Cultures of Witchcraft in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present (Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic)

This volume is a collection based on the contributions to witchcraft studies of Willem de Blécourt, to whom it is dedicated, and who provides the opening chapter, setting out a methodological and conceptual agenda for the study of cultures of witchcraft (broadly defined) in Europe since the Middle Ages. It includes contributions from historians, anthropologists, literary scholars and folklorists who have collaborated closely with De Blécourt. Essays pick up some or all of the themes and approaches he pioneered, and apply them to cases which range in time and space across all the main regions of Europe since the thirteenth century until the present day. While some draw heavily on texts, others on archival sources, and others on field research, they all share a commitment to reconstructing the meaning and lived experience of witchcraft (and its related phenomena) to Europeans at all levels, respecting the many varieties and ambiguities in such meanings and experiences and resisting attempts to reduce them to master narratives or simple causal models. The chapter 'News from the Invisible World: The Publishing History of Tales of the Supernatural c.1660-1832' is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com. Preface 7 Contents 14 Editors and Contributors 16 List of Figures 22 Contested Knowledge: A Historical Anthropologist’s Approach to European Witchcraft 24 Unwitching in Strijensas 27 Witchcraft as Discourse 31 Ethnographic Authority 34 Aggression 36 Cunning Folk 39 The Witchcraft Discourse 42 Favret-Saada and History 44 Witches and Devil’s Magic in Austrian Demonological Legends 46 Introduction and Short Outline of Academic Debate Concerning the Definition of a Folk Legend 46 Life and Deeds of the Witch 51 How to Become a Witch 51 The Assembly: Witches’ Ride, Flight, Dance 53 Shape Shifting 61 The So-called Weather Witch 63 The Maleficium 65 The Witch as Alp or Trud or Drud 67 The End of the Witch 69 Traces of Ancient or Shamanistic Materials 70 Famous Tales Related to Witch Trials and Historic Tales of Witches 73 Conclusion 74 Hanna Dyâb’s Witch and the Great Witch Shift 76 Part I: Pre-witch Fairy Tales 78 Antoine Galland’s Changes to Hanna Dyâb’s ‘Prince Ahmed and Pari Banou’ 83 Relationships Between the Absence of Witches in Hanna Dyâb’s Oeuvre and Their Absence from Early Modern European Fairy Tales and Fairyland Fictions 85 Possible Reasons for an Absence of Witches from Eighteenth-Century Fairy Tales—Including Hanna Dyâb’s 89 Part II: The Grimms, German Modernity and Modern Expectations About Witches in Fairy Tales 91 The Mirror of the Witches (1600): A German Baroque Tragedy in Context 101 Prologue 101 The Stage: Duke Friedrich I and Württemberg 105 The Playwright: Thomas Birck (1551–1632) and His Oeuvre 107 The Play: A Mirror of the Witches, Its Content, Message, and Sources 111 Censored: Why the Play Was Banned 117 The Curtain Falls 120 Unravelling the Myth and Histories of the Weighing Test at Oudewater: The Case of Leentje Willems 122 Sources 123 Tarnished Honour 126 Historiography 130 The Policies 133 Leentje Willems 137 The Slander Trial 139 Turn of the Tide 140 Network 141 The North Sea as a Crossroads of Witchcraft Beliefs: The Limited Importance of Political Boundaries 142 Feeding a Bewitched with the Witch’s Blood 144 Witchcraft Trials in the Low Countries 145 Economy and Fear of Witchcraft 149 North Sea Contacts 152 Strange News from Abroad 154 Comparisons 155 “Kind in Words and Deeds, but False in Their Hearts”: Fear of Evil Conspiracy in Late-Sixteenth-Century Denmark 158 I 158 II 160 III 163 IV 165 V 167 VI 172 “Ein gefehrlich Ding, darin leichtlich zuviel geschieht” (A Dangerous Thing in Which Too Much Happens Easily). The End of Village Witch Trials in the Saar Region 175 Witch Trials Without End 175 The Example of the Saar Area 180 Societal Upheavals: Thirty Years’ War, Post-war Period and Reconstruction 181 Destruction of Authority and Lordly Administration 185 New Communities, New Orientation 186 Courts, Judicial Personnel and the Change in Their Convictions 189 Community Mentalities and the Shift in Meaning 194 Change of Catalysts: The Example of Poor Relief 196 News from the Invisible World: The Publishing History of Tales of the Supernatural c.1660–1832 199 1650–1705 204 1706–1749 208 1750–1789 216 After 1789 220 Researching Reverse Witch Trials in Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century England 234 Somerset 237 Northamptonshire 245 Hertfordshire 248 Conclusions 251 The Catechism of Witch Lore in Twentieth-Century Denmark 253 Introduction 253 Categories of the Structural Description 256 Norms of Verbal Expression 257 Norms of Linguistic Content: The Catechism of Witch Lore 260 Postscript 265 Magic and Counter-Magic in Twenty-First-Century Bosnia 267 Introduction 267 Magic 270 Magic Specialists 275 Social Context and Ethnic Identity of Magic 280 Conclusion 283 Index 286 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiv Contested Knowledge: A Historical Anthropologist’s Approach to European Witchcraft (Willem de Blécourt)....Pages 1-22 Witches and Devil’s Magic in Austrian Demonological Legends (Christa Agnes Tuczay)....Pages 23-52 Hanna Dyâb’s Witch and the Great Witch Shift (Ruth B. Bottigheimer)....Pages 53-77 The Mirror of the Witches (1600): A German Baroque Tragedy in Context (Rita Voltmer)....Pages 79-99 Unravelling the Myth and Histories of the Weighing Test at Oudewater: The Case of Leentje Willems (Machteld Löwensteyn)....Pages 101-120 The North Sea as a Crossroads of Witchcraft Beliefs: The Limited Importance of Political Boundaries (Hans de Waardt)....Pages 121-136 “Kind in Words and Deeds, but False in Their Hearts”: Fear of Evil Conspiracy in Late-Sixteenth-Century Denmark (Louise Nyholm Kallestrup)....Pages 137-153 “Ein gefehrlich Ding, darin leichtlich zuviel geschieht” (A Dangerous Thing in Which Too Much Happens Easily). The End of Village Witch Trials in the Saar Region (Eva Labouvie)....Pages 155-178 News from the Invisible World: The Publishing History of Tales of the Supernatural c.1660–1832 (Jonathan Barry)....Pages 179-213 Researching Reverse Witch Trials in Nineteenth- and Early Twentieth-Century England (Owen Davies)....Pages 215-233 The Catechism of Witch Lore in Twentieth-Century Denmark (Gustav Henningsen)....Pages 235-248 Magic and Counter-Magic in Twenty-First-Century Bosnia (Mirjam Mencej)....Pages 249-267 Back Matter ....Pages 269-283 Contested Knowledge : A Historical Anthropologist's Approach To European Witchcraft / Willem De Blécourt -- Witches And Devil's Magic In Austrian Demonological Legends / Christa Agnes Tuczay -- Hanna Dyâb's Witch And The Great Witch Shift / Ruth B. Bottigheimer -- The Mirror Of The Witches (1600) : A German Baroque Tragedy In Context / Rita Voltmer -- Unraveling The Myth And Histories Of The Weighing Test At Oudewater : The Case Of Leentje Willems / Machteld Löwensteyn -- The North Sea As A Crossroads Of Witchcraft Beliefs : The Limited Importance Of Political Boundaries / Hans De Waardt -- Kind In Words And Deeds, But False In Their Hearts : Fear Of Evil Conspiracy In Late-sixteenth-century Denmark / Louise Nyholm Kallestrup -- Ein Gefehrlich Ding, Darin Leichtlich Zuviel Geschiecht (a Dangerous Thing In Which Too Much Happens Easily) : The End Of Village Witch Trials In The Saar Region / Eva Labouvie -- News From The Invisible World : The Publishing History Of Tales Of The Supernatural C.1660-1832 / Jonathan Barry -- Researching Reverse Witch Trials In Nineteenth- And Early Twentieth-century England / Owen Davies -- The Catechism Of Witch Lore In Twentieth-century Denmark / Gustav Henningsen -- Magic And Counter-magic In Twenty-first-century Bosnia / Mirjam Mencej. Edited By Jonathan Barry, Owen Davies, Cornelie Usborne, Editors. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Annotation This volume is a collection based on the contributions to witchcraft studies of Willem de Blecourt, to whom it is dedicated, and who provides the opening chapter, setting out a methodological and conceptual agenda for the study of cultures of witchcraft (broadly defined) in Europe since the Middle Ages. It includes contributions from historians, anthropologists, literary scholars and folklorists who have collaborated closely with De Blecourt. Essays pick up some or all of the themes and approaches he pioneered, and apply them to cases which range in time and space across all the main regions of Europe since the thirteenth century until the present day. While some draw heavily on texts, others on archival sources, and others on field research, they all share a commitment to reconstructing the meaning and lived experience of witchcraft (and its related phenomena) to Europeans at all levels, respecting the many varieties and ambiguities in such meanings and experiences and resisting attempts to reduce them to master narratives or simple causal models. The chapter 'News from the Invisible World: The Publishing History of Tales of the Supernatural c.1660-1832' is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com