the most severe
Klaniczay, Gàbor. 1990. The Uses of Supernatural Power: The
component of a much broader campaign to suppre s s
Transformation of Popular Religion in Medieval and Early
popular magic, which itself was a component of an even
Modern Europe. Cambridge: Polity.
b roader campaign to rid popular culture of all non-
Martin, Ruth. 1989. Witchcraft and the Inquisition in Venice
Christian elements. This campaign achieved only par-
1550–1650.Oxford: Blackwell.
tial success overall, but it made life difficult for genera- Pócs, Éva. 1999. Between the Living and the Dead: A Perspective on
tions of specialized practitioners and distanced the Witches and Seers in the Early Modern Age.Budapest: Central
sociopolitical elite from magical beliefs and practices, European Press.
perhaps there by contributing to the decline of magic Ryan, W. F. 1999. The Bathhouse at Midnight: An Historical Survey
and the rise of science during the same period. of Magic and Divination in Russia.University Park:
Popular magic contributed in two other ways to ear- Pennsylvania State University Press.
Thomas, Keith. 1971. Religion and the Decline of Magic. New
ly modern Eu ropean concerns about witchcraft. Fi r s t ,
York: Scribner’s.
fear of witchcraft, in the sense of hostile magic rather
Wilson, Stephen. 2000. The Magical Universe: Everyday Ritual and
than diabolism, was a long-standing element of popular
Magic in Pre-Modern Europe.London and NewYork:
c u l t u re, and “un-witchers,” or healers who specialize d
Hambledon and London.
in detecting and countering witches, we re common
among popular practitioners. Second, popular magical Magnus, Olaus (1490–1557)
traditions contained techniques that people could use Magnus was a Swedish geographer and historian whose
to attempt to inflict harm on others—and some people chapters on sorc e ry and supernatural powers, even though
used them, either alone or in combination with other occupying only miniscule space in his vast description of
agents like poisons. Consequently, the accusation that a the No rdic peoples, Historia de Gentibus Se p t e n t r i o n a l i b u s
person was a victim of some form of harmful magic, ( Hi s t o ry of the No rthern Peoples, 1555), re c e i ved the
while difficult to prove and open to significant abuse, most attention in Eu rope and stunned re a d e r s .
was neither inherently absurd nor necessarily wrong. In Born in Lindköping, Sweden, Olaus Magnus was a
fact, popular magical traditions also included many Catholic who chose to live in vo l u n t a ry exile after
other elements of the witchcraft demonology. Not only Swe d e n’s conversion to Lutheranism in 1524. To g e t h e r
did people believe that some people flew through the with his elder brother Johannes Magnus, he traveled and
a i r, congregated with other similar people, and could studied widely in Eu rope. From 1544 onward, he per-
raise storms or change into animals, but also some peo- formed the duties of a titular Swedish bishop from Ro m e ,
ple thought they themselves did these things. Po p u l a r w h e re he had settled by 1541, and died sixteen years later.
magic was no mere backdrop for witchcraft beliefs, The original Latin edition of Historia de Ge n t i b u s
helping to make them plausible; it was the source for Se p t e n t r i o n a l i b u s , made of 22 parts comprising nearly
most of them. The demonologists did not invent their 770 chapters in 816 folio pages, actually began as a
evidence, but rather they conflated many disparate and detailed commentary to the Carta Marina (sometimes
disjointed elements of popular magic and mixed them called the Carta Gotica), a 1539 map that Magnus had
with literate traditions about magic and deviancy and made and published in Venice, showing the vast territo-
with Christian theology in a way that distorted both ry the Catholic Church had lost through the
their significance and their substance. Reformation. This work was based upon a journey that
Magnus took to Norrland (the northern part of
EDWARD BEVER
Sweden) in 1518–1519. He visited Ni d a ro s
See also:CHARMS;CLERICALMAGIC;COUNTERMAGIC;CUNNING (Trondheim) in No rway and traveled as far north as
FOLK;CURSES;DIABOLISM;DIVINATION;EVILEYE;FAIRIES; Pello, in Övertorneå. He described Torneå as a meeting
Magnus, Olaus 707 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 745 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.708 Application File
place for people trading in northern Scandinavia. Olaus adept at fortunetelling, wind magic, and other shame-
Magnus was one of the first to mention and to locate ful works of the Devil. Satan reigned over the people of
Blåkulla, a famous Nordic mountain believed to be the the No rth, and evil and misfortune arrived on the
site of witches’ meetings. n o rthern winds. Lyc a n t h ropy plagued vast regions of
Following typical conventions of the time, his book the Nordic countries, and many werewolves resided in
had an extensive subtitle: readers would learn about the the Baltic nations—and all this came from Magnus.
northern people’s “different positions, customs, habits,
RUNE HAGEN;
ways of life, superstitions methods of instruction, activ-
ities, government, food, wars, buildings, implements, TRANSLATED BY MARK LEDINGHAM
metal mines, and marvels, together with almost all the
See also:BLÅKULLA;BODIN,JEAN;DEMONOLOGY;FINLAND;
living creatures that dwell in the North, and their char-
LAPLAND;NORWAY;SWEDEN;WEATHERMAGIC;WINDKNOTS.
acteristics.” Scandinavia had been called the septentri-
References and further reading:
onale region since ancient times in Eu rope. Its literal Bodin, Jean. 1580. De la démonomanie des sorciers,Paris.
translation is “The History of the Peoples Living Under Translated as On the Demon-Mania of Witches.Abridged with
the Se ven Pl ow - O xen or Under the Plough [the Bi g an introduction by Jonathan L. Pearl. Translated by Randy A.
Di p p e r ] . ” It was the first re p o rt that thoro u g h l y Scott. Toronto: Centre for Reformation and Renaissance
described the No rdic countries to a geographically Studies, 1995.
i n t e rested Renaissance Eu rope, and it remained the Hagen, Rune. Historien om Folkene under de syv Plogoksene.
http://www.ub.uit.no/fag/historie/olaus.htm (accessed April 4,
most important work on Scandinavia until the mid-
2003).
eighteenth century. It contained about 500 illustra-
Magnus, Olaus. 1996–1998. Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus
tions, many made by the author, some of which are still
(Description of the Northern Peoples), Rome, 1555. Translated by
used to illustrate No rdic customs and witchcraft.
Peter Fisher and Humphrey Higgens, edited by Peter Foote;
Abridgements of the original text we re translated into
with annotation derived from the commentary by John
French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, and English Granlund, abridged and augmented. 3 vols. London: Hakluyt
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Society.
although no Swedish translation appeared until the Urness, Carol. 1999. The Olaus Magnus Map of Scandinavia.
1920s, and the first complete English translation 1539. Minneapolis: James Ford Bell Library, University of
appeared quite recently (Magnus 1996–1998). Minnesota.
Magnus emphasized three characteristics of the ———. 2001. “Olaus Magnus: His Map and His Book.”
Mercator’sWorld6, no. 1: 26–33.
No rdic countries: they we re the cradle of warf a re, the
haunt of demons, and the realm of immeasurable cold.
The author wrote about eve rything Scandinavian: Mainz, Electorate of
about the rich catches of fish off the coast of northern With approximately 2,000 victims in a territory of
Norway, Lofoten’s engulfing maelstrom, the invincible approximately 7,000 square kilometers, the ecclesiasti-
Va rdø fort ress, the lifestyle of northern Scandinavia’s cal electorate of Mainz ranks among the most strongly
Sami, and sea monsters that tore human beings apart affected states of the Holy Roman Empire (Pohl 1998,
with their teeth. Exceptional depictions abound; the 41; Gebhard 1991, 65). Its main period of witch hunt-
North was both the Arctic Eden and the ancient home ing lasted only from 1593 to 1630, in four main waves,
of evil. Its climate produced a hardy people known for until the occupation of the electorate of Mainz by
their courage, brave ry, and strength. Knowledge and Swedish troops brought the trials to an abrupt end as
c o n t rol of the natural elements not only helped the Elector Anselm Kasimir fled to Cologne. Under his suc-
Swedes in warfare but also assisted northern Norwegian cessor, Johann Philipp von Schönborn, who was influ-
fishermen, who avoided shipwreck by their knowledge enced by Friedrich Spee, only a few trials occurred. It is
of the winds. By showing the re c i p rocal interactions not true, as one often reads, that under his rule witch-
between nature and northern peoples and their talents craft trials ended; the last executions took place in 1684
in the arts of war, Magnus wished to warn Eu ro p e a n at Worbis (in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia)
leaders of what they faced if they planned to invade his (Pelizaeus 2004). Afterward, Mainz had individual tri-
homeland. als for witchcraft insults until 1739.
The book was published at the right time to fill geo- The electorate of Mainz, whose territorial lord was
graphical gaps in sixteenth-century demonological not only an elector but also an archbishop and the
information. No rdic witches had permanent meeting imperial arc h - c h a n c e l l o r, had an outstanding position
grounds for holding Sabbats, and throughout northern within the Holy Roman Em p i re; there f o re, witchcraft
Scandinavia, wrote Jean Bodin in 1580, alluding to trials in this territory possessed a certain model charac-
Ma g n u s’s work, one could hear incantations and the ter for other ecclesiastical territories. Like the other two
tongue of the Devil. So rc e ry was particularly wide- a rchbishop-electors, his territory was scattered acro s s
s p read among the inhabitants of Lapland. They we re possessions on the Rhine (the Unterstift, or lowe r
708 Mainz, Electorate of |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 746 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.709 Application File
a rchbishopric), in the Sp e s s a rt, Odenwald, Main, and Legislation
Tauber River area (the Oberstift, or upper arc h b i s h- Because Elector and Arch-chancellor Be rthold of
opric), in Hesse and around Erf u rt, and in T h u r i n g i a Henneberg (1484–1504) had a relevant role in plan-
( Eichsfeld). The witchcraft trials affected the upper ning what became the Carolina Code, already intro-
a rchbishopric more than its possessions in the duced in the electorate of Mainz during the reign of
Unterstift, in Hesse, and in Thuringia. Most trials were Albrecht of Brandenburg (1514–1545) in 1527–1528,
p romoted by local populations and local offic i a l s , five years before its official proclamation for the entire
whose zeal the electoral government tried repeatedly to Holy Roman Empire, the Carolina Code always regu-
moderate. However, the archbishop’s government made lated criminal procedure at Mainz. All witchcraft trials
no serious attempt to prevent the trials. had to be judged by the archbishop’s Weltlicher Rat
The principal literature agreed that there we re four (Secular Council), which, despite its name, included a
w a ves of pursuit but dated them differe n t l y, although majority of clergymen. Nevertheless, during the seven-
a g reeing that the last and largest wave occurred fro m teenth century such lower territorial instances as the
1627 to 1629, parallel to those in the Franconian dio- Keller (Cellar) tended to accomplish many measures on
ceses of W ü rzburg and Bamberg. Most victims died their own. In order to cover themselves, they dispatched
during these waves. Pohl (1998, 39) dated the first wave documents to the Secular Council in Mainz or at least
f rom 1593 to 1595, the second one in 1603, and the corresponded with higher authorities before passing
t h i rd in 1615–1616; Ge b h a rd (1991, 303) dated the judgment. Howe ve r, law faculties, including the
first wave from 1601 to 1604, the next from 1611 to University of Mainz, were almost never consulted.
1614, and the third in 1616–1617. However, Gebhard T h e re f o re the influence of lawyers on the trials
i g n o red the trials in the 1590s and ove restimated the remained comparatively small, especially because only
intensity of pursuit, so Po h l’s dates seem pre f e r a b l e . two lawyers generally sat on the Secular Council.
Due to the unsatisfactory state of sources (only 404 In 1612, Elector Johann Schweickart von Kronberg
criminal procedures survive), estimates of the distribu- (1604–1626) published a detailed questionnaire and
tion of the victims for the entire electorate are impossi- regulations about detention and confiscation. Although
ble and must be limited to certain districts. The large the new pro c e d u res we re intended to provide gre a t e r
majority of those executed we re female and married, equity, in fact they aggravated the situation. The ques-
although the proportion of men seems relatively high at t i o n n a i re, consisting of 113 questions, enabled eve n
17–30 percent (Pohl 1998, 212–219). Victims we re lower local instances to proceed against witches without
most commonly aged 41–60, followed by the 26–40 any legal advice and to convict suspects simply for con-
year olds. In the city of Dieburg, the average age of vic- fessing under torture to the questionnaire. This change
tims was about 55 (Ge b h a rd 1991, 239–249; Po h l a l l owed ve ry rapid pro c e d u res and condemnations of
1998, 214–219). Trials against children leading to exe- suspects, which proved particularly fatal during the
cution were very rare. waves of 1612–1613 and 1627–1629. The new regula-
The electoral government made no pro fits fro m tions for detention did improve the situation in indi-
these trials, particularly because a 1612 re g u l a t i o n vidual cases, but with mass trials, the situation
e x p ressly forbade the confiscation of goods intended remained catastrophic after 1612. T h e re f o re only the
for the victims’ children. Many professions we re regulations for confiscation, compared to the pre v i o u s
i n vo l ved in Mainz witchcraft trials. As elsew h e re, out- regulations of Elector Wolfgang von Dalberg, may be
siders like shepherds, musicians, or groups like regarded as beneficial.
migrants or widows (who because of their social status
we re in greater danger than other groups) we re affected Chronology
first. Mi d w i ves are repeatedly mentioned in trials, but In 1511, the first provable witchcraft trial before the
no firm statistics exist about the frequency with which city council of Mainz still involved nondiabolical mal-
they we re tried. Some large-scale trials of the fin a l eficium(harmful magic), as did everything else until the
w a ve, particularly in the city of Dieburg, also re a c h e d last quarter of the sixteenth century. Only in the city of
into the urban upper class, including councilmen. Steinheim did executions occur before 1550. In the last
Howe ve r, clergy, scholars, or noblemen we re neve r quarter of the sixteenth century, the behavior of the
affected, even by the final wave of pursuit. T h e re f o re , authorities changed fundamentally; from that point,
the majority of victims we re artisans or came from ru r- they felt themselves obliged to intervene directly in
al groups. Although there is no evidence that special cases of witchcraft accusations. Around 1570, during
C o u n t e r - Reformation attacks lie behind these trials, it the reign of Elector Wolfgang von Da l b e r g
is notew o rthy that districts bordering Protestant are a s (1582–1601), pursuit began to intensify, first in the
we re particularly affected, as was Dieburg, where ten- upper bishopric. From there it reached the whole elec-
sions between Catholic clergy and the part i a l l y torate, where trials occurred continuously after 1590,
Protestant population ran high. with varying intensity.
Mainz, Electorate of 709 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 747 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.710 Application File
During the short reign of Johann Adam von Bi c k e n Jonathan Barry, Marianne Hester, and Gareth Roberts.
(1601–1604), trials re c e i ved a sharp stimulus. Bi c k e n Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
continued von Da l b e r g’s proceedings, and trials multi- Gebhard, Horst. 1991. Hexenprozesse im Kurfürstentum Mainz des
17. Jahrhunderts.Aschaffenburg: Geschichts- und Kunstvereins
plied rapidly, particularly in the upper bishopric and
Aschaffenburg. (Veröffentlichungen des Geschichts- und
especially in some places that would also be affected lat-
Kunstvereins Aschaffenburg e.V. 31).
er: Dieburg, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, and Lohr. After
Keller,Wilhelm Otto, ed. 1989.Hexer und Hexen in Miltenberg
Bi c k e n’s sudden death, trials came to a nearly complete
und der Cent Bürgstadt: “Man soll sie dehnen, bis die Sonn’ durch
halt for about six years. The new elector, Jo h a n n
sie scheint!” Beträge zur Geschichte der Hexenprozesse am
S c h we i c k a rt von Kronberg, responsible for the 1612 südlichen Untermain.Miltenberg: Stadt Miltenberg.
regulations, held himself back at first, apparently giving Larner, Christina. 1984. Witchcraft and Religion: The Politics of
special attention to steering the trials into Popular Belief.Oxford: Blackwell.
b e t t e r - regulated courses. But when the population and Midelfort, H. C. Erik. 1972. Witch Hunting in Southwestern
local authorities again demanded trials, the elector com- Germany: 1562–1684: The Social and Intellectual Foundations.
plied with their desires. These trials gained momentum Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Pelizaeus, Ludolf, ed. 2004.Hexenprozesse in Kurmainz.2004.
t h rough re - a r resting people already accused in 1604 and
CD-Rom. Dieburg, AVA Dieburg.
n ow included the lower bishopric as we l l .
Pohl, Herbert. 1998. Zauberglaube und Hexenangst im
Tow a rd the end of Schwe i c k a rt von Kro n b e r g’s re i g n ,
Kurfürstentum Mainz: ein Beitrag zur Hexenfrage im 16. und
the trials decreased again, probably because of the paral-
beginnenden 17. Jahrhundert.2nd ed. Stuttgart: Steiner.
lel decrease in the neighboring bishopric of W ü rz b u r g .
Howe ve r, the largest wave, with the most victims, began Maldonado, Juan (1534–1583)
immediately under his successor, Georg Friedrich of K n own in France as Jean Maldonat, this Jesuit became a
Greiffenclau (ruled 1626–1629). Like Schwe i k a rt vo n s i g n i ficant fig u re in the development of Eu ro p e a n
K ronberg , he yielded to local demands for re s u m p t i o n d e m o n o l o g y. His well-attended Paris lectures of
of the witchcraft trials. After his death in 1629, trials 1571–1572, which presented a militant, highly political
d e c reased substantially under Anselm Kasimir a p p roach to demons and witches, became ve ry influ e n-
Walmbold of Umstadt (ruled 1629–1647) and almost tial in France and helped shape Jesuit thought on these
stopped with the conquest of the electorate by Swe d i s h subjects before the great synthesis by his former student,
t roops in 1631. After the elector fled to exile in Ma rtín Del Rio, early in the seventeenth century.
Cologne, only isolated trials continued; with his re t u r n , A native of Seville, Maldonado studied at the
they did not re v i ve. His successor Johann Philipp University of Salamanca, where he became a professor
von Schönborn (ruled 1647–1673), who was also of philosophy and theology in 1562. Ordained as a
prince-bishop of W ü rzburg from 1642, marked a clear priest in the Jesuit order in 1563, he was soon sent to
b reak. His government pre vented the wave of trials fro m Paris to become professor of theology at the new l y
1660–1670, which afflicted most of the Holy Ro m a n founded c o l l è g e of Clermont. Staffed by Jesuits and
Em p i re, from again disturbing the electorate. Is o l a t e d patronized by the powerful Guise family, it was able to
trials still occurred under Schönborn, but the elector open its doors only after winning a bitter lawsuit
always made an exact examination of each case and brought by their French enemies.
t h e re by pre vented any expansion of the trials. Maldonado soon proved a popular and successful
S c h ö n b o r n’s actions we re on the one hand considerably teacher. His ability to attract students probably explains
affected by the views of Friedrich Sp e e’s Ca u t i o the vehemence of his opponents in the Un i versity of
Cr i m i n a l i ss e ude processibus contra sagas liber (A Wa r n i n g Paris. But even those who opposed his intellectual and
on Criminal Justice, or a Book on Witch Trials, 1631) political positions considered his learning and holiness
and on the other hand by his political support fro m impeccable. Maldonado tried to create a re v i ve d
Louis XIV’s France. The last two executions for witch- Aristotelian Catholic theology and trained men to
craft occurred in 1684 at Worbis; accusations can be argue and defend it. Typically for a Sp a n i a rd, he
found afterw a rd, but they never led to exe c u t i o n s . described himself as a soldier in the religious combat of
his age, and from his first days in Paris, he joined the
LUDOLF PELIZAEUS
Catholic polemicists who attacked the growth and
See also:CAROLINACODE(CONSTITIOCRIMINALISCAROLINA); spread of the French Reformed Church.
ECCLESIASTICALTERRITORIES(HOLYROMANEMPIRE); GERMANY,
In 1569, during the third French War of Re l i g i o n ,
SOUTHEASTERN;HESSE;HOLYROMANEMPIRE;SPEE,FRIEDRICH;
Maldonado participated in a Catholic mission to recon-
THURINGIA;UNIVERSITIES;WITCH-BISHOPS(HOLYROMAN
ve rt people to Roman Catholicism in a region near
EMPIRE); WÜRZBURG,PRINCE-BISHOPRICOF.
Poitiers that had been deeply penetrated by Protestant
References and further reading:
heresy. After returning to Paris, he gave a series of pub-
Behringer,Wolfgang. 1999. “Witchcraft Studies in Austria,
Germany, Switzerland.” Pp. 64–95 in Witchcraft in Early lic lectures that became crucial to the development of a
Modern Europe. Studies in Culture and Belief.Edited by c o n f e s s i o n a l i zed French Catholic demonology. We
710 Maldonado, Juan |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 748 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.711 Application File
k n ow their contents only because one of his students became important Catholic spokesmen and carried his
published them thirty-five years later. Delivered in sim- ideas about the connections between witchcraft and
ple Latin to appeal to a wide audience and informed by h e resy well into the seventeenth century. The pro l i fic
his recent mission in Poitou, his lectures we re enor- Jesuit author Louis Richeome was Ma l d o n a d o’s student,
mously popular, attracting hundreds of auditors. as was Ma rtín Del Rio, the best-known Jesuit authority
The theological thread running through all on witchcraft, whose subsequent career took place main-
Ma l d o n a d o’s Paris lectures, including his series on ly in Flanders and whose influence was greatest in the
witches, was the immortality of the soul. Seeing this Holy Roman Em p i re. Another listener at Clermont in
doctrine as central to Christian belief, he accused 1571–1572 was Pi e r re de Lancre, who subsequently con-
Protestants of denying or seriously underplaying it; for ducted the biggest witchcraft trials in French history; he
him, that could only be diabolically inspired here s y. was then in Paris studying law.
Maldonado tied the growth of heresy closely to the
JONATHAN L. PEARL
s p read of demons. “In Bohemia and Ge r m a n y,” he
claimed, “the Hussite heresy was accompanied by such a See also:DELRIO,MARTÍN;FRANCE;LANCRE,PIERREDE;
storm of demons that witches we re busier than here t i c s” WARSOFRELIGION(FRANCE).
References and further reading:
( Maldonado 1605,1 5 6 ) .Then Ge n e va became infected,
Maldonado, Jean. 1605. Traicté des anges et demons, mis en Français
then France. One of the greatest sins of contemporary
par Maistre François de la Borie.Paris.
h e retics was to deny the reality of demons and angels;
Pearl, Jonathan L. 1999: The Crime of Crimes: Demonology and
Maldonado considered doing so equivalent to atheism.
Politics in France, 1560–1620.Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfred
He emphasized the reality and ort h o d oxy of beliefs like
Laurier University Press.
the transportation of witches to Sabbats. To deny such
things, as he accused Calvin’s followers of doing, only Male Witches
c o n firmed their heretical and diabolical atheism. The crime of witchcraft was sex-linked, but it was cer-
A brilliant lecturer and inspiring teacher, Ma l d o n a d o’s tainly not sex-specific. With the large amount of
i n fluence stretched far beyond his 1571–1572 lecture s . scholarship devoted in recent years to the connections
His auditors and students included several men who b e t ween women and witchcraft, we have almost lost
A male witch frolics with demons, who dance and play music around a magic circle at a Sabbat. From Olaus Magnus, Historia de Gentibus
Septentrionalibus (History of the Northern Peoples),1555. (Cornell University Library)
Male Witches 711 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 749 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.712 Application File
sight of the fact that a great many witches we re men. K i velson 1991), and Normandy in nort h we s t e r n
In fact, probably somew h e re around 6,000 men we re France, with almost 300 men in 400-plus witchcraft
e xecuted for witchcraft in early modern Eu ro p e , trials between 1560 and 1700 (Monter 1997). If seve n-
which means that far more Eu ropean men we re t e e n t h - c e n t u ry Mu s c ovy saw three men arrested for
burned as witches than we re executed for heresy dur- witchcraft for eve ry woman, this dispro p o rtion was
ing the Protestant Reformation. Men we re we l l - re p re- e ven greater in seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry No r m a n d y, with at
sented in the ve ry earliest Eu ropean witch hunts; for least four male witches for eve ry female witch; by mid-
example, men formed at least one-third of the identi- c e n t u ry, when this province averaged one or two
fiable witches tried in Valais in 1428 and 28 perc e n t witchcraft cases per ye a r, women had almost disap-
of the 250-plus witches tried in the Alpine valleys of p e a re d .
Dauphiné between 1424 and 1448. In a few places, In the areas discussed in this paragraph, men and
like Neuchâtel in French Sw i t zerland, men eve n women we re re p resented approximately evenly among
formed a majority of the earliest re c o rded witches. If accused witches. They include two places near Mu s c ov y :
the Malleus Ma l e fic a ru m (The Hammer of Wi t c h e s , Finland, with almost-equal numbers of men and
1486) insisted that witches we re almost inva r i a b l y women, and Estonia, with a majority of men among its
women, the (probably forged) papal bull that pre c e d- 200 indicted witches (Ankarloo and Henningsen 1990,
ed it specified that men and women alike we re guilty 321, 267)—but in both places, the majority of exe c u t e d
of witchcraft. witches we re women. In some Austrian provinces, par-
Although the link between women and witchcraft ticularly Styria and Carinthia, men also comprised a
accusations remained strong almost eve ry w h e re in majority of people arrested for witchcraft (Labouvie
Eu rope during the most intensive period of witch 1990, 57–58). In western Eu rope, we find similar per-
hunting between 1570 and 1660, some men we re pun- centages on No r m a n d y’s borders among the 1,000-plus
ished for practicing witchcraft almost eve ry w h e re. Ve ry witches judged by the Pa rl e m e n t of Paris between 1560
f ew places imitated the Inquisition of Siena, which and 1640 (Soman 1977, 798–799); here, if we combine
h e a rd testimony about male witches, or s t re g o n i , b u t witchcraft with maleficent magic, men comprised a
a r rested only women; indeed, other branches of the majority of those condemned to death by Eu ro p e’s most
Roman Inquisition behaved quite differently tow a rd p restigious appellate court .
men who we re magical healers, as the we l l - k n own his- Beneath such widely scattered half-male samples, we
t o ry of the mostly male Friulian b e n a n d a n t i ( d o - g o o d- find a cluster of contiguous states along what were then
ers) testifies. At the opposite extreme from Siena was the western edges of the Holy Roman Empire, west of
Eu ro p e’s westernmost outpost, Iceland, where women the Rhine and extending south from modern Belgium
comprised less than 10 percent of witchcraft defen- to the French Alps, where men comprised a sizable
dants, and only one of the twenty-two people exe c u t e d minority of the ve ry large groups of people tried and
for witchcraft in the seventeenth century was a f requently burned as witches. Men accounted for
woman, burned together with her son. We need to b e t ween 27 percent and 33 percent of all witches in
re a l i ze that there we re places as extreme as Siena or such German-speaking places as Lu xembourg or
Iceland about gendering witches, but in fact, almost Saarland and such French-speaking places as Lorraine,
e ve ryplace else fell somew h e re in between—and they Franche-Comté, or the Pays de Vaud in we s t e r n
we re usually much closer to the example of Siena than Switzerland; smaller samples from Alsace and the elec-
of Ic e l a n d . torate of Trier confirm the impression that we are deal-
In order to shed some light on the problem of male ing with a regional phenomenon. Fa rther east, in the
witches, it seems helpful to start by trying to answe r Germanic heartlands of the witch hunts, the percentage
some simple questions, such as w h e remen we re most of men usually drops below one-fourth; for modern
f requently found among accused witches, and w h a t Germany as a whole, it was probably around 20 per-
kinds of men seem to have been most fre q u e n t l y cent. And, of course, there we re also several places,
accused of witchcraft, before trying to tackle the ulti- including the British Isles, Sweden, or parts of modern
mate problem of w h y, despite the opinions of some Belgium, where male witches we re ve ry rare, compris-
witchcraft theorists and some modern authors, so ing less than one-tenth of accused witches.
many thousands of men we re punished for witchcraft. In the handful of places where most witches we re
If we imagine a geographical list that re verses the usual men, the k i n d s of men arrested for this crime seem
gender priorities about witches and proceeds fro m extremely different. In Muscovy, the single most com-
Iceland tow a rd Siena rather than vice versa, we mon feature among men charged with witchcraft is that
encounter a few places with sizable samples of re c o rd e d they were vagrants, recent immigrants, or often-fugitive
witchcraft trials where men comprised a clear majority serfs; several other witches were non-Christians, Finns,
of accused witches: seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry Mu s c ov y, with or Tu rks. Howe ve r, in No r m a n d y, a cheese-pro d u c i n g
about 150 men in 200 witchcraft trials (Zguta 1977; region, by far the most feared male witches we re
712 Male Witches |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 750 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.713 Application File
s h e p h e rds, some of whom possessed veritable arsenals witches began to break down; but it has also been
suitable for performing both offensive and defensive argued that this very development led to a crisis of con-
magic. Unlike Mu s c ov y, No r m a n d y’s witches included fidence in the legal system. Even more remarkably, the
many priests, at least seven of whom we re burned for final phase of witch hunting in present-day Austria, the
s o rt i l è g e(diabolic magic), while another went to the gal- Za u b e re r - Ja c k l ( So rc e re r - Jack) panic of Salzburg at the
leys and several more we re permanently banished end of the 1670s, invo l ved mostly ve ry young men
( Monter 1997, 582–583). No r m a n d y’s blacksmiths pro- rather than old women, and this pattern carried ove r
vided a third dangerous occupational category because into some of eighteenth-century witchcraft trials in
of their skill in harming as well as healing horses. Bavaria (Behringer 1997, 336–344). But a great deal of
T h e re was, howe ve r, one important characteristic work remains to be done on this topic, as the explorato-
s h a red between seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry Mu s c ovite and ry nature of this sketch shows.
Norman male witches: Many men in both places prac-
WILLIAM MONTER
ticed magical healing. Early modern Eu ropean folk
healers included large numbers of both men and See also: AUSTRIA;BENANDANTI;CHILDREN;CUNNINGFOLK;
women; it seems significant that the ord i n a ry En g l i s h ESTONIA;FEMALEWITCHES;FINLAND;FRANCHE-COMTÉ;
phrase for them, “cunning folk,” is not sex-specific .
GENDER;ICELAND;LUXEMBOURG,DUCHYOF;NORMANDY;
Male healers could be found throughout Eu ro p e ,
PARLEMENTOFPARIS;RUSSIA;SALZBURG,PRINCE-ARCHBISHOPRIC
OF;SIENESENEWSTATE;TRIER,ELECTORATEOF;VAUD,PAYSDE.
including Sienese s t regoni who, unlike many of their
References and further reading:
counterparts elsewhere, were never charged with witch-
Ankarloo, Bengt, and Gustav Henningsen, eds. 1990. European
craft by the inquisitors. However, we should realize that
Witchcraft: Centres andPeripheries.Oxford: Clarendon.
male magicians rarely tried to heal very young children; Apps, Lara, and Andrew Gow. 2003. Male Witches in Early
in the age of witch hunting, “neonatal medicine” and Modern Europe.Manchester: Manchester University Press.
“p e d i a t r i c s” we re almost exc l u s i vely female specialties. Behringer,Wolfgang. 1997. Witchcraft Persecutions in Bavaria:
And because the very worst crimes attributed to witch- Popular Magic, Religious Zealotry and Reason of State in Early
es involved harming or even killing very young children Modern Europe. Translated by J. C. Grayson and David
(for example, this was almost the only reason for hang- Lederer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kivelson, Valerie. 1991. “Through the Prism of Witchcraft:
ing witches in England), women were overwhelmingly
Gender and Social Change in Seventeenth-Century Muscovy.”
predominant among the usual suspects in such circum-
Pp. 74–94 in Russia’sWomen: Accommodation, Resistance,
stances. Almost the only way men killed young children
Transformation.Edited by Barbara Evans Clements, Barbara
was in the form of we rew o l ves, and such cases we re
Alpern Engel, and Christine D. Worobec. Berkeley: University
extremely rare almost everywhere in Europe.
of California Press.
But if men rarely practiced pediatrics or infli c t e d ———. 2003. “Male Witches and Gendered Categories in
maleficia(harmful magic) on small children, they had a Seventeenth-Century Russia.” Comparative Studies in Society
near-monopoly on ve t e r i n a ry medicine, especially in and History45: 606–631.
connection with horses and cows, the largest and most Labouvie, Eva. 1990. “Männer im Hexenprozess: Zur
valuable animals on any farm in early modern Europe. sozialantropologie eines ‘männlichen’Verständnisses von Magie
The whole western Alpine zone, where men comprised und Hexerei.” Geschichte und Gesellschaft16: 56–78.
Midelfort, H. C. Erik. 1972. Witch Hunting in Southwestern
upwards of one-third of all witches, were afflicted with
Germany, 1562–1684. The Social and Intellectual Foundations.
b ewitched cattle. The blacksmiths of Normandy (and
Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
perhaps elsewhere) also fit here.
Monter,William. 1997. “Toads and the Eucharist: The Male
T h e re we re certainly other reasons why men we re
Witches of Normandy.” French Historical Studies20: 563–595.
targeted as witches. Many men were drawn into the net
Soman, Alfred. 1977. “Les procès de sorcellerie au Parlement de
of witchcraft suspects through being related to female Paris (1565–1640).” Annales: Economies, Sociétés, Civilisations
witches, their mothers or sisters as well as their wives. In 32: 790–814.
places such as England where men comprised an Walinski-Kiehl, Robert. 2004. “Males, ‘Masculine Honor,’ and
extremely small share of accused witches, kinship with Witch Hunting in Seventeenth-Century Germany.” Men and
other witches through blood or marriage provides the Masculinities 6: 254–271.
principal explanation for which men we re accused. As Zguta, Russell. 1977. “Witchcraft Trials in Seventeenth-Century
Russia.” AmericanHistorical Review82: 1187–1207.
with women, various personal attributes such as spite-
fulness, a penchant for making threats, or some other
Maleficium
forms of criminal behavior, also increased some men’s
vulnerability to charges of witchcraft. Maleficium, harm inflicted through occult means, was
It has been demonstrated (Midelfort 1972, 182) that one of the two main ingredients of early modern witch-
men even became a majority of those executed during craft, along with a pact with the Devil. In theory, any
the latter phases of some of the ve ry largest Ge r m a n harmful magic required the assistance of the Devil and
witch hunts in the 1620s, as traditional stereotypes of therefore implied a pact with him, but in practice the
Maleficium 713 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 751 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.714 Application File
two were generally distinguished. Learned commenta- than larger-scale natural processes like storms and
tors stressed the primacy of the pact, and some law stunted harvests, which we re more likely to be ascribed
codes made it alone a capital offense, but generally to ritual magic.
evidence of both diabolism and some form of malefici-
umwas needed for prosecution to be carried through to Maleficium,the Devil,
execution. Commoners, who made most accusations and the Law
and testified about prior offenses, focused on maleficia, The idea that malign magical powers are closely related
which included both sorcery, or harmful ritual magic, to a malign personality is deeply rooted. The wordmal-
and witchcraft, an inherent ability to cause magical eficium originally meant simply “wrongdoing” or “mis-
harm. While diabolism was a particular, and in many chief,” yet it was linked specifically to harmful magic
ways peculiar, feature of early modern European witch- even in pagan Rome. This association intensified with
craft, maleficium linked it to the much broader fears of the rise of Christianity, which saw any recourse to
harmful magic that haunt people in many societies magic as a moral failing. Roman law had proscribed
worldwide. No good evidence of the kind of wide- sorcery as a source of injury to individuals from the ear-
spread Devil-worship feared by the demonologists has liest times, and the Roman Empire prosecuted magic as
been found, but there is no question that malefic magic a source of politically destabilizing intrigue as well;
was practiced, and there is reason to think that some of Moses had enjoined his people not to “suffer a witch [or
the activities it involved constituted a real threat to magician; the Hebrew is ambiguous] to live amongst
other peoples’ health and well-being. you,” and the Vulgate frequently referred to maleficium.
The Theodosian Code joined these two traditions
Forms of Maleficium together, using maleficium in place of the earlier, more
As in many other cultures, harmful magic took two neutral magia.
main forms in Eu rope: ritual magic intended to cause Early medieval Germanic law codes contained pun-
various sorts of damage, which social scientists call sor- ishments for sorcerers both because of the injuries they
c e ry, and an inherent power to inflict harm that cert a i n caused and because they employed pagan rites, and tri-
people we re thought to have, called witchcraft. T h e als focusing on the harms caused by sorcery took place
s p e c i fic rituals employed in sorc e ry va ry widely fro m sporadically through the Middle Ages. The connection
c u l t u re to culture, but the basic elements and forms of between harm and moral character was not lost, howev-
damage they are thought to inflict do not. So rc e rers, in e r, and late medieval theologians strengthened it con-
early modern Eu rope as elsew h e re, worked through the siderably by reviving the argument first made in late
use of spells and incantations, ritual actions and ges- antiquity that all magic re q u i res some sort of spiritual
t u res, potions (poisons), and spiritually potent objects. agent, and illicit, especially malevolent, magic therefore
The damage they we re thought to cause included fir s t must involve demons and at least an implicit pact with
and foremost bodily injury (illness, impotence, and their master, the Devil. In the fifteenth century, this
death in people and animals) and disruption of natur- pact became linked with the notion that the Devil orga-
al processes (storms and hail; stunted crops; and n i zed his followers into an underground conspiracy
impeded production of butter, cheese, or beer). Love with perve rted nocturnal orgies and the power and
magic was sometimes considered a form of sorc e ry but obligation to perpetrate various forms of maleficium.
could also be re g a rded as beneficent magic, depending The gradual adoption of this image of witchcraft by
on the circ u m s t a n c e s . much of Eu ro p e’s elites over the next century had the
Innate witchcraft was thought to manifest the effect of not only making allegiance to the Devil a capital
w i t c h’s ill will dire c t l y, but as in many other cultures it offense, on par with m a l e ficium, but also, more subtly,
was transmitted via a look (the evil eye), a touch, or a changed the legal nature of m a l e fic i u m .Until this point,
spontaneous word or gesture. Some cultures held that p rosecutions for m a l e fic i u mgenerally concerned sorc e ry,
it could occur without the witch being aware that he or magic that by definition had to be practiced deliberately,
she was causing injury or even consciously wanting to with some sort of external manifestation. Now, with the
do so, but early modern Eu ropeans generally treated it s u s p e c t’s moral orientation the focus of attention, pro s e-
as a manifestation of the witch’s conscious desire to cution no longer hinged on proof of an explicit ritual
cause harm. In fact, the witch demonology insisted attack or even the evidence of a reputation for practicing
that the power came from an explicit pact with the magic. Evidence of m a l e fic i u m remained important, but
Devil, and magistrates used tort u re to compel suspects in sixteenth- and seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry trials, this re q u i re-
accused of manifesting this power to confess to having ment was frequently met with allegations (and tort u re d
made one. This innate witchcraft was held re s p o n s i b l e confessions) of apparently spontaneous infliction of
for damages similar to sorc e ry, although bodily mal- harm with no ritual mechanism specified or implied. In
adies and small-scale, localized physical effects like some cases this may re flect just an oversight in the inve s-
butter not churning we re featured more pro m i n e n t l y tigation or the re c o rd, but in many it seems clear that the
714 Maleficium |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 752 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.715 Application File
witch was thought to be guilty of spontaneous witchcraft m e d i e val and early modern sources, howe ve r, suggest
as defined by anthropologists. Because the general popu- that some people certainly did attempt to inflict harm
lace generally did not concern itself with diabolism and on their enemies or opponents through occult, or hid-
t h e re we re only a limited number of magical practition- den, means; that some of these means had the potential
ers, particularly malevolent ones, it would seem that to deal real damage; and that this power was not simply
opening the legal process to accusations of spontaneous an artifact of peoples’ belief in it. First, early modern
witchcraft was at least as important as the criminalization trial records contain ample evidence of popular malefic
of a pact with the Devil in multiplying persecutions dur- practices—image magic, curses, and the like—that
ing the early modern period. some people employed occasionally and other people
utilized as a more routine part of their social relations.
Maleficium and Community Second, the early modern concept of m a l e fic i u m d i d
With or without a link to the Devil, people in most cul- not correspond exactly to our notion of magic, for it
tures fear maleficium,that some of their neighbors har- included the secret employment of means that we con-
bor ill will and that this ill will can be manifested in sider natural—poisons, in particular, and also surrepti-
injury to them, their dependents, animals, or property. tious battery against children and animals—and there is
Social scientists, working in the tradition of the no question that these practices could indeed be used to
Enlightenment, which rejected late medieval beliefs i n j u re other members of the community. T h i rd, most
about witchcraft, have generally treated these fears as allegations of m a l e fic i u m i n vo l ved injury to people or
credulous superstitions manifesting some sort of psy- animals, and beyond the chemical and mechanical
chological, social, or cultural displacement mechanism. means suggested above, recent re s e a rch into the re l a-
Belief in maleficium has been variously explained as a tionship of interpersonal conflict and physiological
fraudulent means of victimizing one’s enemies, a way of stress suggests not only that manifestations of hostility,
accounting for otherwise inexplicable misfortune, a whether ritual attacks or spontaneous expressions, can
mechanism for displacing anger or guilt from an cause or contribute to a wide variety of maladies,
accuser onto a suspect, and, most recently, as an ele- including disease, impotence, accidental injury, and
ment in a self-referencing symbol system. All of these death, but also that this effect is not dependent on pri-
explanations start from the assumption that maleficium or belief in or fear of the power of magic.
is illusory, that attempts to inflict harm through occult Fear of m a l e ficium could intensify the psyc h o p h y s i c a l
means did not happen and could not have posed a reaction causing injury, and the charge certainly was made
threat if they did, or only posed a threat because of the fraudulently against opponents in interpersonal confli c t s .
beliefs of the people who feared them. Charges of m a l e fic i u m we re often unfounded, did mani-
C a reful consideration of what m a l e fic i u m was sup- fest social tensions arising from other sources, and we re
posed to invo l ve and the evidence presented in late p a rt of the narrative stru c t u re of early modern culture, but
not all fears we re illusory and not all charges unfounded.
T h e re we re numerous connections between one person’s
ill will and another person’s misfortune, some open and
some hidden, some material and some psyc h o l o g i c a l .
Unlike diabolism, m a l e fic i u mwas not at bottom an illuso-
ry crime, but instead was a real feature of early modern
life that people coped with as best they could.
EDWARD BEVER
See also:BEWITCHMENT;CURSES;DISEASE;EVILEYE;FEAR;IMAGE
MAGIC;IMPOTENCE,SEXUAL;LAWSONWITCHCRAFT(ANCIENT);
LAWSONWITCHCRAFT(MEDIEVAL); PACTWITHTHEDEVIL;
PERSONALITYOFWITCHES;SORCERY;SPELLS.
References and further reading:
Arendt-Schulte, Ingrid. 1994. Weise Frauen—böse Weiber: Die
Geschichte der Hexen der Frühen Neuzeit. Freiburg: Herder.
Be ve r, Ed w a rd. 2002. “Women, Witchcraft, and Power in the Early
Modern Community.” Jo u rnal of Social Hi s t o ry36: 955–988.
Björkqvist, Kaj, and Pirkko Niemelä, eds. 1992. Of Mice and
Women: Aspects of Female Aggression.San Diego: Academic.
Briggs, Robin. 1989. “Ill Will and Magical Power in Lorraine
Witchcraft.” Pp. 83–105 in Communities of Belief: Culture and
Witches causing arson to a town in the duchy of Württemberg. Social Tension in Early Modern France. Edited by Robin Briggs.
(Fortean Picture Library) Oxford: Clarendon.
Maleficium 715 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 753 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.716 Application File
Fiume, Giovanna. 1997. “The Old Vinegar Lady, or the Judicial Malinowski’s interest in magic was present in his ear-
Modernization of the Crime of Witchcraft.” Pp. 65–87 in ly ethnographic works, Argonauts of the Western Pacific
History from Crime.Edited by Edward Muir and Guido (1922) and The Sexual Life of Sa vages in No rt h we s t e rn
Ruggiero.Translated by Corrada Curry et al. Baltimore: Johns
Melanesia ( 1 9 2 9 ) , which described the k u l a m a g i c
Hopkins University Press.
invested in objects of ritual trade and aspects of sexual
Kramer, Karl. 1983. “Schaden- und Gegenzauber in Alltagsleben
magic. Howe ve r, his most significant material about
des 16.–18. Jahrhunderts nach Archivalischen Quellen aus
magic and its practitioners came in Coral Gardens and
Holstein.” Pp. 223–239 in Hexenprozesse: Deutsche und
Their Magic (1935), an ethnographic narrative that
Skandinavische Beitrage.Edited by Christian Degen et al.
Neumünster: Karl Wachholtz. painstakingly delineated the eve ryday “m o n o t o n y” of
Levack, Brian P. 1995. The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. magic in the cycles of pro d u c t i ve life. Ma l i n ow s k i’s
2nd ed. London: Longman. pragmatic theory of magic was most explicitly present-
ed in his posthumously published Magic, Science, and
Religion (1948), which argued against prevailing under-
Malinowski, standings of magic as a clumsy and inefficient pro t o-
Bronislaw Kasper (1884–1942) science. This conventional wisdom, best articulated by
Polish-born British social anthropologist, re g a rded as Sir EdwardTylor and Sir James Frazer, structured mag-
the father of modern social anthro p o l o g y, Ma l i n ow s k i ic as the lowest rung on a developmental sequence ris-
e x p l o red the rationality of witchcraft and magical prac- ing through religious to scientific means of knowing the
tices in contemporary “p r i m i t i ve” societies. He was natural world. Malinowski never conflated magic with
among the first to argue for the centrality of fie l d w o rk religion (magic, he insisted, was always a pragmatic
in anthropological re s e a rch, and his method of “p a rt i c i- m e a n s , w h e reas religion was an end in itself), but he
p a n t - o b s e rva t i o n” is now canonical in social and cultur- took great pains to separate magic from such “p r i m i-
al anthro p o l o g y. This technique enabled him to pro d u c e t i ve” scientific practices as the empirical knowledge of
ethnographic writings steeped in the rhythms of daily fluid dynamics invo l ved in Trobriand canoe-building.
life and to articulate a theory of magic as a “s a c re d” ye t Such everyday, predictable concerns were placed in the
fundamentally pragmatic activity, distinct from, ye t s p h e re of the profane, but magical activities occupied
tightly entwined with empirical knowledge and tech- the affect-laden domain of the sacred. He illustrated
niques surrounding eve ryday “p ro f a n e” practices. this with an account of Trobriand fishing practices:
Born in Krakow, Malinowski earned his doctorate in boating in the lagoon was safe and its yield re l a t i ve l y
philosophy from Jagiellonian Un i versity in 1908 and predictable; such trips involved no magic at all. Yet fish-
later trained in social sciences at Leipzig and in anthro- ing on the open seas, which could result in a fantastic
pology at the London School of Economics. Ha v i n g bounty, an empty net, or the death of all involved, was
spent the better part of World War I conducting field- associated with extensive magical ritual to secure safety
work in southeastern New Guinea, he occupied teach- and good results. Magic was therefore a complement to,
ing posts at the London School of Economics and the not a substitute for, empirical knowledge, useful in situ-
Un i versity of London before taking a position at Ya l e ations involving extreme risk, high stakes, emotional
Un i versity in 1938. Ma l i n ow s k i’s insistence that the commitment, or lack of control.
world was sensible “f rom the native’s point of view” Although Ma l i n ow s k i’s functional explanations of
contradicted Lucien Lévy-Bruhl’smentalité primitif, his human behavior have been criticized for their “t h i n-
appeal to a psychological and sociological “f u n c t i o n a l- ness” and transparent teleology, it is important to note
i s m” emergent from the “p s yc h o - p h y s i o l o g i c a l” needs that his ethnographic descriptions are rich with details
of individuals broke openly with the holistic and evolu- not explained by his theories. Furthermore, Malinowski
t i o n a ry sociology of Émile Du rkheim, and his insis- argued strongly for the importance of context in under-
tence on the centrality of ethnographic fieldwork would standing magical practices, and his explicitly performa-
later be considered a decisive break from the “armchair” tive analysis of magic—in particular, his linguistic theo-
methodology of Victorian anthro p o l o g y. A quart e r - ry of the power of magical words—can be seen as
century after Malinowski died at New Haven, p re figuring the ord i n a ry-language philosophers.
C o n n e c t i c u t ,the 1967 publication of his private diaries Ma l i n ow s k i’s willingness to generalize from the
caused a scandal by re vealing that this seemingly Trobriand Islands to humanity at large led him to con-
egalitarian and tolerant ethnographer was, in fact, often struct a general theory of the “meanings of meaningless
frustrated by and condescending toward his subjects in w o rd s” and the “c o e f ficient of we i rd n e s s” necessary to
explicitly racist terms. Far from unseating Ma l i n ow s k i elevate magical discourse beyond mundane levels with-
from his central position in anthropology, however, this out rendering it completely unintelligible. Malinowski
gap between professional presentation and private life used this principle to suggest magical belief as a human
has only served to heighten the mystique around the universal, equally present in the advertising and “beau-
man and the methodology he championed. ty magic of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden” as
716 Malinowski, Bronislaw Kasper |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 754 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.717 Application File
in the practices of medieval Europeans or early twenti-
eth-century Trobrianders.
Perhaps more far-reaching than his own writings,
h owe ve r, was Ma l i n ow s k i’s impact as an educator. If
he has re t ro s p e c t i vely been dubbed the father of mod-
ern anthro p o l o g y, it is chiefly because he tutore d
many of the best minds of the next generation of
British social anthropologists. In the context of
a n t h ropological debates on rationality and magical
b e l i e f, it seems particularly significant that he taught E.
E. Eva n s - Pr i t c h a rd, whose Wi t c h c raft, Oracles, and
Magic Among the Azande would become a landmark in
the field.
JEREMY GREENE
See also: ANTHROPOLOGY;EVANS-PRITCHARD,EDWARDE.;
MAGICANDRELIGION;SCIENCEANDMAGIC;WORDS,
POWEROF.
References and further reading:
Geertz, Clifford. “Under the Mosquito Net.” New York Review of
Books,September 14, 1967, 15: 3–4.
Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1922. Argonauts of the Western Pacific.
London: G. Routledge and Sons.
———. 1929. The Sexual Life of Savages in Northwestern
Melanesia.London: G. Routledge and Sons.
———. 1935. Coral Gardens and Their Magic.London: Unwin
Brothers.
———. 1948. Magic, Science, and Religion.Boston: Free Press.
———. 1967. A Diary in the Strict Sense of the Term.London: Title page of the 1669 edition of Heinrich Kramer’s Malleus
Routledge and Kegan Paul. Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches),1486, the most notorious
Nadel, S. F. 1957. “Malinowski on Magic and Religion.” Pp. book on witchcraft. (Fortean Picture Library)
189–208 in Man and Culture: An Evaluation of the Work of
Bronislaw Malinowski.Edited by Raymond Firth. London:
Routledge and Kegan Paul.
authorities, who disliked his interf e rence with their
Stocking, George. 1995. After Tylor: British Social Anthropology
1888–1951.Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. administration of justice, and the populace, who
Tambiah, Jeyraja Stanley. 1984. Magic, Science, Religion, and the sometimes initially welcomed him, soon tired of his
Scope of Rationality.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p e r s e c u t o ry zeal. Annoyed by such resistance, Kramer
obtained papal authorization for his inquisitorial
Malleus Maleficarum rights over the prosecution of witchcraft fro m
Some late medieval theologians, like the Do m i n i c a n Innocent VIII (ruled 1484–1492) through the papal
inquisitor Heinrich Kramer (Institoris), author of the bull Su m m i s d e s i d e rantes affectibus ( Desiring with
Malleus Ma l e fic a ru m (The Hammer of Witches, 1486), Su p reme Ard o r, 1484), which authorized formal
imagined witches to be members of a vast conspiracy inquisitions against witches in all German Churc h
d i rected against Christian society that was allowed by p rovinces. Now invested with carte blanche, Kramer
God to cause immense physical and spiritual hard s h i p. decided to start a paradigmatic witch hunt.
The witches’ powe r, supported by the Devil with Go d’s In n s b ruck, capital of the duchy of Ty rol, was a signif-
permission, was real. Witches there f o re had to be physi- icant place, since its Archduke Sigmund was a powe r-
cally eradicated, according to divine and secular law, by ful Habsburg prince, ruling over a patchwork of terri-
v i rtually any means, because exceptional crimes re q u i re tories stretching from northern Italy and
e xceptional measures. The Ma l l e u s was the result of s o u t h western Germany into Alsace (present-day east-
K r a m e r’s experience with witchcraft trials in his designat- ern France). In n s b ruck was Kramer’s gateway to the
ed area as a papal inquisitor for “Upper Ge r m a n y” (i.e., Holy Roman Em p i re .
s o u t h western Ge r m a n y, western Austria, Sw i t zerland, and K r a m e r’s Inquisition in In n s b ruck, starting in Ju l y
his homeland, Alsace). 1485, employed intimidation, brutal force, and unlimited
Evidence surv i ves from some of his trials in this t o rt u re; denied legal defense; and issued distorted re p o rt s
region, particularly from 1482 to 1484. Kramer’s of his interrogations: scandalous conduct, even by
activities we re generally not well re c e i ved by the local l a t e - fif t e e n t h - c e n t u ry legal standards. T h e re f o re, not only
Malleus Maleficarum 717 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 755 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.718 Application File
the re l a t i ves of the accused but also citizens of In n s b ru c k , Sletstat,” or “Heinrich Institoris,” as Kramer often
together with the clergy, the Ty rolean nobility and eve n- Latinized himself.The historian Sönke Lorenz found a
tually the local bishop, protested against his illegal pro c e- h i t h e rto unknown letter of this inquisitor from 1484,
d u res. Bishop Georg II Go l s e r, successor of the philoso- announcing his arrival at Wolfegg, a Swabian castle of
pher Nicolaus of Cusa at the see of Br i xen, appointed a Count Johann von Wa l d b u r g - Trauchburg (ru l e d
commission to scru t i n i ze Kramer’s Inquisition. De s p i t e 1460–1505)—close relatives to the ruling prince-bish-
desperate resistance from the inquisitor’s side, the bishop op of Constance—for the purpose of witch hunting.
stopped the persecution immediately, nullified its re s u l t s Nu m e rous documents surv i ve concerning Kramer’s
and (after having secured the arc h d u k e’s support), liberat- inquisition in the Imperial City of Ravensburg, men-
ed all suspected women. tioned in the first (Speyer 1486) edition of the Malleus
It is worth remembering that both the secular and (fol. 44r). After his crushing failure at In n s b ru c k ,
ecclesiastical authorities of Ty rol decided to resist this Kramer turned his attention toward Alsace, particularly
papal inquisitor and that they successfully prevented a in the vicinity of his convent. The expulsion of the Jews
witch persecution within their jurisdiction. Kramer was from his hometown of Séléstat should be placed in this
branded a fanatic, and Bishop Golser (who called context. In 1488 Kramer tried to incite witch hunts in
Kramer senile and crazy in his correspondence) eve n the neighboring diocese of Trier; that ye a r, thirt y - five
threatened him with force if he failed to leave his dio- witches we re burned in the nearby imperial city of
cese vo l u n t a r i l y. The prince-bishops of Br i xen neve r Metz. In an expert opinion for the imperial city of
allowed a witch persecution in their territory, and, even Nu remberg, “Bruder Heinrich Kramer Pre d i g e r
m o re import a n t l y, the Ty rolean government had Ordens”boasted in October 1491 that “more than 200
learned a lasting lesson and subsequently suppre s s e d w i t c h e s” had been burned thus far due to his inquisi-
any attempts by lower courts to launch witch hunts. In tions, and in the same document he revealed his single
short, the Innsbruck Inquisition was a crushing defeat authorship of the Malleus(Jerouschek 1991).
for the papal inquisitor. Fu rther actions of this inquisitor remain shrouded in
His failure at In n s b ruck and his apocalyptic fears d a rkness, and recent re s e a rch suggests that his own supe-
d rove Kramer to develop his ideas furt h e r. St a rt i n g rior may have silenced him. Jacob Sp renger turned out
from his reports to Bishop Golser (Ammann 1911), he to have been Kramer’s most bitter enemy. In complete
hastily systematized his notes into a lengthy manu- contrast to the Alsatian fanatic, a maverick who man-
script. This papal inquisitor was among the first of his aged to get into trouble where ver he went and who had
profession to recognize the importance of the printing d e veloped into a wandering inquisitor and persecution
re volution, and with this manuscript he tried to turn specialist, Sp renger was a prominent fig u re among the
his defeat into victory by demonstrating the existence “o b s e rva n t” reform wing of the Dominicans. He was
of witchcraft. Using his authority and experience, he appointed prior of the large Cologne convent, then
urged the necessity of a campaign to eradicate witch- leader of the “Te u t o n i c” province; Sp renger was also an
craft. The result was the Malleus Maleficarum. i n fluential theologian, promoting veneration of the
Much confusion persists about the author, place of Virgin Ma ry and introducing ro s a ry brotherhoods orga-
print, and date of print of this crucial publication on n i zed by friars and secular clergy for lay people. It seems
witchcraft. Even recently, scholars have claimed that the likely that Sp renger was involuntarily included in both
Ma l l e u s was at least coauthored by Jacob Sp re n g e r the papal bull of 1484 and the forew o rd of the Ma l l e u s
(1437–1495). Only in 1519, decades after Sp re n g e r’s in 1486. Wilson (1990, 130) doubted that Kramer tried
death, was he named as author on a front page, first in deliberately to deceive the public and Sp re n g e r, but this
an edition by the Nu remberg (Nürnberg) printer must have been the case. Sp renger had tried to suppre s s
Friedrich Peypus. Two generations later, in 1574, K r a m e r’s activities in eve ry possible way. He forbade the
Gi ovanni Antonio Be rtanus, a Venetian printer, eve n c o n vents of his province to host him, he forbade Kramer
named Sp renger as its sole author. Later German and to preach, and even tried to interf e re directly in the
French printers adopted Be rt a n u s’s mistake. Howe ve r, affairs of Kramer’s Séléstat convent. Not one single fact
no contemporary evidence suggests that Sp renger had or incident associated Sp renger with witchcraft pro s e c u-
anything to do with the Malleus,or with witchcraft tri- tions, and he apparently managed to drive the author of
als, or with executions of any kind as a result of inquisi- the Ma l l e u s f rom his province. Kramer spent his fin a l
tion trials. years in Italy and Moravia, where he died. Kramer suc-
The author of the Ma l l e u s stated that fort y - e i g h t cessfully deceived many modern scholars with his mis-
women had been burned as witches in the diocese of re p resentations and outright lies. But one need only re a d
Constance; there is no reason to doubt this number, the surviving In n s b ruck trial re c o rds (Ammann 1890)
especially because he indicated that he himself had and compare them with his accounts of the In n s b ru c k
s e a rched this diocese more than any other. All these inquisition in the Ma l l e u s to re a l i ze that Kramer was
re m a rks pointed directly to “frater Henricus de ready to use any deception that served his purpose. Hi s
718 Malleus Maleficarum |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 756 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.719 Application File
c a reer offers numerous examples, but this one seems Ma l l e u s . Mo re ove r, Kramer brazenly emphasized the
s u f ficient (Segl 1988). success of his inquisition at In n s b ruck and eve n
As to date and place of print, a printer’s account thanked the archduke for his support. He was correct in
book (Geldner 1964) demonstrated that the Ma l l e u s assuming that few would check his claims.
was first printed in autumn 1486 in the imperial city of By re c o n s t ructing Kramer’s itinerary, it becomes clear
Speyer, by then a medium-size town on the Rhine with that the Ma l l e u s was assembled hastily, within nine
about 8,000 inhabitants. The printer was Peter Dr a c h months. St a rting with his opinions and apologies to the
(ca. 1450–1504), who delive red the “t reatise against bishop of Br i xen and the archduke of Ty rol, Kramer,
sorcerers” to booksellers by December 1486. The origi- after his expulsion from In n s b ruck in Fe b ru a ry 1486,
nal text of the Malleus comprised 129 leaves (258 mined some standard textbooks of scholastic theology
pages) in folio; given the usual production of a small (Thomas Aquinas, Antonius of Fl o rence), a few inquisi-
printer (about 900 folio pages a day), Drach could have t o r s’ manuals (Nicolas Eymeric), and earlier sermon
printed 150 copies a month. If the first edition was notes. These indispensable texts we re only available in
meant to have 300 copies, the manuscript must have the libraries of larger Dominican monasteries like
been delive red to Drach by mid-October 1486, with Salzburg, Augsburg (Siemer 1936), Sp e ye r, or his ow n
more copies even earlier. Like many early books, it had c o n vent at Séléstat. At one of these places, the Ma l l e u s
no title page at that stage, so descriptions of the Malleus must have been assembled. In the first edition (Sp e ye r
va ry in the account book. The Ma l l e u s was called a 1486, fol. 44r), Kramer told us that at least parts of it
“treatise against sorceresses,” or “against sorcery,” until we re written in the imperial city of Sp e ye r, where he was
Kramer added a foreword to the text, his apologia auc- physically present in autumn 1486, because Peter Dr a c h
toris in malleum malefic a ru m , a round Easter 1487 had agreed to publish his text without delay. Kramer
( Behringer and Je rouschek in Kramer 2000, 22–31). may have been unable to publish it at a more import a n t
Afterward, the book’s title was fixed and appears regu- printing center like Augsburg or St r a s b o u r g .
larly this way in the account book, even without the Kramer’s haste explains why the Malleus bristled with
Malleushaving a title page. inconsistencies throughout. Contradictions and mis-
Kramer promoted his publication in eve ry possible takes of all kinds (meaning, grammar, spelling)
way, notably by adding the papal bull of 1484 and a ref- abounded; even the gender of the witches
e rence to its approval by the Un i versity of Cologne (m a l e fic a / m a l e fic u s) varied continuously, although the
from April 1487. The latter was at least partly a forgery, text was clearly directed against female witches. T h e
because two of its supposed authors (Thomas de Scotia most striking evidence for this haste comes from the
and Johann von Wörde) later denied any participation. Ma l l e u s i t s e l f. Ac c o rding to its contents, fort y - e i g h t
These additions we re not printed by Drach but by an questions we re to be treated, but Kramer completely
immediate apprentice of Johannes Gutenberg at Mainz, ignored this structure and ended with eighty-six chap-
Peter Schöffer (ca. 1425–1503), with a separate pagina- ters, unevenly distributed over three “p a rts,” two of
tion. These parts were probably added in late May 1487 them further subdivided. Pa rt 1 supposedly contained
and bound together with the existing main body of the sixteen chapters, but it actually had eighteen. The addi-
text. He n c e f o rth, the author’s Ap o l o g i a , the papal bull tional chapters, with new examples, we re obv i o u s l y
Summis desiderantes affectibus, and the Cologne added afterw a rd; Chapter 17 claimed to be an exten-
Ap p ro b a t i o remained part of the Ma l l e u s . In early sion of chapter 14, which had presumably been printed
December 1486, when Speyer hosted a meeting of rep- a l re a d y. Pa rt 2 supposedly contained sixteen chapters
re s e n t a t i ves of the imperial cities (St ä d t e t a g), and but ended up with twenty-five. Large chunks of its text
Em p e ror Frederick III (whom Kramer had insulted were never mentioned in its table of contents; its head-
some years earlier, to the great displeasure of the ings hardly ever matched; whole chapters advertised in
Dominican order) was due to arrive, Kramer apparent- the contents we re lacking; some we re wrongly num-
ly traveled to the Burgundian capital at Brussels in bered; cross-references usually led nowhere.
o rder to obtain a privilege from King Maximilian I It was obviously a work in progress, its author con-
(1459–1519), the future empero r. The response must tinually adding more evidence until the last possible
h a ve been so unfavorable that it was not inserted into moment, but without proofreading. The practical diffi-
the forew o rd, although it was mentioned there, thus culties of compiling such a massive text under extreme
conveying the impression that the highest ecclesiastical, time pressure and premodern conditions can hardly be
academic, and secular authorities backed the Ma l l e u s . u n d e restimated. We can only guess why the mave r i c k
Kramer’s strategy was aimed at the princes and their law inquisitor became a maverick author and wrote a des-
c o u rts. Howe ve r, educated theologians and lawye r s perate book under such desperate conditions. Pe r h a p s
must have noticed that authoritative authors, like St . he feared more important dangers from the approach-
Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as Roman ing emperor or from Jacob Sp re n g e r, whose name he
l a w, we re deliberately twisted and misquoted in the was again about to misuse and whose election as
Malleus Maleficarum 719 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 757 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.720 Application File
p rovincial superior of the German Dominicans was questions, designed to prove the reality and danger of
imminent. The same day Sprenger became successor to witchcraft, was interesting in several respects and
Jacob St rubach as provincial superior (October 19, showed Kramer’s erudition as an educated Dominican.
1487), he obtained permission from his general, Founded upon Augustine and Aquinas, its description
Joaquino Turriani, to lash out a d versus m[agistru m ] of the crime of witchcraft was entirely conve n t i o n a l :
Henricum Institoris inquisitore m (against Ma s t e r witches could not themselves harm anyone thro u g h
Heinrich Kramer, inquisitor). But perhaps the source of magic, but their abilities derived from a contract with a
K r a m e r’s haste should be sought in the realm of the demon, which in turn was empowe red by God. Both
irrational; apocalypticism seemed a good guess, if we the p e rmissio Dei ( Go d’s permission), and (wo)man’s
took the author’s Ap o l o g i a s e r i o u s l y. If the end of the free will were crucial elements. At the core of witchcraft
world was nigh, grammar became unimportant. theory lay Augustine’s semiotic theory that demons and
Kramer’s main concern was witchcraft, or the heresy (wo)men communicated via signs, amplified here by
of witchcraft, but we must still explain his part i c u l a r K r a m e r’s perception that human deeds and natural
obsession with female witches. One likely explanation phenomena were hardly ever what they appeared to be,
is the legacy of Christian theology, with its long-stand- but must rather be interpreted through a demonologi-
ing assertion of increased female susceptibility to temp- cal theory of signs.
tations of the Devil, starting with Eve. This was certain- Like postmodern theorists, Kramer concluded that
ly the starting point for the misogyny of the Ma l l e u s , human beings could never be certain about reality; any
whose author devoted several pages to explaining phenomenon could be different from what it appeare d
female inclinations to witchcraft, and re c o m m e n d e d to be and could be a demonic delusion. In contrast to
the subject for preaching, because women had a partic- modern philosophers, who denied the reality of
ular desire for instruction. His first demonstration of demons, Kramer denied the reality of re a l i t y. He sus-
the malice of females was the Bible; he then cited pected demons we re omnipresent and (with Go d’s per-
instances of female credulity and their physical quali- mission) extraordinarily powe rful. Although witches
ties, in particular the changeability of their complexion, b e l i e ved they could do harm, it was actually demons
leading to a vacillating nature. He then referred to their who conducted supernatural interventions in order to
s l i p p e ry tongues, which made them share their magic f u l fill their pact and to seduce them. The witch’s crime
with friends, with whom they employed m a l e fic i u m thus in fact became her desire to harm. But no secular
(harmful magic) because they we re too weak to take law imposed the death penalty for mere intentions, so
re venge otherwise. Worst of all, howe ve r, because of witchcraft must there f o re be considered essentially as
their changeability, women were less inclined to believe h e re s y. For Kramer, heresy and apostasy lay at the core of
in God. At this point, Kramer inserted a unique “real- witchcraft; although the witches themselves might have
i s t” etymology of f e m i n a : “f e” is taken as an abbre v i a- thought otherwise, their basic crime was spiritual. Hi s
tion of “fid e s” (belief); combined with the suffix conclusions we re subsequently developed thro u g h
“minus,” it literally translates into “she who believe s examples of specific aspects of witchcraft, including sex-
less.” In the eyes of the Dominican inquisitor, a ual intercourse between humans and demons (either
woman’s lack of belief was the basis for her apostasy and succubi or incubi), shape shifting, the sacrifice of babies,
witchcraft (Speyer 1486, fol. 20–21). and the preparation of witches’ unguents. Ac c o rding to
Kramer’s paranoid emphasis on the dangers triggered K r a m e r, witches intended their harm to be re a l ,
by females contrasts strikingly with the attitude of his although the demons actually did the damage by inter-
main opponent within the German Dominicans, the fering in the real world in order to deceive the witches.
Cologne prior Jacob Sprenger, who instead emphasized K r a m e r’s conclusions we re theologically correct but
the positive aspects of female religious devo t i o n , entailed serious practical contradictions. If harmful
recruiting them for the veneration of Mary. It is charac- magic had no physical agent, it could not be prosecut-
teristic to find Kramer—a persecution specialist whose ed. If witches we re seduced and deceived by demons,
obsessions might be described in terms of “purity and they became victims rather than perpetrators. If cir-
d a n g e r”—engaged in an inquisition in Au g s b u r g cumstantial evidence or direct observations could be
against women who desired the Eucharist too frequent- discarded as devilish illusions (praestigia daemonum, as
l y, who we re in turn defended by a local supporter of Johann We yer later called them), witches could neve r
Sprenger (Koeniger 1923). be tried by a secular court because it was impossible to
The Malleus Ma l e fic a ru m was divided into thre e prove they had committed any crime whatsoever.
parts. The first treated theological issues and the second Surprisingly, after denying the possibility of judging
practical problems; the third offered advice on legal the reality of evidence, Kramer’s sharpest weapon (as he
p ro c e d u res, referring constantly to the author’s exten- must have thought) was his re f e rence to personal
s i ve experience with witchcraft trials. The first part of experience. Besides theological authorities, fir s t h a n d
the original edition (fols. 4r–43r) on theological examples provided Kramer’s foremost evidence for the
720 Malleus Maleficarum |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 758 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.721 Application File
reality of witchcraft. Among roughly 250 examples in legality.Thus Kramer claimed the superiority of apoca-
the Malleus, mostly from the Bible or ancient authors, lyptic theology over law.
at least 75 (nearly 30 percent) refer to recent eve n t s , Fourth, witches were primarily women. Despite the
which Kramer took from tru s t w o rthy contemporaries misogyny of the times, this idea was still uncommon in
or from personal experience. About 10 percent of them theology but was widespread in popular thought, so
came from Sp e yer or its immediate vicinity, furt h e r h e re Kramer’s personal obsessions might have gained
indication that Kramer completed the manuscript of some popular support. Finally, he believed that secular
the Malleus in this imperial city. Most of the rest came c o u rts should prosecute the crime; here again, the
f rom Swabia, Alsace, or Ty rol; a few examples came inquisitor drew conclusions from his own experience
f rom further abroad, usually towns with Do m i n i c a n because he knew how unpopular inquisitors often were
monasteries where Kramer had stayed (Rome, Cologne, in Eu rope north of the Alps. Howe ve r, this idea was
Augsburg, Salzburg, Landshut in Bavaria). also paradoxical because secular courts were reluctant to
The second part of the original Ma l l e u s ( f o l s . prosecute spiritual crimes.
43r–92v) was split into two sections. The first (2.1) A curious, literate public welcomed the Ma l l e u s
described how to protect oneself against witchcraft, Ma l e fic a ru m as the first printed handbook of witch
s p e c i fically against impotence and infert i l i t y, we a t h e r demonology and persecution. Although largely depen-
making, and milk theft; the second (2.2) treated how dent on earlier theologians and inquisitorial hand-
b ewitching could be cured. Again Kramer discussed books, it was a fresh product by an erudite and experi-
demonically caused impotence, infertility, and weather enced author. With twe l ve Latin editions printed in
magic, as well as love magic and demonic possession. Germany and France between 1486 and 1523, T h e
The third part of the Malleus(fols. 92v–129v) explored Hammer of Wi t c h e s could be considered a success,
the legal treatment of witches in great detail, re c o m- although public interest was clearly strongest in the first
mending inquisitorial pro c e d u re as superior to trials ten years when the subject was still novel and the book
based upon accusations, and paying attention to cir- was almost a best seller. Just after the Pro t e s t a n t
cumstantial evidence. In this part, Kramer literally Reformation, the demand for reprints broke dow n
copied large chunks of text from such inquisition man- c o m p l e t e l y. Two generations later, with the Counter-
uals as Nicolas Ey m e r i c’s D i rectorium In q u i s i t o ru m Reformation accelerating, two Venetian printers saw a
(Directory of Inquisitors) of 1376 to provide the neces- renewed demand for the Malleus in 1574 and 1576; in
sary legal formulas for inexperienced judges. the 1580s, three new editions we re printed in Pro t e s t a n t
Pioneers of the intellectual history of demonology like Frankfurt, followed by a fourth in 1600.
Joseph Hansen emphasized that the Ma l l e u s c o n t a i n e d It was France that became the stronghold of Malleus
almost nothing that could not be found in earlier reprints after the Reformation. Demand grew in the
demonologies or inquisitors’ manuals. Because Kramer 1580s, with two editions printed at Lyons in 1584 and
was a Dominican doctor of theology and papal inquisitor, 1595; after 1600, seven further editions were published
and considering the conditions under which he assem- at Lyons, the last in 1669. Significantly, the Malleuswas
bled the Ma l l e u s , that was hardly surprising. Howe ve r, never translated fully into any vernacular language dur-
five points in his Ma l l e u scould be called original. First, it ing the period of witch hunting; the partial translation
s t ressed that witchcraft was a real crime, not just a spiritu- into Polish in 1614 omitted its legal parts. Its reception
al one, and that witches there f o re must be prosecuted and remained confined to highly educated theologians,
d e s e rve capital punishment. Among earlier inquisitors, physicians, and lawyers. Its contents had to be spread, if
this had been a minority position. Second, Kramer at all, through sermons.
claimed that witchcraft is the worst of all crimes because it The upsurge of witchcraft trials in the early 1490s in
combines here s y, including apostasy and adoration of the central Eu rope has traditionally been interpreted as a
Devil, with the most terrible secular crimes such as mur- result of the publication of the Malleus,and some inci-
d e r, theft, and sodomy. Again, this point was not entire l y dents indicate that it had a direct impact. A monastic
n ew, but Kramer focused attention on it. c h ronicler at Eb e r h a rdsklausen, on the Mosel Rive r,
Third, because witchcraft was not only the worst of reported that witches had plagued this region for some
all crimes but also occult and difficult to trace, legal time, but great uncertainty about the matter had made
inhibitions must be abandoned. This idea was original it impossible to prosecute them. Only after reading the
in the sense that no serious lawyer in Europe normally Ma l l e u s did local authorities see how they could pro-
suggested transgressing legal boundaries. His confli c t s ceed against witches—which they did. He re we see a
with local authorities had made Kramer keenly aware kind of “c o n version experience,” but that was a rare
that this position was completely unacceptable under example, and how the Ma l l e u s was generally re c e i ve d
normal circumstances. T h e re f o re, he re s o rted to the remains unclear (Rummel 1990).
claim that witchcraft was an exceptional crime, in It is noteworthy that an early opposition publication
whose pursuit persecutory zeal was preferable to routine was reprinted even more frequently in the 1490s.
Malleus Maleficarum 721 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 759 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.722 Application File
Ulrich Mo l i t o r, a lawyer for the bishop of Constance Alciati, labeled witch hunts in northern Italy as n ova
and a minor official at Archduke Si g m u n d’s court in holocausta. It was certainly not an arbitrary decision of
In n s b ruck, challenged the central assumptions of the the Spanish Inquisition in 1526 to deny any authority
Malleus. Molitor fashioned his text as a conve r s a t i o n to the Malleus.
b e t ween a fanatic believer in witchcraft, Molitor him- Rather than provoking the rising witchcraft perse-
self as an opponent, and Archduke Sigmund as the wise cutions at the end of the fifteenth century, the publi-
a r b i t e r, always reaching reasonable conclusions and cation of the Malleus by this troublesome inquisitor
bluntly denying the possibility of the witches’ flight, the may have simply tried to exploit preexisting popular
w i t c h e s’ Sabbat, and shape shifting. Molitor mere l y fears. Be t ween the 1480s and about 1520, witch burn-
repeated the traditional attitude of the Catholic Church ings or small panic trials occurred not only in places
and indeed promoted a conserva t i ve attitude tow a rd w h e re Dominican inquisitors incited the populace or
sorcery. But this attitude had hitherto prevented witch- w h e re the town council had purchased a copy of the
craft persecutions. Mo re ove r, Molitor went one step Ma l l e u s , but in many places throughout upper It a l y,
further. By excluding theologians from his discourse, he n o rthern Spain, eastern France, Sw i t zerland, we s t e r n
implies that Dominicans or inquisitors should not Ge r m a n y, and the Burgundian Netherlands, even pri-
interfere with legal questions. Illustrated by many excit- or to its publication. In the decades between 1470 and
ing woodcuts, Molitor’s dialogue quickly went through 1520, there we re seve re mortality crises, and scape-
ten reprints in the 1490s, including, unlike the Malleus, goats we re sought. In the early 1480s, plague ram-
translations into vernacular German. Molitor pre s u m- paged widely through Upper Ge r m a n y, Sw i t ze r l a n d ,
ably witnessed Kramer’s inquisitions in both the diocese and eastern France, and the original edition of the
of Constance and the diocese of Br i xen. If this j u r i s Ma l l e u se ven linked witchcraft to plague in one part i c-
utriusque doctor(doctor of both laws, i.e., of canon and ular case, in which a deceased witch had spread the
civil laws) opposed the Ma l l e u s , it was pre s u m a b l y disease from her grave (fol. 38r–38v). Imperial cities
because he knew its author and his illegal methods. like Memmingen or Ravensburg lost much of their
And there are other examples of people re j e c t i n g population in these years, and fears of sudden death
Kramer’s views, either after reading the Malleusor after we re justifiably widespre a d .
meeting him personally. In 1491, the imperial city of Not only witchcraft anxieties but popular piety in
Nu remberg ord e red a summary of the Ma l l e u s f ro m general soared, as we can see in the iconographical rep-
Kramer because of some serious cases of sorc e ry; the resentations of the “Dance of Death,” or in the rise of
famous publisher Anton Ko b e r g e r, who printed millennial fears, with the idea that humanity was living
three editions of the Malleus, was an immediate neigh- in the last age—a time characterized by bitter hardships
bor of Nu re m b e r g’s Dominican convent. Howe ve r, and terrifying signs of the end of the world. Like other
Nu re m b e r g’s magistrates never followed Kramer’s fundamentalist prophets, the author of the Ma l l e u s
advice, and it may not be coincidence that the ideas of points to the book of Revelationin his Apologiato argue
the Ma l l e u s we re ridiculed publicly by leading that the emergence of the witches’ sect was one sign of
Nu remberg humanists like Willibald Pi rc k h e i m e r. In the imminence of the Antichrist.
the imperial city of Augsburg, where Kramer staye d
when traveling between Italy and Alsace and where he WOLFGANG BEHRINGER
became involved in serious quarrels with the local rep-
resentative of Jacob Sprenger’s rosary brotherhood, the
See also:AGRIPPAVONNETTESHEIM,HEINRICHCORNELIUS;
ALCIATI,ANDREA;ANTICHRIST;APOCALYPSE;AQUINAS,THOMAS;
inquisitor was labeled a dru n k a rd by the leading
AUGUSTINE,ST.; BOOKS;CORPOREALITY,ANGELICAND
humanist Konrad Pe u t i n g e r, and it may be no coinci-
DEMONIC;DEMONOLOGY;DEMONS;DOMINICANORDER;
dence that the Malleuswas never printed in this leading
ERASMUS,DESIDERIUS;EYMERIC,NICOLAS;GENDER;GOLSER,
Upper German communications center. One of the GEORG;INNOCENTVIII,POPE;INNSBRUCK;KRAMER,HEINRICH;
most interesting reactions came from a close friend of MOLITOR,ULRICH;SEXUALACTIVITY,DIABOLIC;TYROL,
the recently deceased Jacob Sp re n g e r, who sharply COUNTYOF;WANN,PAULUS.
rejected the idea that Sp renger had any connection to References and further reading:
the Malleus (Klose 1972). By the early sixteenth centu- Ammann, Hartmann. 1890. “Der Innsbrucker Hexenprozess von
ry, the Malleus had clearly become a point of reference 1485.” Zeitschrift desFerdinandeums für Tirol und Vorarlberg34:
1–87.
in intellectual debates: in 1509, defending a woman
———. 1911. “ Eine Vorarbeit des Heinrich Institoris für den
accused of witchcraft at Metz against the machinations
MalleusMaleficarum.”Mitteilungen des Instituts für Österreichis-
of the local Dominican inquisitor, Agrippa vo n
che Geschichtsforschung,Ergänzungsband 8: 461–504.
Nettesheim reacted equally sharply against the non-
Anglo, Sydney. 1977. “Evident Authority and Authoritative
sense proposed in the Ma l l e us. About the same time,
Evidence: The Malleus Maleficarum.” Pp. 1–32 in The Damned
Erasmus of Rotterdam satirized a zealous inquisitor in Art: Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft.Edited by Sydney
his Praise of Fo l l y, and leading Italian jurist Andre a Anglo. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
722 Malleus Maleficarum |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 760 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.723 Application File
Broedel, Hans Peter. 2003. The Malleus Maleficarumand the Schmauder, Andreas, ed. 2001. Frühe Hexenverfolgung in
Construction of Witchcraft.Manchester, UK, and NewYork: Ravensburg.Constance: UVK Verlagsgesellschaft.
Manchester University Press. Schnyder, André. 1993. Malleus Maleficarumvon Heinrich
Geldner, Ferdinand. 1964. “Das Rechnungsbuch des Speyrer Institoris (alias Kramer), unter Mithilfe Jakob Sprengers aufgrund
Druckherrn, Verlegers und Grossbuchhändlers Peter Drach. der dämonologischen Tradition zusammengestellt: Kommentar zur
Mit Einleitung, Erläuterungen und Identifizierungslisten.” Wiedergabe des Erstdrucks von 1487 (Hain 9238).Göppingen:
Archiv für die Geschichte des Buchwesens 5 (reprint from 1962): Kümmerle.
1–196. Segl, Peter, ed. 1988. Der “Hexenhammer”: Entstehung und Umfall
Hansen, Joseph. 1898. “Der Malleus maleficarum,seine des “Malleus Maleficarum” von 1487.Cologne and Berlin:
Druckausgaben und die gefälschte Kölner Approbation vom Böhlau.
Jahre 1487.” Westdeutsche Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kunst ———. 1991. “Malefice... non sunt... heretice nuncupandezu
17: 119–168. Heinrich Kramers Wiederlegung der Ansichten aliorum
———. 1907a. “Heinrich Institoris, der Verfasser des inquisitorum in diversis regnis hispanie.” Pp. 369–382 in
Hexenhammers, und seine Tätigkeit an der Mosel im Jahre Papsttum, Kirche und Recht im Mittelalter. Festschrift für Horst
1488.” Westdeutsche Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kunst26: Fuhrmann zum 65.Edited by Hubert Mordek.Geburtstag,
110–118. Tübingen: M. Niemeyer.
———. 1907b. “Der Hexenhammer, seine Bedeutung und die Siemer, Polycarp M., O. P. 1936. Geschichte des
gefälschte Kölner Approbation vom Jahre 1487.” Westdeutsche Dominikanerklosters Sankt Magdalena in Augsburg
Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kunst26: 372–404. (1225–1808). Vechta: Albertus-Magnus-Verlag der
Jerouschek, Günter, ed. and trans. 1991. “‘Nürnberger Dominikaner.
Hexenhammer’ von Heinrich Kramer: Faksimile der Handschrift Stephens, Walter. 2002. Demon Lovers: Witchcraft, Sex, and the
von 1491.Hildesheim, Zürich, and NewYork: Olms. Crisis of Belief.Chicago and London: University of Chicago
———, ed. 1992. Malleus Maleficarum[Speyer 1486]. Press.
Hildesheim: Olms. Wilson, Eric. 1990. “The Text and Context of the Malleus
Klose, Hans-Christian. 1972. “Die angebliche Mitarbeit des Maleficarum.” PhD diss., Cambridge University.
Dominikaners Jakob Sp renger am He xe n h a m m e r, nach
einem alten Abdinghofer Br i e f.” Pp. 197–205 in Malta
Pa d e r b o rnensis Ecclesia. Beiträge zur Geschichte des Erz b i s t u m s Information on witchcraft practices in Malta comes
Pa d e r b o rn. Festschrift für Lorenz Kardinal Jäger zum 80.
from its Inquisition tribunal archives, luckily saved
Ge b u rt s t a g .Edited by Pa u l - Werner Scheele. Pa d e r b o r n :
from total destruction during the French occupation of
S c h ö n i n g h .
Malta (1798–1800). Witchcraft became a significant
Ko e n i g e r, Albert Maria. 1923. Ein In q u i s i t i o n s p ro zess in Sa c h e n
preoccupation of the Malta Inquisition after the arrival
der täglichen Ko m m u n i o n .Bonn and Leipzig: Verlag Schröder.
of the Apostolic Visitor Monsignor Pietro Dusina in
Kramer (Institoris), Heinrich. 2000. Der Hexenhammer: Malleus
Maleficarum. Kommentierte Neuübersetzung.Edited and trans- 1574. Witchcraft-related proceedings rose in impor-
lated byWolfgang Behringer, Günter Jerouschek, and Werner tance in the mid-1590s. By the early seventeenth cen-
Tschacher. Introduction byWolfgang Behringer and Günter tury, witchcraft cases accounted for one-third of the
Jerouschek. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch. In q u i s i t i o n’s caseload—a level approximately main-
———. 2004. Der Hexenhammer: Malleus Maleficarum.Edited tained until the late eighteenth century.
and translated byWolfgang Behringer, Günter Jerouschek, and Two main factors influenced the ways the Ma l t e s e
Werner Tschacher. 4th ed. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch.
adapted and shaped their witchcraft beliefs. Fi r s t ,
Kramer (Institoris), Heinrich, and James [sic] Sprenger. 1928.
Ma l t a’s crowded urban harbor area was constantly
Malleus Maleficarum: The Classic Study of Witchcraft (1484).
receiving people from neighboring Me d i t e r r a n e a n
Edited by Montague Summers. London: Pushkin. Reprints,
lands and beyond. Second, Malta was an intensely
Arrow, 1971; Bracken Books, 1996. Also published as The
Catholic society, a situation that inevitably colored the
Malleus Maleficarumby Heinrich Kramer and James [sic]
Sprenger.Translated by Montague Summers. London: Peter beliefs and thinking of its inhabitants.
Smith, 1990. Malta’s harbor towns were crowded, with neighbors
Müller, Karl Otto. 1910. “Heinrich Institoris, der Verfasser des able to spy on each other, leaving little room for secrecy.
Hexenhammers und seine Tätigkeit als Hexeninquisitor in Therefore, the more exotic types of witchcraft, such as
Ravensburg im Herbst 1484.” Württembergische cannibalism or night flying, occured only in occasional
Vierteljahreshefte für Landesgeschichte NF 19: 397–417. denunciations by rural villagers in the late sixteenth and
Petersohn, Jürgen. 1988. “Konziliaristen und Hexen: Ein
early seventeenth centuries. But the fact that any poten-
unbekannter Brief des Inquisitors Heinrich Institoris an Papst
tially useful witness would be acquainted with the
Sixtus IV. aus dem Jahr 1484.” Deutsches Archiv zurErforschung
accused and that the accused could not have done these
des Mittelalters44: 120–160.
things without being observed meant that Ma l t e s e
Rummel, Walter. 1990. “Gutenberg, der Teufel und die
Inquisitors rarely took accusations of exotic types of
Muttergottes von Eberhardsklausen: Erste Hexenverfolgung im
Trierer Land.” Pp. 91–117 in Ketzer, Zauberer, Hexen. Die witchcraft seriously.
Anfänge der europäischen Hexenverfolgungen.Edited by Andreas Meanwhile, sophisticated foreign travelers and
Blauert. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. traders introduced new ideas into Maltese society.The
Malta 723 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 761 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.724 Application File
p resence of many people of different cultural back- were expected to have few scruples about violating con-
g rounds made residents of Malta harbor towns more ventional religious standards. They also had more re a-
tolerant of strange ideas and less threatened by them. son to resort to witchcraft in order to entice men, thus
Maltese Holy Of fice re c o rds re veal a steady increase in earning the name of meretrice(prostitute). As with most
witchcraft cases from the 1590s, with the flow of accusa- witchcraft, the court e s a n’s motives can generally be
tions remaining high until the end of the eighteenth cen- reduced to love or gain. But it is clear that the courte-
t u ry, when the tribunal was abolished. The punishments san-witch did not make a fortune from her witchcraft.
i n flicted until the early 1630s we re rather harsh, Another factor featuring prominently in the tri-
although they never ended with the execution of the b u n a l’s thinking, and perhaps even more so in the
accused. Su b s e q u e n t l y, howe ve r, there was no signific a n t thinking of the Maltese urban populace, was the
t rend tow a rd either severity or leniency. By the time of nationality or place of origin of the “suspect.” A good
Inquisitor Fabio Chigi (1634–1639)—later Po p e number of those accused in Ma l t a’s witchcraft trials
Alexander VII—the tribunal came to adopt a more we re in fact foreign-born. The English trave l e r
b u reaucratic approach, with more thorough examina- George Sandys, who visited Malta in 1610, com-
tions of witnesses and more formal and detailed re c o rd- mented how Malta was a place that saw an influx of
ing pro c e d u res. The tribunal settled into a routine that people of all kinds. Many of them had moved into
enabled it to look conscientiously into each case. the harbor area, particularly Valletta, from the
Nonetheless, its basic methods for handling witchcraft Maltese countryside. Many residents of Valletta came
remained unchanged throughout the tribunal’s existence. f rom Si c i l y, other parts of It a l y, Greece, or elsew h e re ,
not counting the large number of Muslim slave s .
Maltese Witchcraft Practices Four main groups stand out: Greeks, Si c i l i a n s ,
A fairly clear distinction separated the type of witchcraft French, and male Muslim slaves serving the Order of
pursued by men from that practiced by women. Me n , St. John. It was mainly foreigners residing in Ma l t a ,
both clerics and others, concentrated on such potential- rather than transients, who we re accused of witch-
ly pro fitable brands of magic as tre a s u re hunting. craft. Such foreigners we re more likely to practice cer-
Perhaps the best Maltese necromancer of the early sev- tain types of witchcraft in order to gain a living in a
enteenth century was the military engineer and member strange environment. Male Muslim slaves we re
of the Order of St. John, Fra Vittorio Cassar. Wo m e n e x p e rts in divination, healing, and to some extent
also shared men’s fascination for buried tre a s u re, but e ven love magic. But in the latter category, women of
they almost monopolized most types of divination, con- Greek origin seem to have been particularly sought
juration, and m a l e fic i u m (harmful magic), especially after—and also to bring about impotence. Mo re ove r,
those aimed at love magic. Healing was also largely for the elderly, unmarried, or widowed popular heal-
u n d e rtaken by women, although a few clerics and some ers of the countryside, witchcraft offered a way of
s l a ves—largely Muslims, as well as a few members of the gaining a certain prestige as well as providing a means
Jewish minority—attempted it for pro fit. Maltese men of surv i val. A similar pattern emerged from the accu-
and women displayed fundamentally divergent motive s sations against the male Muslim slaves, who we re out
in their attempts to manipulate supernatural forc e s : to amass enough money to ransom themselves fro m
b a s i c a l l y, men merely sought gain, whereas women’s s l a ve ry and return home.
m o t i ves we re more varied and complex.
L ove magic was practiced primarily by unmarried Punishments
women, including widows (who were not always elder- As in other branches of the Roman Inquisition, the sud-
ly). Married women occasionally resorted to love magic den increase of witchcraft-related cases in the 1590s
to win a husband back from another woman (though m a rked a pronounced shift in the In q u i s i t i o n’s priorities,
some simply accused the other woman of love magic which is more easily identified than explained. Sixtus V’s
herself). Married women also resorted to divination to 1586 bull against magic was clearly significant in this
a s c e rtain whether or not their husbands, away at sea, context, describing the types of activity most common-
were still alive and, if so, if they had remained faithful. ly dealt with by the Inquisition in the 1590s and early
Others used more passive forms of love magic to soften 1600s, although the first serious clampdown on witch-
a husband’s harsh treatment of them. Conve r s e l y, the craft in Malta appears to have taken place immediately
fact that a woman was in a stable marriage argued great- after the terrible outbreak of plague in 1592–1593 and
ly in her favor if denounced, particularly since women m o re specifically from 1595 onward .
under male supervision could be better controlled. The In q u i s i t i o n’s public punishments for witchcraft
Poor moral behavior contributed greatly toward sus- offenses certainly succeeded in adve rtising its disap-
picions of witchcraft. This was one reason why courte- proval of such activities, although they did not dissuade
sans featured so much in the list of those denounced. people from practicing such beliefs, as the continual
Living outside re c o g n i zed moral norms, court e s a n s flow of accusations throughout the late seventeenth and
724 Malta |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 762 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.725 Application File
eighteenth centuries shows. On such occasions, the Marwick, Max, ed. 1970. Witchcraft and Sorcery.Harmondsworth,
methods used were meant to ensure adequate publicity England: Penguin Education.
and humiliation for the penitent. Penitents were made Salelles, Sebastianus. 1651–1656. De Materiis Tribunalium S.
Inquisitionis.3 vols. Rome: Collinius.
to stand at the Annunciation Church run by the
Sandys, George. 1637. A Relation of a Journey Begun An. Dom.
Dominican friars or, more rarely, at the parish Church
1610. Foure Bookes. Containing a description of the Turkish
of St. Lawrence, both in Vittoriosa, holding a lighted
Empire, of Aegypt, of the Holy Land, of the remote parts of Italy
candle during High Mass, usually on a feast day, to
and ilands adjoyning. London: Andrew Crooke.
ensure that the largest possible audience witnessed the
event. Public scourging, the tribunal’s other main form Mandrake
of punishment, was inflicted in the main squares of
The mandrake plant, Mandragora officinarum, is prob-
Vittoriosa, and the penitent was then usually exiled.
ably the best-known poisonous herb found in the
Howe ve r, the tribunal’s primary aim was to corre c t
witches’ pharmacopoeia. Mandrakes were the subjects
rather than punish. Hence, tort u re was generally
of much folkloric herbal beliefs, including the concept
re s e rved for those unwilling to accept this corre c t i o n ;
that the plants generated at the foot of a gallows from
Ma l t a’s witches we re never executed, not even in the
the semen of the executed. Mandrake plants were thus
mass trials of the early seventeenth century.
considered to be partially “human” and to have roots
By the late 1640s, the tribunal had almost accepted
that resembled either the lower limbs or genitalia of
witchcraft as a fact of life in Malta and had established its
human males or females. Sixteenth-century herbals
own routines for dealing with it. The number of vo l u n-
commonly presented the “male” and “female” varieties
t a ry confessions for witchcraft increased by the
of the plants. For example, such plants are shown in
m i d - s e venteenth century and remained steady right up
Johannes de Cuba’sHortus Sanitatus,a sixteenth-centu-
to the last years of the tribunal. Nonetheless, it appears
ry herbal published in Frankfort.
that Maltese society began to frown upon witchcraft
Being partly human, mandrake plants were thought
practices, indicating that the tribunal’s policy of publiciz-
to emit horrible screams when harvested, which gave
ing its dealings with known offenders had indeed paid
rise to the folk belief that a dog should be employed to
o f f. Obv i o u s l y, the Inquisition had not been successful in
draw up the root because the scream of the plant could
eradicating witchcraft from Maltese society. Some witch-
kill a human. Early herbals sometimes show this
es saw little to fear from the Holy Of fice. They either
method of harvest employing such “d ru g - s n i f fin g
b e l i e ved they would never be caught, or even if they
we re, the mild punishment did not deter them. Po p u l a r
magic outlasted the tribunal, which was suppressed in
1798. Some Maltese even seem to have been virt u a l l y
addicted to witchcraft as a way of life. Thus, it continued
to be practiced in the form of healing and as a way to
w a rd off the evil eye, right into the twentieth century.
CARMEL CASSAR
See also:INQUISITION,ROMAN;LOVEMAGIC.
References and further reading:
Bonnici, Alexander. 1990–1994. Storja tà l-Inkizizzjoni.3 vols.
Malta: Religjon u Hajja.
Cassar, Carmel. 1993. “Witchcraft Beliefs and Social Control in
Seventeenth-Century Malta.” Journal of Mediterranean Studies
3, no. 2: 316–334.
———. 1996. Witchcraft, Sorcery, and the Inquisition. A Study of
Cultural Values in Early Modern Malta.Malta: Mireva
Publications.
———. 2000. Sex, Magic, and the Periwinkle. A Trial at the Malta
Inquisition Tribunal, 1617.Malta: Pin Publications.
———. 2002. Daughters of Eve: Women, Gender Roles, and the
Impact of the Council of Trent in Catholic Malta.Malta: Mireva
Publications.
Cassar-Pullicino, Joseph. 1976. Studies in Maltese Folklore.Malta:
University of Malta.
Ciappara, Frans. 2001. Society and the Inquisition in Early Modern
Malta.Malta: Publishers Enterprises Group. Poisonous plant linked to witches and thought to grow under gallows
Douglas, Mary, ed. 1970. Witchcraft: Confessions and Accusations. from the semen of the executed. Because the mandrake was partly
London: Tavistock Publications. human, it emitted screams when pulled. (TopFoto.co.uk)
Mandrake 725 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 763 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.726 Application File
dogs.” Other items of mandrake folklore stated that contribution to the history of witchcraft with his 1968
one should not dig up the herb until sunset and that doctoral thesis, Magistrats et sorciers en France au XVIIe
one should not dig if it was windy. Witches digging siècle(Magistrates and Witches in Seventeenth-Century
mandrake roots at night at the foot of a gallows are France).
shown in a painting from about 1650 by David Teniers Secretary of the cutting-edge French journal Annales:
the Younger (found today in the Staatliche Ku n s t h a l l e Economie, Sociétés, Civilisations from 1954 to1962 and
in Karlsruhe, Germany). Teniers depicted a witch busi- then Lucien Febvre’s successor at the prestigious École
ly digging up a root while a freshly harvested mandrake Pratique des Hautes Études before becoming professor
root stands nearby, looking ve ry humanoid in its of history at the University of Paris-X (Nanterre) in the
appearance. re vo l u t i o n a ry year of 1968, Ma n d rou is best re m e m-
Like other poisonous plants thought to be used by b e red today as a pro l i fic scholar. He published many
witches, mandrake contains hyoscyamine, atro p i n e , widely read books, starting with A Hi s t o ry of Fre n c h
and scopolamine. These drugs affect the cardiovascular Civilization that he coauthored with Georges Duby in
system and can produce hallucinations or make the 1958 (English translation, 1964). T h ree years later
individual think he or she is flying or floating. As with came Ma n d ro u’s pioneering exe rcise in the history of
other poisonous herbs used by witches, mandrake could m e n t a l i t é s (mentalities—the ideas and values that a
also be manipulated by a witch without causing her society shares), his In t roduction to Mo d e rn Fra n c e ,
death, or it could be simply made up into a poison. 1500–1640: An Essay in Historical Ps yc h o l o gy ( En g l i s h
Od d l y, although mandrake was considered the ve ry translation, 1975), which has remained in print contin-
epitome of a poisonous plant used by witches, it was uously for forty years. In 1964 came another pioneering
also believed that it could be used effectively to tre a t work, not yet translated, analyzing French popular cul-
someone who was possessed. (One presumes that this ture in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries through
was due to the herb’s sedative effects.) the contents of chapbooks from the Bibliothèque bleue
Mandrake roots are probably the witches’ poisonous ( Blue Library) of Troyes. Another synthetic work ,
herbs most commonly depicted in the visual arts of the France in the Sixteenth and Se venteenth Ce n t u r i e s
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Aside from their (1967), preceded Ma n d ro u’s thesis on witchcraft. An
p resence in herbals, one also finds mandrake roots in interesting monograph on the Fuggers as landed gentle-
various seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry paintings. Ap a rt from the men in Swabia (translated into German in 1997) fol-
Teniers painting, they include Wi t c h e s’ Sa b b a t by the lowed it in 1969. (A forced laborer in Germany during
Flemish artist Frans Francken the Yo u n g e r, completed World War II, Mandrou admired many things German
in 1607 and owned by the Kunsthistorisches Museum and often spent his vacations there.) Louis XIV in Hi s
in Vienna. A male mandrake root is prominently shown Ti m e (1973) completes the list of Ma n d ro u’s major
in the painting’s central area, close to several witches titles. His final book, an edited collection of texts titled
who are working m a l e ficia. Two of these poisonous Possession and Wi t c h c raft in Se ve n t e e n t h - Ce n t u ry Fra n c e
herbs also appear in a drawing by the seventeenth-cen- (1979), returned to the topic of his dissertation.
t u ry Dutch artist Jacques de Gheyn, entitled Wi t c h e s’ A generation after it first appeared, only parts of
S c e n e , n ow in the Musée des Be a u x - A rts, Re n n e s , Ma n d ro u’s sprawling investigation of the treatment of
France. witchcraft by French appellate judges—above all, those
who sat on the bench of the Parlement of Paris, proba-
JANE P. DAVIDSON
bly the most prestigious secular court in sixteenth- and
See also:DOGS;DRUGSANDHALLUCINOGENS;HERBALMEDICINE; s e ve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry Christendom—have endured as
TENIERS,DAVIDTHEYOUNGER. a u t h o r i t a t i ve contributions to witchcraft scholarship.
References and further reading:
Of its three parts (the medieval heritage to 1600; the
Davidson, Jane P. 1987. The Witch in Northern European Art,
major scandalous trials of the early 1600s, often linked
1470–1750. Freren, Germany: Luca.
to demonic possession; and the pro g re s s i ve abandon-
Grieve, M. 1931. A Modern Herbal.London: Jonathan Cape.
ment of the crime of witchcraft at the appellate leve l
Lewis, Walter H., and M. P. F. Elvin-Lewis. 1977. Medical Botany.
after 1640), one can say that its scholarly credibility has
NewYork: John Wiley and Sons.
Müller-Ebeling, Claudia, Christian Rätch, and Wolf-Dieter Storl. been utterly eroded at the front but barely affected at
2003. Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, the back. Mandrou’s first section is now completely dis-
and Forbidden Plants.Translated by Annabel Lee. Rochester, credited, but his second part retains partial validity, and
VT: Inner Traditions. his final section has suffered only minor damage from
subsequent critics.
Mandrou, Robert (1921–1984) Despite its impre s s i ve bibliographical apparatus (345
One of extremely few distinguished French academics published primary sources plus a survey of French par-
from a working-class background, Mandrou made the l i a m e n t a ry arc h i ves), the greatest weakness of Ma n d ro u’s
single most important twe n t i e t h - c e n t u ry Fre n c h thesis has been its inadequate use of primary sourc e s
726 Mandrou, Robert |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 764 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.727 Application File
f rom French p a rl e m e n t s ,a b ove all the Pa rl e m e n tof Pa r i s . as a Christian heresy (see the influential fourth-century
Be l i e v i n g — i n c o r rectly—that its p l u m i t i f s ,or draft min- text Acta Archelai), its roots were in Zoroastrianism,
utes of deliberations in criminal cases, we re unre a d a b l e , with influences from Christianity and Buddhism. Mani
Ma n d rou blandly assumed that Parisian appellate judges described himself as the promised Paraclete of God
routinely confirmed upw a rd of 90 percent of all death (Kephalaia 1:9–14) and the ultimate prophet (the title
sentences for witchcraft until well into the seve n t e e n t h “Seal of the Prophets” is later used by Mohammed
c e n t u ry, when Cartesian skepticism took hold. [Sura 30:44]), who had received a final, angelic revela-
Un f o rtunately for Ma n d rou, within a decade of publish- tion of the divine character of the universe at the age of
ing his thesis, an expatriate American had successfully twenty-four and then had begun an aggressive evange-
d e c i p h e red over 1,000 of these plumitifs f rom cases of lism across the Persian Empire. Among the factors that
witchcraft and demonstrated that the Pa rl e m e n tof Pa r i s helped spread his faith was its simplicity, its emphasis
had a l w a y s— e ver since the fif t e e n t h - c e n t u ry Va u d e r i e on a dualistic universe, and the injunction to translate
d’ Ar ra s —practiced the level of judicial skepticism about his teaching to all peoples in their own language.
witchcraft that Ma n d rou assumed it had acquired only In his conception of the human predicament, Mani
by 1640 (Soman 1977). Su b s e q u e n t l y, additional work described three ages (past, present, and future) and a
in provincial French p a rl e m e n t shas similarly shown per- dualistic universe in which a continuous stru g g l e
sistent judicial skepticism about witch hunting at the occurred between the Kingdom of Light, with its focus
appellate level throughout the French kingdom. T h e being the Father of Greatness, and the Kingdom of
e a r l y - s e ve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry “crisis of Sa t a n i s m” lying at Darkness, ruled by the Prince of Darkness and his five
the center of Ma n d ro u’s second section never occurre d , evil archons (demon, lion, eagle, fish, and dragon). At
at least not at the level of French appellate court s . the heart of this struggle was the desire of the Father of
However, Mandrou saw correctly that a few spectac- Greatness to separate and return all his particles of light
u l a r, we l l - p u b l i c i zed cases of demonic possession did that had become trapped within the flesh of animals
much to change educated public opinion about witch- and plants during the process of the creation of the
craft in France by the mid-seventeenth century; subse- earth. It was the task of the evil forces coextensive with
quent scholarship continues to highlight such cases as the forces of light to excite sexual lust and gluttony
Urbain Gr a n d i e r, the Jesuit parish priest of Loudun within all created beings, keeping the light part i c l e s
who was accused of bewitching an entire convent of impossibly commingled and thus lost to the Kingdom
Ursuline nuns—and now we understand far better why of Light. When their efforts failed, small pieces of light
C a rdinal Richelieu never permitted the Pa rl e m e n t o f became disentangled from the darkness, and the sun
Paris to intervene in his trial. Similarly, Mandrou’s final and the moon functioned as two chariots bringing these
section on the decriminalization of witchcraft through- pieces back from the world to the Father of Greatness.
out France slighted its close connection with the In the final age, a total conflagration of the earth would
scandalous “Affair of the Po i s o n s” (1679–1682) but occur, ending with a complete separation of light from
remains an otherwise authoritative account. d a rkness, with the forces of evil sealed away fore ve r
within a bottomless pit.
WILLIAM MONTER
Following the creation of the earth, Eve was seduced
See also:AFFAIROFTHEPOISONS;ARRAS;FRANCE;FUGGERFAMILY; by an evil archon and subsequently gave birth to Cain.
HISTORIOGRAPHY;LOUDUNNUNS;PARLEMENTOFPARIS; She then engaged in an incestuous relationship with
POSSESSION,DEMONIC.
both Cain and Abel, endangering humanity. Adam and
References and further reading:
his first son Seth we re taught by “Jesus of Light” to
Mandrou, Robert. 1968. Magistrats et sorciers en France au XVIIe
adopt an ascetic lifestyle, which would protect the light
siècle.Paris: Plon.
p a rticles within them. This discipline was then pro-
———, ed. 1979. Possession et sorcellerie en France au XVIIe siècle.
posed by Mani as the basis for the rule of life of the
Paris: Pluriel.
Soman, Alfred. 1977. “Les procès de sorcellerie au Parlement de elect, a select body within his community whose minds
Paris (1565–1640).” Annales: Economies, Sociétés, Civilisations had been freed by the divine spirit No u s ( k n ow l e d g e )
32: 790–814. and who maintained strict ascetic practices, including
sexual abstinence, poverty, and vegetarianism. The elect
Manichaeism we re not allowed to practice magic, own pro p e rt y,
During the Middle Ages, ideas derived fro m engage in commerce, kill animals, or even cut or step
Manichaeism, a Near Eastern religious movement, on plants because these living beings contained part i-
influenced the formation of the inquisitorial stereotype cles of light (re f e r red to as the substance of the divine
of the witch. Based on Gnostic principles and founded “Suffering Jesus”). The elect were assisted by a group of
by the Iranian prophet Mani (216–277 C.E.), auditors who pre p a red their meals and performed all
Manichaeism spread east as far as China and west into mundane tasks for the religious community.The audi-
North Africa and southern Europe. Although described tors had a less rigid regimen but would not be directly
Manichaeism 727 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 765 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.728 Application File
f reed at death to join with the Father of Gre a t n e s s ; number of Manichaean ideas as developed by the
instead, they would have to be reincarnated as vegetable Cathars. In describing witches as heretics, inquisitors
matter. All those who were not brought to this revela- claimed that they, in the manner of dualist heretic, had
tion we re reincarnated as animals and eventually sank exaggerated the power of the Devil, so much so that
into the dark regions of the Netherworld. they actually worshipped him. The description of sexu-
Christianity found Manichaeism heretical for many al promiscuity and gluttony at the witches’ Sa b b a t
reasons, starting with Mani’s teaching that the soul suf- derived ultimately from the Manichaean belief that evil
fered not from a weak and corrupt will but from con- forces had excited these passions in order to keep light
tact with matter, which entrapped the light within the entrapped in matter. St. Augustine’s description of sex-
flesh. Evil was not the result of human sin but a physi- ual irregularities at the assemblies of Manichaeans gave
cal reality; personal misfortunes we re miseries to be m e d i e val demonologists an authoritative source for
endured, not the result of sins. The independent power such accusations. The claim that witches trampled on
of the evil forces also clashed with God’s omnipotence the cross as a symbol of their rejection of Christianity
and was refuted by several Church Fathers (Serapion of when making a pact with the Devil derived ultimately
Thmuis, Tertullian, Titus of Bostra) on the grounds of from the Manichaean and Cathar rejection of all physi-
human free will versus dualistic determinism. Among cal material as evil.
the arguments made against the passive avoidance or
VICTOR H. MATTHEWS
a b h o r rence of evil in Manichaeism is that it did not
allow credit for the human ability to overcome evil. See also:DEVIL;HERESY;SEXUALACTIVITY,DIABOLIC.
Ul t i m a t e l y, it became the practice in the Middle Ages References and further reading:
to label as Manichaeism any dualist Christian here s y, such Barber, Malcolm. 2000. The Cathars: Dualist Heretics in Languedoc
as the tenth-century Bogomils (founded among the Sl a v i c in the High Middle Ages.Harlow, UK: Longman.
peasants of the Balkans) and the Cathars. It is clear that Lieu, Samuel N. C. 1999. Manichaeism in Mesopotamia and the
both of these groups adopted aspects of Ma n i c h a e i s m , Roman East.Leiden: Brill.
Mirecki, Paul A. 1992. “Manichaeans and Manichaeism.” Pp. iv:
including strict vegetarianism, abstinence from sexual
502–511 in The Anchor Bible Dictionary.Edited by David N.
i n t e rcourse, and drinking wine as a way of avoiding con-
Freedman. NewYork: Doubleday.
tact with the abominable. The contrast between the opu-
Polotsky, Hans J., and Alexander Böhlig, eds. 1940. Manichäische
lent wealth of the Ort h o d ox Church and nobility and the
Handschriften der Staatlichen Museen Berlin I.Kephalaia,pt. 1.
physical misery of the Slavic peasants made them re a d y
Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer.
c o n ve rts to Bogomilism’s ascetic dogma and allowed them Russell, Jeffrey B. 1992. Dissent and Order in the Middle Ages.
to participate in passive resistance, abstaining from vio- NewYork: Twayne.
lence against animals or humans. Spencer, Colin. 1995. The Heretic’s Feast: A History of
The Cathars, strict dualists and iconoclasts, appeare d Vegetarianism.Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.
first in the 1140s in Italy and spread across southern
France and Spain. Although there we re a number of sects Marchtal, Imperial Abbey of
i d e n t i fied as Cathars, they all shared the belief that the As in several other small states in southwe s t e r n
d e s t ruction of war and natural catastrophes we re evi- Germany, witch hunting at Marchtal reached a peak
dence of the De v i l’s rule over the world and that Go d between 1586 and 1596, but an extremely late witch
either could not or did not choose to interf e re. The bat- panic took place between 1745 and 1757 that resulted
tles between divine forces took place on a cosmic rather in the execution of six women and the death of anoth-
than an earthly level. The Cathar community, divided er in jail. This self-governing Premonstratensian Abbey,
into auditors, believers, and the perfect, there f o re battled refounded in 1171 by Pfalzgraf Hugo II of Tübingen
against matter (even to the extent of replacing water bap- and his wife Elisabeth, had its seat on the edge of the
tism with the c o n s o l a m e n t u m , laying on of hands by a Swabian Alb and belonged to the Swabian Circle of the
p e rfect). All flesh or earthly product was considered the Holy Roman Empire. Its abbots, who were authorized
essence of evil, and thus pro c reation was avoided because to establish a Hochgericht (high court) to hear capital
it would result in another soul being trapped in a bodily trials in 1518, gradually enlarged their properties and
prison. The goal was to achieve perfection and liberation rights until Marchtal controlled over twenty villages
f rom the world through the obtaining of knowledge fir s t with a total population of about 2,700 by the eigh-
re vealed by Jesus, the messenger. Because the Cathars teenth century. Marchtal developed a three-level juris-
i d e n t i fied the official Church as a lying institution estab- diction, with a chief justice in Obermarchtal as the
lished by the Devil to keep humanity enslaved within the highest secular magistrate.
b o d y, they we re fie rcely attacked and condemned as a Ma rc h t a l’s witchcraft trials share one salient charac-
danger to the Church and to civil ord e r. teristic: accusations of m a l e fic i u m(harmful magic) origi-
In constructing the stereotype of the witch, medieval nated especially in one village, Alleshausen, located on
demonologists drew upon and also misre p resented a the Federsee, where the peasants possessed a signific a n t
728 Marchtal, Imperial Abbey of |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 766 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.729 Application File
p o rtion of the land and often defied the abbot’s contro l . from diabolical malice. Later he argued that reason dic-
At the initial trials in 1586, the Vo g t ( g ove r n o r ) , tates the existence of witchcraft. His final argument
Be r n h a rt Bitterlin (who unsurprisingly came from the implied that neither secular laws nor scientific logic was
Federsee area), played a decisive role. He inve s t i g a t e d decisive, but that witchcraft was constituted by nature.
the charges of witchcraft in Alleshausen and used tort u re In the end, it was the same elite of Alleshausen, who
to obtain the names of the witches’ accomplices. Un d e r had begun this cycle of persecutions, who brought an
the government of Abbot Konrad Frey (1571–1591) end to witch hunting. The Am t m a n n ( b a i l i f f) of
and his successor Johannes Riedgasser (1591–1600), Alleshausen offered a new interpretation of the dam-
Ma rc h t a l’s witchcraft trials we re most intense and re s u l t- ages attributed to witchcraft: the harm to livestock, he
ed in the death of at least forty-nine people. The abbots said, was not provoked by witches but caused by the
g a ve their secular magistrates plenty of rope, not acceler- peasants through their disre g a rd for proper animal
ating or pre venting or alleviating witchcraft trials in h u s b a n d ry. In this way, the concept of witchcraft no
their territory. Later, around 1627–1628, at least five longer provided an adequate explanation. Afterw a rd ,
m o re women we re convicted. Witchcraft accusations in two newly appointed Gu t a c h t e rf rom Schussenried and
Ma rchtal usually followed the same pattern, but the Ulm took the same position re g a rding the reality of
responses of the authorities to the accusations we re less witchcraft. No further trials we re opened after 1757.
p redictable. Especially after the T h i rty Ye a r s’ Wa r
CONSTANZE STÖRK
(1618–1648), the authorities rejected several denuncia-
tions from Alleshausen and punished the accusers. In See also:CAROLINACODE(CONSTITIOCRIMINALISCAROLINA);
1745, the political and economic elite of Alleshausen, ECCLESIASTICALTERRITORIES(HOLYROMANEMPIRE); GERMANY,
who officiated at the local court, once again assumed the
SOUTHWESTERN;HOLYROMANEMPIRE;PANICS.
References and further reading:
role of the primary prosecutors. During the lawsuit, they
Dengler, Robert. 1953. “Das Hexenwesen im Stifte Obermarchtal
also became influential members of the high court in
von 1581–1756.” PhD diss., University of Erlangen.
Ob e r m a rchtal. They complained that a poor woman,
Midelfort, H. C. Erik. 1972. Witch Hunting in Southwestern
Catharina Schmid, had used witchcraft to destroy her
Germany, 1562–1648: The Social and Intellectual Foundations.
a f fluent neighbors’ pro p e rty because of a grudge against Stanford: Stanford University Press.
them. Schmid was arrested but did not confess. So Jo s e f Störk, Constanze. 2003. “‘Mithin die natürliche Vernunnfft selbst
von Sättelin (mayor of the Catholic part of the imperial dictiert, das Es hexen gebe.’ Hexenverfolgung in der
city of Biberach from 1741–1764) was consulted as a Reichsabtei Marchtal 1586–1757.” Master’s thesis, University
Gutachter (judicial expert) to advise the court in the of Tübingen.
conduct of the trial. At first, von Sättelin proposed to
release Catharina Schmid from jail and to re i n t e g r a t e
her into Alleshausen; according to the Caro l i n a C o d e Maria Theresa, Holy Roman
(the imperial law code, 1532), he stated, there had not Empress (1717–1780; ruled 1740–1780)
been sufficient evidence to justify the application Maria Theresa was a reforming empress whose skepti-
of tort u re, only rumors. But the prominent inhabitants cism regarding witchcraft contributed to its decriminal-
of Alleshausen ignored this unwelcome advice and ization in Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia.
expanded her trial with new accusations, now also As the eldest daughter of Holy Roman Em p e ro r
d i rected against the accused’s daughter, Ma r i a Charles VI, who had no male heir, Maria Theresa was
To r n h ä u s e r. They wanted both women convicted, and h e i ress of the house of Habsburg, archduchess of
they finally succeeded: after languishing in jail for nine Austria, and queen of both Hungary and Bohemia; but
months, the mother accepted her daughter’s denuncia- she became empress only through her husband, Du k e
tion. Despite his scruples, Josef von Sättelin no longer Francis of Lorraine, who was elected Holy Ro m a n
objected to their execution, which took place on Em p e ror in 1745. She had married him before begin-
Ma rch 9, 1746. ning to rule after her father died in 1740. Although the
During the rule of a new abbot, Edmund Sa rt o r major European powers had officially accepted Charles
(1746–1768), another five suspected women we re VI’s Pragmatic Sanction (which guaranteed the right of
accused. Four of them were convicted of witchcraft and female succession within Habsburg lands) at the time
e xecuted, two in Ma rch 1747 and two more in of its proclamation in 1713, Prussian challenges to
November 1747, and the fifth died in jail in Oc t o b e r Maria T h e re s a’s succession provoked a seve n - year war
1747. Von Sättelin’s Gutachten (judicial opinions) and at first pre vented her husband from becoming
re vealed an interesting transformation. His later emperor. Ultimately, she fended off these and addition-
Gu t a c h t e n we re no longer informed by the Caro l i n a al affronts to emerge as one of the Ha b s b u r g s’
Code. Instead, he now made additional trials possible longest-reigning and most successful monarchs. As the
by arguing that witchcraft was caused by a pact with the only woman Habsburg ru l e r, she is best re m e m b e re d
Devil, as demonologists said, and necessarily stemmed for her successful defense of her realm; her Catholic
Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress 729 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 767 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.730 Application File
piety; and an enlightened commitment to political, the Habsburg lands. The contradictory purposes of the
legal, social, and educational reform. patent became clear from the titles of its first few sec-
This commitment emerged clearly in her attitude tions, which juxtaposed the outlawed activities in ques-
t ow a rd witchcraft. As early as the mid-1750s, we have tion (“the offense of sorcery”) with a series of qualifiers
evidence of Maria T h e re s a’s personal skepticism re g a rd- stressing the frivolity of the threat: “delusion,” “creduli-
ing magical crimes through her reaction to accounts of t y,” “false,” “fraud,” and “m a d n e s s” (Kern 1999,
va m p i res and witches in Moravia and Bohemia. In 165–166). Its following sections contributed va r i o u s l y
response, she dispatched an inve s t i g a t i ve commission to a basic dichotomy informing all legal pro c e e d i n g s
that included two physicians, Johannes Gasser and concerned with magical events: extremely rare diaboli-
Christian Vabst. After receiving their re p o rt, she consult- cal crimes versus widespread and potentially criminal
ed her own principal court physician, Ge r a rd va n i l l u s i o n a ry beliefs. Sections 1 and 2 established the
Swieten, director of the Hofbibliothek (Na t i o n a l practice of magic as an outlawed activity.
L i b r a ry) and reformer of the Un i versity of Vienna, who Nonetheless, section 3 reformulated the way magical
c o n c u r red with the recommendations of his medical col- crimes should be understood in a skeptical tone, imply-
leagues: crush such superstitions through political powe r. ing that most matters concerning sorcery or witchcraft
It is worth noting that, like Maria T h e re s a’s later witch- coming before the courts stemmed from popular igno-
craft patent, van Sw i e t e n’s 1755 treatise on va m p i re s rance. It accordingly established a legal basis for pro-
a f firmed the reality of miracles and Sa t a n’s earthly powe r s ceeding in such cases with a considerable degree of
b e f o re it upheld the virtues of natural science and doubt. Sections 4 and 5, which created the possibility
exposed the dangers of ignorance. In Ma rch 1755, the of distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate cases,
e m p ress forbade her subjects from following their cus- directly emphasized this issue; section 6 firmly prohib-
t o m a ry practices when fears of the supernatural led to ited investigators from using superstitious methods in
s p e c i fic allegations of harm. Instead, the authorities must their inquiries. The decree further indicated that only
i n vestigate all cases involving va m p i res (magia postuma) , the sove reign had the authority to investigate and
apparitions, witchcraft, tre a s u re hunting, or diabolical decide cases that might have legitimate merit; thus, sec-
possessions using rational means. By Ja n u a ry 1756, the tions 7 and 12 created exc l u s i ve legal pre ro g a t i ves for
g overnment of Maria T h e resa ord e red that the roy a l the sove reign and her legal counselors. The re m a i n d e r
appeals court in Hu n g a ry automatically re v i ew all deci- (sections 8–11, 13, and 14) delineated careful guide-
sions by lower courts involving charges of witchcraft. In lines for proceeding with investigations, emphasizing
response to such a trial in the Tabor district of Bohemia, the need for skeptical inquiry. Its final two sections (15
she issued a resolution on July 30, 1756, stating, “It is and 16) extended those guidelines to the investigation
c e rtain that witches are found only where ignorance is; and suppression of continuing widespread popular
c o r rect this and no more will be found. [The accused] is superstitions. Not only we re witchcraft trials to be
no more a witch than I” (Kern 1999, 170). stopped, but also the folkloric beliefs sustaining accusa-
The empre s s’s attitude tow a rd witchcraft is best tions of witchcraft should be stamped out.
re flected in her gove r n m e n t’s Artikel von der Za u b e re y, The paradoxical message of Maria Theresa’s “Article
He xe re y, Wa h r s a g e re y, und dergleichen (An Article on on Sorcery” hinged on a reassessment by state authori-
So rc e ry, Witchcraft, Divination, and Si m i l a r ties of the threat that magical activities posed to
Activities), issued on November 5, 1766 (Kern 1999). Austrian society and a new conception of the state’s role
Although trials for witchcraft had been on the wane for in addressing it. Policy-makers did not see the Devil or
decades in the western lands of the Habsburg monar- his minions as real threats to social order, and beliefs in
chy, they persisted in the eastern kingdoms of Bohemia the Devil’s powers had lost currency among most, but
and Hungary. By the 1750s, Maria Theresa had already not all, the educated and politically powe rful elites in
begun to take steps to suppress trials for witchcraft, but Habsburg lands. Because of the stronghold of
this edict made them virtually impossible to prosecute s t a t e - s p o n s o red Catholic ort h o d oxy on Au s t r i a n
by the late 1760s. Compiled by a court commission religious practice, skeptical medical and legal scholars
d i rected by Count Michael Johann von Althann for like van Swieten or von Althann could not denounce
inclusion in a forthcoming penal code, the patent fills demonic magic and witchcraft outright, because the
s e venteen printed pages, in which the empre s s’s legal manifest powers of the Devil and the possibility of his
advisers defined the prohibited activities and outlined m a l e volent intercession remained tenets of Christian
their prosecution. faith. Instead, officials sought to downplay the powers
Although the Artikel n ow h e re denied the reality of of the Devil, attributing beliefs in demonic magic and
diabolical magic, it had the overall effect of seve re l y m a l e fice to the inherently superstitious populace.
limiting the possibility of prosecuting anyone for Although the impetus for constructing the 1766 patent
witchcraft. Its text and tone suggest that although dia- emerged from Maria Theresa’s efforts to reform crimi-
bolical sorcery was possible, it certainly did not occur in nal and civil law and create a judicial system based on
730 Maria Theresa, Holy Roman Empress |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 768 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.731 Application File
the abstract principle of justice, Bohemian and i m p o rtance. It became especially obvious on those occa-
Hungarian witch and va m p i re cases during the 1750s sions in the late Middle Ages and the early modern
and 1760s provided a more concrete stimulus. epoch when a woman showed signs both of being a mys-
tic and a witch. The peasant Chiara Signorini, con-
EDMUND M. KERN
demned in 1519 at Modena, manifested a complex mix-
t u re of veneration of the Virgin Ma ry and magical
See also:AUSTRIA;BOHEMIA;DECLINEOFTHEWITCHHUNTS;
HOLYROMANEMPIRE;HUNGARY;SKEPTICISM;SWIETEN, practices. Signorini conceded under tort u re that she had
GERARDVAN;VAMPIRE. caused many people to fall ill by demonic help.
References and further reading: Howe ve r, she also confessed to being close to the Vi r g i n ,
Kern, Edmund M. 1999. “An End to Witch Trials in Austria: who (and not a demon) actually caused these maladies,
Reconsidering the Enlightened State.” Austrian History in order to re venge herself after being offended. In
Yearbook30: 159–185. l a t e - s e ve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry No r m a n d y, Marie Benoist de
Klaniczay, Gabor. 1990. The Uses of Supernatural Power: The
la Boucaille was a famous healer and ecstatic who
Transformation of Popular Religion in Me d i e val and Ea rl y - Mo d e rn
claimed to have had many visions of Ma ry, Jesus, and
Eu ro p e .Princeton, NJ: Princeton Un i ve r s i t yPress.
God; but she also showed a De v i l’s mark and was con-
Mary, the Virgin demned for witchcraft and false pro p h e c y. “Re a l” witch-
Though there are only a few re f e rences to the mother of es usually avoided any veneration for the Virgin, at least
Jesus in the New Testament and Jesus himself had a a c c o rding to their confessions. Many of them, when
rather distanced relation to her, Ma ry became, at least denying Jesus, had to abuse his mother also. Ac c o rd i n g
f rom the Carolingian epoch onward, the second most to the Malleus Ma l e fic a ru m (The Hammer of Wi t c h e s ,
i m p o rtant holy fig u re in Christianity, with her cult 2.2), witches called her the “fat woman.”
reaching its peak in the late Middle Ages. Some late Especially from the fifteenth century onward, a huge
m e d i e val prayers addressed Ma ry as more powe rful than number of popular blessings have been re c o rded that
Jesus because he has to be obedient to his mother. Sh e address the Mother of God, the Virgin, or the suffering
was painted as Virgin of Me rc y, beneath whose mantle mother, sometimes begging for help in love affairs but
her adepts found protection not only against demons but more often seeking protection from illness and danger-
also especially against the wrath of God the Fa t h e r, who ous animals (especially snakes, because the De v i l
d e s i res to destroy sinful mankind. Many e xe m p l at a u g h t seduced Eve in that form and Mary was called the sec-
that Jesus could forgive a sinner who had offended him, ond, sinless Eve). To further this aim, apocryphal situa-
but never one who had offended his mother. The Vi r g i n , tions we re created, as in the following early modern
m o re than other saints, was used to exo rcise and High German charm: When Jesus was wounded by the
C h r i s t i a n i ze places vowed to another religion; after anti- arrows of two demons, his mother came and agreed to
Jewish pogroms, for example, Marian sanctuaries we re help him, if he would give her half of the earth and half
regularly erected on the place of the former synagogue. of heaven. Jesus promised, and Ma ry called fif t y - five
In connection with witchcraft, several aspects are of angels and healed her son; in the same way, the pains of
i n t e rest: Did the Virgin appear in charms and magic? the person saying this charm would be healed. Fro m
What did the witches think of her? Could she protect the standpoint of religious psyc h o l o g y, male-centere d
even a sorceress? Christianity obviously re q u i red a female “g o d d e s s”
The protection of the Virgin was thought to be of nearly as mighty as the male god himself, a superhuman
the greatest power against the Evil One; her name can woman onto whom cravings for motherly nurture and
be found in many an apotropaic charm. Ma ry helped understanding can be projected. T h e re f o re, the thir-
e ven those who made a pact with Satan, the most teenth-century mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg literal-
famous proof of which was the miracle story of ly called her g o e t t i n n e (goddess) in her work T h e
Theophilus, told in all Eu ropean tongues. This origi- Flowing Lightof the Godhead (Mechthild of Magdeburg
nally Byzantine motif could even apply to rueful sorcer- 1998, 3.1; 3.4). Meanwhile, Lollards abused the Virgin
esses. In the Dutch play Marieken van Ni e u m e g e n ( c a . as a witch, and Luther re versed Mechthild by calling
1500), the protagonist Marieken (i.e., “little Ma ry” ) her an Ab g ö t t i n (idol) (Luther 7: 568, 573 f.). Ma ry,
made a pact with an incubus, but she had to change her also, like her son, became a rich subject for blas-
name in order to stop the power of her patron saint. phemies, for example, cursing “by Mary’s limbs” or “by
She, howe ve r, chose Emma (where the first letter of the Virgin’s cunt,” and was often abused as a whore in
Mary’s name appears twice) and was saved in the end. Italy. But there is also evidence that the Virgin became
Although the confrontation between the Virgin Ma ry the object of male sexual fantasies, expressed in many
and demons was a standard motif of preachers, she did miracles with visions of Mary kissing or even lactating
not play any important role in specialized antiwitchcraft her celibate admirer.
theology or practices of the Church. For women of all Ma ry’s cult provoked a definitely negative re a c t i o n
kinds, their relation to the Virgin was of central f rom Protestant reformers. In Tridentine Catholicism,
Mary, the Virgin 731 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 769 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.732 Application File
Mary’s glory was exalted even higher as she became the in Boston. During In c rease Ma t h e r’s long mission in
p a t roness of eve ry anti-Protestant action, including England (1688–1692) negotiating a new charter for
military ones. The triumphant Catholic Church spread Massachusetts, Cotton at the age of twenty-five was left
the iconography of the Immaculate Conception—the in charge of the largest congregation in New England.
woman of the Apocalypse crushing the snake under- The author of over 400 works, Cotton Mather com-
foot—over all countries under her rule, and her famous bined modern scientific interests, or “rational philoso-
apparitions and miracles at Lourdes and Fatima have phy,” with a strong belief in the existence of witchcraft.
helped maintain her veneration until the present day. No Puritan better displayed the seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry
New England curiosity about the physical unive r s e
PETER DINZELBACHER
than Mather did in his Curiosa Am e r i c a n a
See also: CHARMS;CURSES;JESUS;THEOPHILUS. (1712–1724). An avid reader of current scientific litera-
References and further reading: t u re, Cotton Mather was familiar with the writings of
Algermissen, Konrad, et al., eds. 1967. Lexikon der Marienkunde. such mechanistic philosophers as René De s c a rt e s ,
Regensburg: F. Pustet. Pierre Gassendi, and Robert Boyle. His lifelong interest
Beinert, Wolfgang, and Heinrich Petri. 1984. Handbuch der in scientific issues earned him membership in the Royal
Marienkunde.Regensburg: Pustet.
Society of London, and his account of the smallpox
De Fiores, Stefano. 1986. Nuovo dizionario di Mariologia.
inoculation episode of 1721 was published in the soci-
Cinisello Balsamo: Editiones Paulinae.
ety’s transactions. The best example of Cotton Mather’s
Dinzelbacher, Peter. 2000. Handbuch der Religionsgeschichte im
s c i e n t i fic attitude is his Christian Philosopher: A
deutschsprachigen Raum. Band 2. Hoch- und Spätmittelalter.
Collection of the Best Discoveries in Nature, with Religious
Paderborn: Schöningh.
———. 2001. Heilige oder Hexen? Schicksale auffälliger Frauen in Im p rove m e n t s (1721), where he pronounced Is a a c
Mittelalter und Frühneuzeit.4th ed. Düsseldorf: Albatros. Newton “the Perpetual Dictator of the Learned Wo r l d
Graef, Hilda. 1965. Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion. in the Principles of Natural Ph i l o s o p h y” (p. 65). Hi s
London: Sheed and Ward. magnum opus was Magnalia Christi Americana(1702),
Luther, Martin. 1883ff.Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe.58 vols. an ecclesiastical history of New England from its
Weimar: Herman Böhlau and successor,Weimarer Ausgabe. founding to his own time.
Mechthild of Magdeburg. 1998. The Flowing Light of the Godhead.
Cotton Ma t h e r’s belief in witchcraft was influ e n c e d
Translated by Frank Tobin. NewYork: Paulist.
most by William Pe rkins, the prominent En g l i s h
Orth. 1933. “Maria in den Segen.” Pp. 1,663–1,671 in
Puritan preacher and demonologist, whose Discourse of
Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens5. Berlin: de
the Damned Art of Wi t c h c ra f t (1608) made him the
Gruyter.
chief authority in seve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry England on
Roscini, Gabriele M. 1960. Dizionario di Mariologia.Rome:
Editrice Studium. witchcraft; by the Cambridge Platonist He n ry Mo re ,
Schreiner, Klaus. 1994. Maria: Jungfrau, Mutter, Herrscherin. whose Antidote Against Atheism(1653) not only accept-
Munich: Hanser. ed the reality of witches but even upheld their sexual
Warner, Marina. 1976. Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of i n t e rcourse with the Devil; by the famous Pu r i t a n
the Virgin Mary.NewYork: Knopf. p reacher Richard Ba x t e r, whose Ce rtainty of the Wo rl d
of Sp i r i t s (1691) related many abnormal events as evi-
Mather, Cotton (1663–1728) dence of the invisible power of spirits; and lastly by
Cotton Matter was New En g l a n d’s most celebrated Joseph Gl a n v i l l’s Saducismus Triumphatus, or Full and
Puritan and a staunch believer in the reality of witchcraft. Plain Evidence Concerning Witches and Ap p a r i t i o n s
Mather played an important role in the case of the (1681), which attempted to ground the belief in witch-
Goodwin children in Boston in 1688 and later in the craft scientifically on the basis of unshakable evidence.
witch hunting in Salem in 1692–1693. During these To the thought of these authorities on witchcraft,
years, Cotton Mather advanced his views on witchcraft in Mather added a uniquely American perspective; he was
p r i vate correspondence, sermons, and books: A Discourse obsessed with the view that the Devil had waged a war
on Wi t c h c raft (1689), Me m o rable Providences, Relating to against Puritan New England since its founding: “The
Wi t c h c rafts and Possessions (1689), and The Wonders of the New En g l a n d e r s a re a People of Go d” settled in
Invisible Wo rl d(1692). Mather preached that witches re p- America, which was “once the De v i l Te r r i t o r i e s”
resented the De v i l’s special war against New England, but (emphasis in the original). Hence it was “a ro u s i n g
his actions usually discouraged witch hunting. alarm to the Devil, when a great Company of English
The son of Increase Mather, minister of the Second Protestants and Pu r i t a n s , came to erect Eva n g e l i c a l
C h u rch in Boston and president of Ha rva rd College, churches” in America. The Devil, accordingly, “tried all
Cotton Mather (named for his grandfather, Jo h n sorts of Methods to overturn” New England. Events in
Cotton) entered Ha rva rd College at the age of twe l ve Salem proved that an “Army of the De v i l s is horribly
and earned his MA in 1681, at age eighteen. In 1685 he b roke in upon” the land, and the witches found there
was installed as his father’s assistant at Second Church are evidence of an “An Horrible Plot” on the part of the
732 Mather, Cotton |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 770 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.733 Application File
“ Devil against New En g l a n d” (Mather 1693c, 13–14, and its outcome troubled so many that in June the gove r-
74). New England there f o re played a crucial role in nor turned to leading ministers for advice. In re s p o n s e ,
fighting the Devil; as Jesus resisted the Devil in the Cotton Mather composed “The Return of Se ve r a l
wilderness, so now New England should stand against Ministers,” which urged caution in relying on the use of
the De v i l’s temptation in the wilderness of America spectral evidence (an image of a person visible only to the
(Mather 1693c, 174–178). witchcraft victim whom the specter was said to have
Cotton Mather’s first practical encounter with witch- attacked in some way) in court. Howe ve r, the re p o rt
craft came in the case of the Goodwin children in nonetheless urged “the speedy and vigorous Pro s e c u t i o n”
Boston in the summer of 1688, a story he described in of those guilty of witchcraft (Mather 1693b, 291). T h e
Me m o rable Providences, Relating to Wi t c h c rafts and judges paid more attention to the second re c o m m e n d a-
Possessions (1689). An old Irish widow, Ma ry Gl ove r, tion than to the first, giving the girls enormous power to
had confessed to be in league with the Devil, bewitch- manipulate the court. Ac c o rd i n g l y, by July 19 five more
ing the four children of John Goodwin and practicing women had been exe c u t e d .
image magic. Be f o re she was hanged in Boston in Cotton Mather’s eschatological visions ran high dur-
November 1688, Mather twice visited Mary Glover in ing that time; events in Salem signified that “there nev-
jail; he claimed “she never denied” her guilt of “witch- er was a poor plantation, more pursued by the wrath of
craft,” or of “her confederacies with the devils,” or “her the Devil,than our poor New England” (Mather 1693c,
c ovenant with hell” (Hall 1991, 272). Fo l l owing her 74). On August 4, 1692, he delivered a sermon warning
execution, Cotton Mather preached a suitably damning that the Last Judgment was at hand. Calculating from
sermon on the threat of witchcraft, asserting that Biblical evidence that the year 1697 would be the year
“Witchcraft is the most Mo n s t rous and Horrid Ev i l” of the End, he deemed New England as leading the
because it is ‘a Renouncing of God, and Advancing of final charge against the Devil and his minions. Se e i n g
the filthy Devil into the Throne of the Most High. . . . the affairs in Salem as proof of an “Horrible Plot against
Witchcraft is a renouncing of Christ, and preferring the the Country by Wi t c h c r a f t” aiming to “Bl ow up, and
Communion of a loathsome lying De v i l .” And give n pull down all the churches in the Country,” Ma t h e r
“t h e re are witches, we are to suppose that there are urged New Englanders not to “allow the Mad Dogs of
devils too” (Mather 1689b, 98–99). Hell” to have the upper hand (Mather 1693c, 14, 22).
Four years later, Cotton Mather was caught up in the By late September 1692, the witchcraft hysteria
drama of the largest witch hunt in New England. But reached its peak, and eight more women had been
we must remember two things about his role. First, his hanged. Worried about the trials, Phips again turned to
father In c rease had returned from England in Ma y the spiritual leaders for advice. In Oc t o b e r, In c re a s e
1692, and the younger Mather deferred to his leader- Mather composed his Cases of Conscience, c h a l l e n g i n g
s h i p. Second, Cotton Ma t h e r’s behavior (not unlike the court’s procedures head-on by denouncing the use
that of many Eu ropean Protestant ministers facing of spectral evidence and arguing that it was better for
witch hunts) displayed a curious mixture of public ten suspected witches to escape than one innocent per-
endorsement for these prosecutions and private warn- son be condemned, a view endorsed by many ministers.
ings about their dangers. Howe ve r, Cotton Mather was given the official trial
Se ve n t e e n t h - c e n t u ry New England exhibited many transcripts and in the same month composed T h e
signs of a witch craze: a large witch hunt claiming twe n t y Wonders of the Invisible Wo rl d , which described the
deaths, more than half of the total victims for all New c o u rt proceedings favo r a b l y. The gove r n o r, howe ve r,
England, occurred in Salem in 1692 (nineteen accepted Increase Mather’s views and abolished the spe-
Massachusetts men and women and two dogs we re cial court. Soon the storm was over.
hanged for witchcraft, and one man was pressed to death Ro b e rt Calef, a Boston merchant who hated Cotton
for refusing to plead to the indictment). The first witch- Ma t h e r, read The Wonders of the Invisible Wo rl das both a
craft accusations occurred in Salem Village, a parish of j u s t i fication of the trials and an attempt to minimize
the town of Salem, in early Fe b ru a ry 1692. Two yo u n g Ma t h e r’s own role. Calef claimed that Cotton Ma t h e r
girls fell into strange fits, much like those in the case of was constantly warning that “the Devils we re walking
the Goodwin children in Boston, and soon other girls in about our St reets with lengthen Chains making a dre a d-
the village exhibited the same behavior. Claiming that ful noise in our Ears” (Calef 1700, preface). The tru t h ,
witches we re afflicting them, the girls provided names of of course, was more complicated. The younger Ma t h e r
villagers, who we re arrested and put in jail on charges of n e ver repudiated his father’s loathing of spectral evi-
witchcraft. Facing a growing witchcraft hysteria, the new dence, which had fueled the Salem witch hunt. If
g overnor of Massachusetts, Sir William Phips, estab- Cotton Mather persuaded authorities to proceed with
lished a special court of Oyer and Terminer on May 27, the execution of George Bu r roughs, a former Sa l e m
1692, to hear and determine the witchcraft cases in m i n i s t e r, despite Bu r ro u g h s’s ability to recite the Lord’s
Salem. On June 10 the first execution occurred. The trial Pr a yer perfectly while on the gallows, this interve n t i o n
Mather, Cotton 733 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 771 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.734 Application File
must be set against Cotton Ma t h e r’s visible desire to College from 1685 to 1701 whose Cases of Conscience
a void turning Me rcy Sh o rt’s “unnatural affli c t i o n s” into C o n c e rning Evil Spirits Personating Me n(1693), a re s p o n s e
a witchcraft case at Boston during 1692–1693 (Boye r to the Salem trials, quoted numerous witchcraft tre a t i s e s ,
and Nissenbaum 1974, 24–26). Although Cotton some now neglected.
Mather repeated his original views on the Salem trials in Evidence of demonic activity at Salem divided pas-
his Magnalia Christi Am e r i c a n a (1702), his later diaries toral opinion in the Massachusetts Colony. Ju d g e s
re veal re g ret for his role in the trials and exe c u t i o n s . a p p e a red naively to dismiss the possibility that Go d
could allow the Devil to assume the shape of an inno-
AVIHU ZAKAI
cent person to perform evil. On June 15, 1692, seve r-
See also:BAXTER,RICHARD;GLANVILL,JOSEPH;GOODWIN al Cambridge ministers wrote to the Salem judges,
CHILDREN;MATHER,INCREASE;MORE,HENRY;NEWENGLAND; warning that “a demon may, by Go d’s permission,
PERKINS,WILLIAM;SALEM;SPECTRALEVIDENCE.
appear even to ill purposes, in the shape of an inno-
References and further reading:
cent, yea, and a virtuous man” (I. Mather 1980, 290).
Boyer, Paul, and Stephen Nissenbaum. 1974. Salem Possessed: The
On August 1 the conclave commissioned Mather to
Social Origins of Witchcraft.Cambridge: Harvard University
write Cases of Conscience. By the time Gove r n o r
Press.
William Phips re c e i ved it, the trials we re essentially
Calef, Robert. 1700. MoreWonders of the Invisible World. London.
Demos, John P. 1982. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the ove r.
Culture of Early New England. NewYork: Oxford University In c rease and his son Cotton Mather disagreed ove r
Press. Salem. Cotton conceded that spectral evidence was
Hall, David, ed. 1991. Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New unreliable but defended confessions as sufficient proof
England: A Documentary History, 1638–1692.Boston: of guilt (C. Mather 1980, 14–16). His Wonders of the
Northeastern University Press. Invisible Wo rl d was rushed into print before In c re a s e’s
Levin, David, ed. 1960. What Happened in Salem?Documents
Cases of C o n s c i e n c e , though he had begun the former
Pertaining to the Seventeenth-CenturyWitchcraft Trials.2nd ed.
after the completion of his father’s work. Cotton
NewYork: Harcourt, Brace and World.
seemed to rebut his father’s arguments pre e m p t i ve l y
Mather, Cotton. 1688. “The Possessions of the Goodwin
( Hall 1988, 262–263). Contemporaries evidently
Children.” Pp. 267–275 in Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-
thought so: Increase formally denied in a postscript to
Century New England: A Documentary History, 1638–1692.
Edited by David Hall. Boston: Northeastern University Press, Cases of Conscience that the two books disagreed (I.
1991. Mather 1980, 288–290).
———. 1689a.Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and They did agree on the fascination of the “invisible
Possessions. Boston. world.” In 1696 In c rease published An g e l o g ra p h i a a n d
———. 1689b. “A Discourse on Witchcraft.” Pp. 96–106 in A Disquisition Concerning Angelical Apparitions, with a
What Happened in Salem?Documents Pertaining to the subtitle that revealed intimate connections with Salem:
Seventeenth-CenturyWitchcraft Trials.2nd ed. Edited by David
“ In Answer to a Case of Conscience, Sh owing that
Levin. NewYork Harcourt, Brace and World, 1960
Demons Often Appear Like Angels of Light, and What
———. 1693a. “The Return of Several Ministers... upon the
Is the Best and Only Way to Pre vent Deception by
present Witchcraft in Salem.” Pp. 288–291 in The Wonders of
Them.”
the Invisible World: Being an Account of the Tryals of Several
Like Joseph Glanvill, He n ry Mo re, and others, the
Witches Lately executed in New England. London, 1862.
———. 1693b.The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being an Mathers considered proofs of witchcraft necessary to
Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately executed in New rebut modern “Sadducees,” who reputedly doubted the
England. London, 1862. reality of “s p i r i t”—angels, demons, ghosts, and the
———. 1693c. The Wonders of the Invisible World: Observations as i m m o rtal human soul. “Sadducism [s i c] is a degree of
Well as Historical as Theological, upon the Nature, the Number, atheism, and commonly ends there i n” (I. Ma t h e r
and the Operation of the Devils. Boston. 1 6 9 6 b, sig. K3v). An g e l o g ra p h i abegins: “T h e re are such
———. 1721. The Christian Philosopher.Edited byWinton U.
beings as angels. They are not mere entia rationis [ b e i n g s
Solberg. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
d e fined by reason alone], imaginary beings, or appari-
Mather, Increase. 1693. Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirit
t i o n s . . . . The Sadducees said.. . that the angels are not
Personating Men.Boston.
real beings, but only apparitions and impressions made
Middlekauff, Robert. 1971 The Mathers: Three Generations of
in the minds of men” (I. Mather 1696a, 5).
Puritan Intellectuals, 1596–1728. NewYork: Oxford University
Press. Allusions to Salem (which was never mentioned by
Smolinski, Reiner, ed. The Threefold Paradise of Cotton Mather: An name) implied proof of demonic reality: “some who
Edition of “Triparadisus.”Athens: University of Georgia Press. object that the age wherein we live has no demoniacks,
or possessed persons, do from thence suspect the whole
Mather, Increase (1639–1723) Gospel of fabulosity or imposture. That there are
In c rease Mather was an American Puritan minister, in this age energumens, late examples amongst
theologian, and demonologist; president of Ha rva rd o u r s e l ves (and more than a few of them) are an awful
734 Mather, Increase |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 772 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.735 Application File
The Puritan minister Increase Mather and the title page of his Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits,1693. (Corbis)
c o n v i c t i o n . . . .” (I. Mather 1696b, sigs. K3v–K4r). References and further reading:
Evil demons implied good angels: “t h e re are evil Hall, Michael G. 1988. The Last American Puritan: The Life of
angels: men cannot but perc e i ve that. . . f rom the bod- Increase Mather.Hanover, NH: University Press of New
ily possessions. . . if there are evil angels, reason saith England for Wesleyan University Press.
they we re once good. . . . And if the evil angels we re Hoffer, Peter Charles. 1996. The Devil’s Disciples: Makers of the
Salem Witch Trials. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
once good, we may rationally conclude that there are
Mather, Cotton. 1980. The Wonders of the Invisible World: Being
some who are, as originally they we re, holy spirits”
an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in
(I. Mather 1696a, 7).
New-England.Amherst, WI: Amherst Press. Reprint of 1862
Good angels are still present: “Their appearings are
reprint of 1693 original.
in a great measure ceased, but their working is not”
Mather, Increase. 1696a. Angelographia, or A Discourse Concerning
(I. Mather 1696a, 63). Both Mathers sought appari- the Nature and Power of the Holy Angels, and the Great Benefit
tions of good angels soon after Salem: In c rease con- Which True Fearers of God Receive byTheir Ministry, Delivered
vinced himself of experiencing one in September 1693, in Several Sermons. ToWhich Is Added a Sermon Concerning the
and Cotton soon followed suit (Hall 1988, 273). Sin and Misery of the Fallen Angels; Also a Disquisition
Concerning Angelical Apparitions.Boston: B. Green and J.
WALTER STEPHENS
Allen.
See also:ANGELS;CONFESSIONS;CORPOREALITY,ANGELICAND ———. 1696b. A Disquisition Concerning Angelical Ap p a r i t i o n s .
DEMONIC;DEMONS;MATHER,COTTON;SALEM;SPECTRAL Sigs. K3r–M8v in An g e l o g raphia. or A Discourse Concerning the
EVIDENCE. Na t u re and Power of the Holy An g e l s .Boston: B. Green and
Mather, Increase 735 |
Wicca | Richard M.Golden - Encyclopedia of Witchcraft - The Western Tradition | 773 | 46049 Golden Chap.M av First Pages 08/25/2005 p.736 Application File
J. Allen. cousin, who would become Em p e ror Fe rdinand II
———. 1980. Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Sp i r i t s (1578–1637) were the most prominent rulers during a
Personating Me n .P p. 218–291 in The Wonders of the In v i s i b l e generation of witch hunters. Furthermore, Maximilian,
Wo rld: Being an Account of the Tryals of Se ve ral Witches Lately
like his father, was married to a Lorraine princess,
Executed in Ne w - En g l a n d .By Cotton Ma t h e r.Amherst, W I :
Elisabeth Renée (1574–1635), and thus closely allied
Amherst Press. Reprint of 1862 reprint of 1693 original.
with the rulers of this prolific witch-hunting duchy.
“Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription
Despite all his zeal, however, Maximilian was a very
Project.” University of Virginia.
cautious ruler, consuming his energies in the service of
http://etext.virginia.edu/salem/witchcraft/home.html (accessed
November 11, 2003). his people and spending many hours each day studying
mountains of files. He was unwilling to tolerate admin-
Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria i s t r a t i ve sloppiness, especially in the administration of
(1573–1651, ruled 1597–1651) the law.These positive aspects of Maximilian’s personal-
Educated as a witch hunter, the cautious Du k e ity may have motivated Ba va r i a’s estates to secure his
Maximilian never became one because he could not father’s early resignation, thus ending the terrible witch
readily determine the guilty witch from the innocent hunt of the years around 1590 and securing a more
accused. Bavaria’s iron prince-elector had replaced his capable young ruler.
father Wilhelm V “the Pious” of the Wittelsbach This calculation worked out, at least to some extent.
dynasty (1548–1626, r. 1579–1594/1597) during the Maximilian knew how to use witch-hunting rhetoric
1590s, when Bavaria was close to bankruptcy, before but never turned into a witch hunter himself. After
formally succeeding him in 1597. Maximilian became some executions in 1600, when zealous councilors
one of very few German princes who ruled before, dur- attempted to launch a general witch hunt thro u g h o u t
ing, and after the Thirty Years’War. As the founder and Ba varia, re p re s e n t a t i ves of the estates and the Pr i v y
head of the Catholic League, he took action against Council stopped them, and Maximilian conceded a
Frederick V in 1618, when this prince-elector of the re v i ew of the legal pro c e d u re. As a result of obv i o u s
Palatineline of the Wittelsbachs was elected king of i r regularities and after heated debates within his gov-
Bohemia. Maximilian’s army crushed the Protestant ernment, Maximilian agreed to the expensive procedure
army in 1620 at the battle at the White Mountain near for asking legal opinions from different parts of Europe,
Prague, terminating Frederick’s kingship after only one including German governments and law faculties, two
winter. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II subse- Italian universities, and demonologists from Lorraine
quently rewarded his cousin Maximilian’s support by ( Nicolas Rémy) and the Spanish Netherlands (Ma rt í n
transferring the Palatine electoral vote to the Bavarian Del Rio), all of which had to be discussed by his coun-
Wittelsbachs in 1623. As leader of the Catholic League, cilors in written legal opinions. In conclusion, the
Maximilian became so deeply embroiled in warfare that witch hunt was terminated, and legal pro c e d u res in
his duchy was occupied twice during the war by foreign general we re re v i ewed. The Court Council, whose
troops and lost about half of its population, mainly detailed minutes re c o rded its sessions, controlled the
through epidemic diseases rather than military action. lower courts more tightly. No torture was to be applied
Bavaria emerged from the war exhausted but intact, in Bavaria without the Court Council’s written consent.
while Maximilian secured both the title of prince-elec- A general legal reform was begun, including the most
tor and the territory of the Upper Palatinate for his suc- detailed legislation anywhere in Eu rope against super-
cessor. In his political testament, however, he recom- stition, magic, and witchcraft, forty printed pages alto-
mended to his son Ferdinand Maria never to wage war g e t h e r, compiled between 1608 and 1612. A local
except for the purpose of national defense because it judge, who had deceived the Court Council in order to
placed too heavy a burden on the people. conduct a local witch hunt in the Ba varian exc l a ve of
The Spanish Jesuit Gre g o ry of Valencia, a ze a l o u s Wemding, was sentenced to death in 1613.
demonologist, pre p a red Maximilian to be a witch Although hundreds of cases of magic and witchcraft
h u n t e r. Gre g o ry literally spent days with his yo u n g we re scru t i n i zed in Ba varia during Ma x i m i l i a n’s long
pupil in the tort u re chambers, as we learn fro m reign, there we re few executions. To the great disappoint-
Maximilian’s letters to his father in Munich. At the age ment of some of his councilors, particularly his Je s u i t
of sixteen, Maximilian had to watch the trials of witch- confessor Adam Contzen and the faction around the
es at Ingolstadt. T h roughout his long life, Ma x i m i l i a n zealous court councilor Dr. Johann Si g m u n d
was ready to support witch hunts. Many of his coun- Wa g n e reckh, Maximilian never became a witch hunter,
cilors and officials, some educated at the University of despite all his verbal radicalism. His hesitation was moti-
Ingolstadt in the same years, harbored similar ideas; vated not by doubts re g a rding the reality of witchcraft or
many of the Franconian prince-bishops whom the existence of witches, but by the difficulties of distin-
Maximilian recruited into the Catholic League had also guishing genuine witches from innocent people who
matriculated at Ingolstadt. Maximilian and his Austrian we re exposed to suspicion by the enemy of mankind, the
736 Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.