Early Modern Views of Witchcraft

In this article I intend to examine the beliefs of early modern demonologists like Hienrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger (authors of the infamous Malleus Maleficarum first published in 1486) in relation to 'witchcraft' in the period they were writing (the 15th to 18th centuries).

Traditionally these writers have been split into two groups by scholars, the first being the 'believers' and the second 'sceptics'. 'Believers' believed that the 'witches' of the time were devil-worshippers and a threat to society and a perfect example of a 'believer' can be seen in the aforementioned Kramer and Sprenger and Jean Bodin, the French author of De la demonomanie des sorciers (published in 1580.) The 'sceptics' believed that witches either weren't a threat at all, or that they were not witches or devil-worshippers in reality: just sick old ladies. The sceptical argument can be seen in Johann Weyer, the author of De Praestigiis Daemonum (published in 1563), and Reginald Scot the author of The Discoverie of Witchcraft (published in 1584.) I will not address the validity of this division of the debate; I shall only discuss the beliefs of these writers.

I will begin by discussing the arguments of the 'believers'. The classic believers argument can be found in the Malleus Maleficarum first published in 1486 by the Dominican inquisitors Kramer and Sprenger and it became the starting point for many an avid demonologist. The central arguments of the Malleus are as follows:

• That witchcraft is against nature and therefore the powers apparently wielded by witches were unnatural, against God's design and sinful.
• That the powers the witches wielded were obtained by entering into pacts with demons or even the Devil himself of their own free will. (This is important as it shows that they intentionally went against God)
• In return for worship and occasional sacrifice the demon would grant them unnatural powers.

The writers of the Malleus also firmly established the association between women and witchcraft; they used Biblical precedent found in the story of Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden to do so, as well as ancient authorities such as Cicero, Seneca and Cato. They believed that women were the weaker sex in mind and body, and that their carnal lust (and obsessive nature over sex) left them open to the manipulations of demons and the devil, and could thus drive them into evil. Kramer and Sprenger supported harsh treatment and punishment of alleged 'witches'.

There were more extreme 'believers', for example Jean Bodin (the author of De la demonomanie des sorciers,1580) who believed that all the powers attributed to witches were possible because of demonic assistance e.g. flying, maleficium (1), and lycanthropy (2). This is unusual since most other demonologists allowed either for illusions or whole scale delusions as an explanation of these 'powers'. Bodin also outlined the harsh punishments he believed should be inflicted on witches in the final Book of the Demonomanie, using a combination of Roman and Divine Law.

As for the 'sceptics' I will discuss Johann Weyer (a German Physician) and Reginald Scot (an English gentleman and horticulturalist) and their respective works: Weyer's De Praestigiis Daemonum published in 1563 and Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft published in 1584. Weyer believed that witchcraft was a pathological condition and though some of his arguments were unoriginal (Paracelsus (3) argued in a similar vein,) Weyer had new evidence to support his claims (e.g. from the new world). His argument and beliefs formed two new witch stereotypes:

1. 'The old hag' who was senile, poor and sick (either in body or mind) and easily deluded (if by demons or her own mind.) Weyer said she required treatment by physicians and priests to heal her body and soul, and the pity of the community (instead of the persecution prescribed by Kramer and Sprenger.)
2. 'The lusty wench' who, unlucky in love, could be driven to evil and was easily cured by marriage.

Weyer believed that the descriptions of demon pacts and Sabbats present in confessions of 'witches' were created either by physical illness, mental disorders, demonic suggestion or all three as discussed by Stuart Clark (4), a modern historian and author on the subject of early modern witchcraft. Weyer also believed that ignorance on the part of local ill-informed physicians and superstitious priests played an important role in witch-hunts. Weyer did however believe in maleficia (5) but he believed that real maleficia was commited by demons (he believed in the existence of demons) personally rather than witches. Though Weyer puts forward other possible causes and solutions to witchcraft that have led many to label him a 'sceptic', he did hold many orthodox demonological views. When compared to 'believers' such as Henri Bogeut (6) (the author of Discours des sorciers) we can see that many views held by Weyer were identical or very close to those held by Bogeut. Their views on procreation between demons and witches were identical (that it was impossible). They also totally agreed on metamorphosis (lycanthropy) and also on the nature of demonic possession. The only thing that they are not in agreement over is the copulation between demons and witches said to take place at Sabbats (7).

I will now discuss Reginald Scot as an extreme sceptic; he, along with Bodin, provided the only exception to the rule of no definite polarisation of the debate on witchcraft as pointed out by Stuart Clark in Thinking with Demons. Scot held views that can be seen as the polar opposite of Bodin's: he did not believe in any form of magic other than 'natural magic' (which he defines as phenomenon that people did not comprehend or the manipulation of nature by knowledgeable men.) He also questioned the stereotype of the witch and asked why if she dealt with the devil or demons she never asked for youth, money or the power to save herself from persecution. He also questioned why demons or the devil would help poor old women to curse their neighbours: surely there were other ways for them to draw people away from God? But in the extreme he said that a belief in magic was in itself blasphemy against God and that the only people who believed in magic or witchcraft were 'children, fooles, melancholike persons and papists' (8), and due to this he believed there was no cause or need for trials. Yet even Bodin and Scot show similarities: neither of them are supporters of the Catholic superstition, rituals and 'magic' (e.g. exorcism) that were prevalent and common at the time, though for different reasons.

To conclude, I hope that I have outlined the beliefs of the various demonologists on the matter of witchcraft, and the similarities and differences between them.

Footnotes

(1): The spells that witches performed, with the intent to harm.

(2): The metamorphosis by witches from human form to the form of an animal, generally a wolf.

(3): Paracelsus wrote earlier in the 16th century, he died in 1541.

(4): Stuart Clark, Thinking with Demons: the idea of witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (1997), ch.13, p.198.

(5): The plural of maleficium.

(6): as Clark does in Chapter 13 of Stuart Clark, Thinking with Demons: the idea of witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (1997)

(7): Stuart Clark, Thinking with Demons: the idea of witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (1997), ch.13, p.200.

(8): Sydney Anglo, 'Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft: Scepticism and sadduceeism. In Sydney Anglo (eds.) The Damned Art: Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft (1977), p.110.

Bibliography

Stuart Clark, Thinking with Demons: the idea of witchcraft in early modern Europe (1997)

Sydney Anglo, 'Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft: Scepticism and sadduceeism'. In Sydney Anglo (eds.) The Damned Art: Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft (1977), p.106-139.

Sydney Anglo, 'Evident authority and authoritative evidence: the Malleus Maleficarum'. In Sydney Anglo (eds.) The Damned Art: Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft (1977), p.1-31.

Christopher Baxter, 'Jean Bodin's De la demonomanie des sorciers: the logic of persecution'. In Sydney Anglo (eds.) The Damned Art: Essays in the Literature of Witchcraft (1977), p.76-105.

Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum