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THE WITCH-CULT IN WESTERN EUROPE
THE WITCH-CULT IN WESTERN EUROPE
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CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 5
INTRODUCTION 9
I. CONTINUITY OF THE RELIGION 19
II. THE GOD 28
1. As God 28
2. As a Human Being 31
3. Identification 47
4. As an Animal 60
III. ADMISSION CEREMONIES 71
1. General 71
2. The Introduction 76
3. The Renunciation and Vows 77
4. The Covenant 79
5. The Baptism 82
6. The Mark 86
IV. THE ASSEMBLIES 97
1. The Sabbath. Method of going.
The site. The date. The hour 97
2. The Esbat. Business.
The site. The time. 112
V. THE RITES 124
1. General 124
2. Homage 126
3. The Dances 130
4. The Music 135
5. The Feast 138
6. Candles 144
7. The Sacrament 148
8. Sacrifices: Of animals.
Of children. Of the God 152
9 Magic Words 162
VI. THE RITES, _continued_ 169
1. General 169
2. Rain-making 172
3. Fertility 173
VII. THE ORGANIZATION 186
1. The Officer 186
2. The Covens 190
3. Duties 194
4. Discipline 197
VIII. THE FAMILIARS AND TRANSFORMATIONS 205
1. The Divining Familiar 205
2. The Domestic Familiar 208
3. Methods of obtaining Familiars 222
4. Transformations into Animals 230
APPENDIX I.
Fairies and Witches 238
APPENDIX II.
Trial of Silvain Nevillon. Taken from De
Lancre's _L'Incredulité et
Méscréance_ 246
APPENDIX III.
A. Covens and Names of Members 249
B. Index of Witches' Names, with Notes 255
APPENDIX IV.
Notes on the Trials of Joan
of Arc and Gilles de Rais 270
APPENDIX V.
Some Notes on 'Flying' Ointments.
By Prof. A. J. Clark 279
BIBLIOGRAPHY 281
GENERAL INDEX 286
INTRODUCTION
The subject of Witches and Witchcraft has always suffered from the biassed
opinions of the commentators, both contemporary and of later date. On the
one hand are the writers who, having heard the evidence at first hand,
believe implicitly in the facts and place upon them the unwarranted
construction that those facts were due to supernatural power; on the other
hand are the writers who, taking the evidence on hearsay and disbelieving
the conclusions drawn by their opponents, deny the facts _in toto_. Both
parties believed with equal firmness in a personal Devil, and both
supported their arguments with quotations from the Bible. But as the
believers were able to bring forward more texts than the unbelievers and
had in their hands an unanswerable argument in the Witch of Endor, the
unbelievers, who dared not contradict the Word of God, were forced to fall
back on the theory that the witches suffered from hallucination, hysteria,
and, to use the modern word, 'auto-suggestion'. These two classes still
persist, the sceptic predominating. Between the believer who believed
everything and the unbeliever who disbelieved everything there has been no
critical examination of the evidence, which presents a new and untouched
field of research to the student of comparative religion.
PAGE
PREFACE 5
INTRODUCTION 9
I. CONTINUITY OF THE RELIGION 19
II. THE GOD 28
1. As God 28
2. As a Human Being 31
3. Identification 47
4. As an Animal 60
III. ADMISSION CEREMONIES 71
1. General 71
2. The Introduction 76
3. The Renunciation and Vows 77
4. The Covenant 79
5. The Baptism 82
6. The Mark 86
IV. THE ASSEMBLIES 97
1. The Sabbath. Method of going.
The site. The date. The hour 97
2. The Esbat. Business.
The site. The time. 112
V. THE RITES 124
1. General 124
2. Homage 126
3. The Dances 130
4. The Music 135
5. The Feast 138
6. Candles 144
7. The Sacrament 148
8. Sacrifices: Of animals.
Of children. Of the God 152
9 Magic Words 162
VI. THE RITES, _continued_ 169
1. General 169
2. Rain-making 172
3. Fertility 173
VII. THE ORGANIZATION 186
1. The Officer 186
2. The Covens 190
3. Duties 194
4. Discipline 197
VIII. THE FAMILIARS AND TRANSFORMATIONS 205
1. The Divining Familiar 205
2. The Domestic Familiar 208
3. Methods of obtaining Familiars 222
4. Transformations into Animals 230
APPENDIX I.
Fairies and Witches 238
APPENDIX II.
Trial of Silvain Nevillon. Taken from De
Lancre's _L'Incredulité et
Méscréance_ 246
APPENDIX III.
A. Covens and Names of Members 249
B. Index of Witches' Names, with Notes 255
APPENDIX IV.
Notes on the Trials of Joan
of Arc and Gilles de Rais 270
APPENDIX V.
Some Notes on 'Flying' Ointments.
By Prof. A. J. Clark 279
BIBLIOGRAPHY 281
GENERAL INDEX 286
INTRODUCTION
The subject of Witches and Witchcraft has always suffered from the biassed
opinions of the commentators, both contemporary and of later date. On the
one hand are the writers who, having heard the evidence at first hand,
believe implicitly in the facts and place upon them the unwarranted
construction that those facts were due to supernatural power; on the other
hand are the writers who, taking the evidence on hearsay and disbelieving
the conclusions drawn by their opponents, deny the facts _in toto_. Both
parties believed with equal firmness in a personal Devil, and both
supported their arguments with quotations from the Bible. But as the
believers were able to bring forward more texts than the unbelievers and
had in their hands an unanswerable argument in the Witch of Endor, the
unbelievers, who dared not contradict the Word of God, were forced to fall
back on the theory that the witches suffered from hallucination, hysteria,
and, to use the modern word, 'auto-suggestion'. These two classes still
persist, the sceptic predominating. Between the believer who believed
everything and the unbeliever who disbelieved everything there has been no
critical examination of the evidence, which presents a new and untouched
field of research to the student of comparative religion.