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| Witches, in a series of sketches attributed to Pieter Breughel (or to Hieronymus Bosch) (Source: Wikimedia Commons). |
One of the difficulties of considering the situation
of witches in medieval England is the sources. Most of our information comes
from trials in clerical or secular courts, and often these were motivated not
by fear of sorcery but by greed, spite and politics. In England some kings
feared witches – or found that accusing former mistresses or wives of
witchcraft was an easy way to dispose of them, much as later Anne Boleyn was
accused of sorcery by her disgruntled husband Henry Tudor.
These events were partly high politics.
What of the position of witches in more everyday, village settings?
One clue comes from the folklore
surrounding plants. Peonies, rowan and St John’s Wort, for example, were
believed to protect households from sorcery, which shows how much witches were
feared. At the same time, there were those men and women, known in many part of
England as ‘cunning folk,’ or ‘wise men/women,’ who were turned to for help in
fortune telling, charming and healing.
In the Middle Ages in England everyone was
a bit of a witch because everyone believed in magic, often as a curious blend
of pagan, folk and Christian ideas. Peasants would chant the Lord’s Prayer over
their penned cattle each night, ending with singing ‘Agios, Agios, Agios’ around
them every evening as a piece of protective magic. A mixture of charms and
prayers were used to solve all manner of problems, and ranged from curing
toothache by appealing to the Lady Moon and then praying, to the Anglo-Saxon prayer-charm
ordering the devil of pain to flee 3 times and give way to Christ.
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| Rowan, a protection against witches. |
Nobles had magic gems and amulets to
protect them from evil. A medieval ring discovered at the Palace of Eltham, Henry
VIII’s childhood home near London, was set with ruby and diamonds and carried
an inscription promising the wearer luck. Merchants also had gems and rings to protect themselves, much as
people in modern times might wear a St Christopher to give them luck on a
journey. A burglar would throw a crushed magnet over hot coals to
inspire the household to leave and let
the thief work in peace. Priests would use blessings and prayers such as the Lord’s Prayer and add a
charm or two to effect an exorcism or expel illness. Even the legends of saints have them using
charms and magic to cure ills. When all sickness was seen as the result of evil, then it made
sense to use ‘good’ magic to counter it.
If a man had to go to court, he might tuck
a spray of mistletoe into his clothes to ensure he was not convicted. If he
wished to inflame a woman’s lust, then he could slip some ants’ eggs into her
bath. However, there were times when such simple ‘magic’ might not work (believe
it or not) and people would seek out a recognised practitioner of magic.
To raise the dead or a demon needed a
person skilled in rituals, who knew Latin, Greek, writing, astrology and fumigation
and many of these necromancers were ex-priests or clerics. Some could be
involved in the dangerous business of assassination by magic. In 1325 the
necromancer John of Nottingham was
accused of taking money in return for killing the king by making a wax effigy
of Edward II and sticking pins into it. John
was acquitted.
For love magic, however, and to inspire or
stop affection, most people turned to their local ‘cunning folk’, especially
the local midwife/healer or perhaps a white witch - who would use magic and
witchcraft to good ends and within a Christian setting, using prayers as well
as charms. These people could be both feared and revered and were vulnerable to being accused of
evil-doing if a person or animal fell sick.
Throughout the Middle Ages good witches
were mostly tolerated in England. It wasn’t until 1401 that the first act of
parliament against witchcraft was passed. If a person was convicted of
witchcraft, it was regarded as a form of heresy and the offender was excommunicated.
In 1438, Agnes Hancock was excommunicated by a clerical court when she could
not account for the meanings of some of the words she used in her love charms. The
church took a dim view of love spells, feeling that they interfered with
people’s free choice, but it wasn’t until the late Middle Ages or beyond that
women casting such spells were threatened with burning.
If you are interested in learning about an
English medieval ‘good’ witch in a fictional setting, please see The Snow Bride and its sequel, A Summer Bewitchment.
