Witchcraft

The notion itself has got many meanings such as witchery or spell-craft. It was quite complex and wide-spread, as much as forbidden. The belief in and practice of magic was perceived as a treachery and treason, actions against the Church and the holly spirit. Regardless of what had been said, the alchemy and healing practices were combined altogether alongside with the onset of medicine. Witchcraft is very much indeed combined with paranormal, magical activity such as: necromancy, shamanism, spiritualism, occult and possession.

In 1466 the book was published, it was revolutionary manifesto called "Malleus Maleficarun" " The Hammer of the Witches". German Dominican – Henrich Kramer, so-called witch-finder stated:

"(...) Magicians who are commonly called witches, are thus termed on account of the magnitude of their evil deeds. These are they who by the permission of God disturd the elements who drive to distraction of minds of men, such as have lost their trust in God, and by the terrible power of their evil spells, without nay actual draught or poison, kill human beings (...)"

Exodus says 'Though shalt not suffer a witch to live'. And so the story goes, in the period of the Reformation and after, thousands of hundred of men and women met their faith – death. All of them were convicted of witchcraft. The conviction was closely associated with ' cunning folk'. It must be remembered it was the late medieval period, the power of magic permeates the whole society. There are three ideas of magical witchcraft. First and the most treacherous is so called black magic – maleficium – it was very harmful magic which is triggered against people. These people were practitioners of white magic – so-called white witches or 'cunning folk'. The third – essential precondition of the trials was demonic, diabolic witchcraft.

The black and white magic were quite separate branches of belief. White witches or cunning folk were common and simple individuals, easily distinguished among the group of shepherds or blacksmiths. They practiced the sideline of white magic. Their actions were on purpose to protect their livestock. The most precious goods of that period. The healers as they were commonly called offered sorts of cures, old folk recipes – extremely welcomed in pagan times. The origins itself were very, very old, dating back to pre-Christian beliefs. It was at first limited to speak blessings over animals. The protection of them was an essential for the survival. The healing properties of herbs and plants made people believe – they will be spared from diseases and harmful spells of black magic.

There was nothing mysterious in these practices, it was pure shamanism, shamanistic rituals. Shamans always, continuously searched for knowledge, they tried to find out how the world got its onset and how it worked long time before ... .

The attempts helped them to deal with the every-day misfortunes and hardships of life. The most common were diseases and death.

The reformation changed the notion of belief. At the very beginning of the reformation the panic began, it was a fast torrent of events which couldn't have been stopped; the Church was outraged. The process of changes will last centuries.

The inquisitors' power was immerse, 'Malleus' started process of manslaughter and murders. The year of 1485 was a year of panic and disorientation. The times were violent and uneasy. The witch hunt began. Years 1560s and 1580s, The Catholics and Protestants were zealous in witch hunting. Surprisingly, the most notorious country was not the USA but Germany. There were reported more than 20.000 executions. Catholics and Protestants hated each other and out of the sudden they found the common enemy – witches. The position and the perception of women are completely polarized by those two. Mary Stuart was venerated and prized by Catholics, Protestants for instance, saw her as an unquestionable example for all Christians, however, she was a person to be venerated, at all. Catholics saw the importance of women, their spiritual role in church. The Catholic church in the Middle Ages was a cluster of beliefs and ideas, it was not a coherent notion which made firm image people could look upon; it was imperfect, canopy, riven; namely, there was not one universal truth that must have been conveyed, there were several notions, one and the utmost one was a devil! It got loose! The notion of witchcraft was already formed before the Reformation broke out, the ideas were already shaped. The image was vivid. Very common and unquestionable were trials over heresy, the persecution easily implemented the idea of the Devil into the charges, it was very convenient and quick judgement. The court wanted details, debate, discussion about the problem. The Pope was not longer perceived as a leader, pre-Reformation period describes him as Antichrist – the Devil. The damnation was the greatest tool of all.

The details tend to be very terrible, unscrupulous and vindictive. It made the judgement itself, the jury was not needed. The early modern period between 15000 and 1700 is called the Little Ice Age. The temperatures were very low, the dissatisfaction tremendous, the witch craze – overwhelmingly immerse. The outcome must have been tragic. The doctrines and ideology – both were very influential. ' The Hammer of the Witches' played its significant role. It was describing women in a very misogynistic manner. They had no chance to survive the persecution. It must be underlined – the book itself is badly gruesome one! Germany played the key role in witch-hunt, where, the trials and executions were the most obvious. Italy and Spain used less drastic tools, which didn't result in many trials and executions. England and Scotland – had just a few cases and mild outcome of the witch-hunt heat.

The image of the Devil was treacherous! The basic idea went back to sexuality, sexual desires and the outcome of the sin. The Devil is about to seduce women, he is a seducer – an unscrupulous manipulator who tries to win by means of his cunning action the supreme position over the God's one. Women were perceived as vulnerable an weak, the Devil, fills their expectations and needs, desires – women do not have or cannot take control of. For instance, the Medieval image of witches and its actions is associated with Sabbath. It was the first step to call what was literally not harmful as heresy and law breaking. The symbolism is crucial to have a full image of a witch. A witch with a broom or a goat and a cat. The cat is quite an intriguing subject, very often connected with sexuality mostly because it is an ambivalent creature.

The Enlightenment and changes in human mentality eased and eventually stopped the witch-hunt. People believed in witches, yet, lost confidence of their actions and procedures, ti stopped being relevant and important, other changes shadowed the witch-craze.  

Bibliography: 

1. Easley, Patricia Thompson (August 2000). A Gobber Tooth, A Hairy Lip, A Squint Eye: Concepts of the Witch and the Body in Early Modern Europe (M.A. Thesis). UNT Digital Library.
2. Henderson, Lizanne, Witch-Hunting and Witch Belief in the Gàidhealtachd, Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland Eds. Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007
3. Hyatt, Harry Middleton. Hoodoo, conjuration, witchcraft, rootwork: beliefs accepted by many Negroes and white persons, these being orally recorded among Blacks and whites. s.n., 1970.
4. BBC, Radio 4, Melvyn Bragg; In Out Time
5. Pentikainen, Juha. "The Supernatural Experience." F. Jstor. 26 February 2007.
6. Worobec, Caroline. "Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Prerevolutionary Russia and Ukrainian Villages." Jstor. 27 February 2007.