European Witch Trials

“Hechicería e Inquisición en Ciudad Rodrigo”

by Juan José Sánchez-Oro Rosa

Libro del Carnaval, VV.AA, Ciudad Rodrigo (2008) pp. 345-354.

Egodokumente und Hexendiskurs in der frühen Neuzeit: Der Fall der Katharina von Henoth in Köln 1627

by André Keil

Els defensors de les bruixes. La fi de la cacera a Catalunya.

by Ramon Sarobe

http://bruixes.mhcat.net/index.php

Paper made with Agustí Alcoberro about the end of witch trials in Catalonia during early XVIIth Century. Published at... more Paper made with Agustí Alcoberro about the end of witch trials in Catalonia during early XVIIth Century. Published at the catalogue of the exhibition "Per bruixa i metzinera. La cacera de bruixes a Catalunya", that took place at the Museum of History of Catalonia during 2007, from which I was the documentalist.

book review: Lawrence Normand and Gareth Roberts: Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches.

by dave evans

in JSM 1, 2003

Book review:  This originally appeared in the Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, 1 (2003). This is the... more Book review:  This originally appeared in the Journal for the Academic Study of Magic, 1 (2003). This is the pre-press version, but no major editing of this took place. Please refer to the printed version if you need a definitive copy.

Lawrence Normand and Gareth Roberts: Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches. Exeter, UK: University of Exeter Press. 2000. 454 pages. ISBN 0 85989 388 X £UK 16.99 paperback £UK 47.50 hardback. One of the Exeter Studies in History series: General editors onathan Barry, Tim Rees and TP Wiseman.

It is entirely appropriate that issue one of a new academic journal concerned with promoting innovative new research should include a review of a book of this kind. In a piece of scholarship that approaches the encyclopaedic, Drs. Normand and Roberts cover a troublesome area of history for scholars, for it is not often that a band of alleged witches are tried directly by the King, and as such a great deal has been written about the event. Extensive detail is given here, and in the process it makes available the text of unpublished original documents, which often reside in archives that are geographically, if not procedurally, hard for most researchers to access. The book also provides illustrations of some of the original documents, pamphlets and some useful maps from which to put the events into a geographical context. The overview chronology from 1557 to 1625 serves the valuable purpose of placing witchcraft trials and events within the larger political and historical framework of the times, and as such is a useful tool for any student of this period.

The content includes transcribed and modernised documents such as original court records rendered into a form of English which can be read easily, with extensive footnotes to explain the difficulties and vagaries of the (often equivocal) language, both in Scottish phrases and Latin. The painstaking jigsaw-level of detailed work involved in updating these documents to make them accessible to an audience unversed in navigating through Olde English fonts, handwriting, spelling and language is a worthy enterprise and would make a fine book on its own.

However, Drs. Normand and Roberts go much further in their analysis. That it is entitled within a series on history is perhaps not strictly accurate, since the book covers the details of religious doctrine in the period, conveys elements of law, philosophy, sociology and the politics of royalty; for example the effect on society of the King becoming so directly personally involved in a witchcraft trial, which had a significant effect on how the general populace viewed witchcraft afterwards. The book also provides a great deal of more up-to-date academic thinking about the broader ‘witch craze’ in early-modern Europe and the possible motivations behind it.

It is hard not to produce a hagiographic review of this work, since Dr Roberts died suddenly during the writing of it, and both his family and academia have lost a great deal with his untimely passing. However work of this standard deserves credit regardless of circumstances. The overall result is that those students anywhere in the world who wish to research and understand this topic area can make a very good start on that process from this commendable book alone, both from the text and the extensive bibliography provided. Although it is intended as a case-study (albeit a very socially and politically important case) the general themes of the book are of immense value to the larger field of witchcraft studies.

A high-standard book of great detail and obviously the fruits of much intensive research by the authors, but written and presented in an approachable style that is to be highly and heartily recommended both for grateful researchers and general readers alike.


Review by Dave Evans

Hunting the European Sky Bears: German ‘Straw-bears’" and their Relatives as Transformers

by Roslyn Frank

Pre-publication draft of the following article:

Frank, Roslyn M. (2010). Hunting the European Sky Bears: German ‘Straw-bears’ and their Relatives as Transformers / Die Jagd auf die europäischen Himmelsbären Deutsche ‘Strohbären’ und ihre Verwandten als Verwandler. In Michael and Barbara Rappenglück (eds.), Symbole der Wandlung - Wandel der Symbole. Proceedings of the Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Symbolforschung / Society for the Scientific Study of Symbols. May 21-23, 2004, Kassel, Germany, pp. 141-166. Munich.

The origins of the Germanic “Straw-bears” have been subject to speculation for years. In this study the Straw-bears... more The origins of the Germanic “Straw-bears” have been subject to speculation for years. In this study the Straw-bears will be contextualized along with their European relatives so that their meaning can be better appreciated within a larger framework of European ritual belief and social practice. The cosmogony in question is grounded in the belief that humans descended from bears, a belief that continued into the 20th century among Basque-speakers. The transformative aspects of the Straw-bear performances will be examined in relation to “Good-Luck Visits”, a type of performance aimed at bringing good health and prosperity to the houses visited and in which Straw-bears and their relatives have played a major role.

A Diachronic Analysis of the Religious Role of the Woman in Basque Culture: The Serora and her Helpers

by Roslyn Frank

The current document is a translation of a Basque-language article published in 2001, namely: Roslyn M. Frank, “Euskal Herriko Eginkizun Erligiosoaren Inguruko Azterketa Diakronikoa: Serora eta bere aguntzaileak”. In Miguel Angel Barcenilla, Roslyn M. Frank, Anne-Marie Lagarde, Isaure Gratacos, Xabier Amuriza, Nejane Jurado, Marta Agirrezabala, Alizia Stürtze, Arantxa Erasun and Zirrilda, La mujer en Euskal Herria: Hacia un feminismo propio. Donostia: Basandere Argitaletxea, pp. 65-103.

In the churches of Euskal Herria there exists today a religious institution of great antiquity and one that clearly... more In the churches of Euskal Herria there exists today a religious institution of great antiquity and one that clearly demonstrates the high status traditionally afforded to the female in Basque culture. The serora, also referred to as sorora, beata, freila, benoîte, benedicta and beata, is a woman who acts as an adjunct to the priest in the ritual activities of the Catholic Church. In the 20th century her continuing presence represents an anachronism and anomaly when viewed in light of repeated decisions by the Catholic hierarchy concerning the officially approved role of women in the Church.
The morphology of this institution will be viewed from two perspectives. First, it will be analyzed synchronically as a set of functions or structures constituting the field of activity of the serora. Then, in order to understand the significance of the survival of these functions, a diachronic approach will be utilized to trace their evolution back into the indigenous religious structures and associated patterns of belief. Having established a hypothetical model for the pre-existing morphology of the institution, it will be possible to describe the way in which the earlier set of structures was modified by increasing contact with the forms and contents of Christianity. With the passage of time the formative elements of the indigenous substratum become overlaid and modified by their fusion with Christianity. Nonetheless, as will be demonstrated, the syncretistic processes at work allowed the earlier structures to survive under the guise of what are understood to be Christian rituals and symbols. Thus the original indigenous patterns continued to function as generative infrastructures latent even in their modern counterparts. In the latter sections of the paper the duties and responsibilities of the serora are compared with those associated with the Beguines and a new etymology of the term “Beguine” is put forward.

Keywords: serora, herb-workers, Beguines, Benedicte, misogyny, early Christianity, witchcraft, Inquisition, De Lancre, etxekoandere, auzoa, pre-Christian women’s rituals, Catholic liturgy, ritual space, witch-hunters

Herb-Workers and Heretics: The Beguines

by Roslyn Frank

This paper on the Beguines is part of a larger study and relates closely to another paper A Diachronic Analysis of the religious role of the woman in Basque culture: The Serora and her Helpers" that is also available online: http://uiowa.academia.edu/RoslynMFrank/Papers/462178/A_Diachronic_Analysis_of_the_Religious_Role_of_the_Woman_in_Basque_culture_The_Serora_and_her_Helpers

During the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, the word beguine was used by women to identify themselves as members of... more During the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, the word beguine was used by women to identify themselves as members of a wide-spread and influential women's movement. The same term was used by their detractors and overt opponents, with the highly charged negative meaning of "heretic." The etymology of the term “beguine” and ultimate origins of the movement have never been satisfactorily explained.