Stregheria and Vernacular Magic in Italy: A Comparison Stregheria and Vernacular Magic in Italy: A Comparison Sabina Magliocco

The distinction between contemporary Stregheria and traditional Italian magic, healing and spiritual practice has lately been the subject of lively debate on a number of listserves and websites. In this brief essay, I will attempt to summarize some of my academic publications on this theme for a non-scholarly audience, and to encourage further research, questions and discussion on this topic. I should state at the outset that my approach is academic: as an anthropologist and folklorist, I consider both Stregheria and Italian vernacular magic as important facets of culture in their own right. My intention is not to support or deny the authenticity of either, but to help readers understand both in the contexts in which they developed, and how the former grew from the latter in the context of the Italian American diaspora. Stregheria is an Italian American variety of Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. It owes its origins to Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches (1889), a collection of spells, rhymes and legends which amateur folklorist Charles G. Leland claimed came from a Florentine fortuneteller named Maddalena. According to Leland, Maddalena belonged to a family of witches who practiced a form of pagan religion centered on the worship of the moon goddess Diana. Leland interpreted the materials he collected according to popular folklore theories of the late 19th century: as survivals of ancient pagan religions, specifically those of the Romans and Etruscans, whose civilizations had once dominated central Italy. He dubbed witchcraft la vecchia religione (the old religion). Right from the start, Lelands work was controversial. Some of the materials in it the conjuration of lemons and pins, for instance have analogues in Italian folklore. Other snippets appear to be versions of popular Italian childrens rhymes, rewritten to suit Lelands ideology. And the character of Aradia does seem to be based on a figure from medieval Italian folklore: the biblical Herodias (Erodiade in Italian), popularly believed to fly through the air at night at the head of a ghostly procession. But these bits of folklore do not appear anywhere else in Italian tradition as part of a single text. If The Gospel of the Witches had been an authentic document from a folk tradition, some other version of it would have been collected at some point by Italian folklorists or historians. Yet no other similar text has ever been found by Italian ethnologists. For that reason, Lelands Aradia has always been suspected to be a fake. More recently, historian Robert Mathiesen has proposed a new explanation: that Aradia be interpreted as a dialogic and intersubjective text a product of the close interaction between Leland and Maddalena, during which Maddalena selected and re-interpreted bits of folklore in ways that would interest her wealthy patron. The result was a document that incorporated many elements of folklore, but strung them together in unusual ways, giving them a unique and atypical interpretation. Despite the controversies surrounding it, Lelands text became quite influential: it equated folk magic to an ancient religion involving the veneration of a goddess, and located this all in Italy. Leland clearly influenced Gerald B. Gardner, who is widely

credited with the development of Wicca in its present form, and through Gardner, an entire generation of Witches. Among the first to openly identify as a practitioner of Italian witchcraft was Leo Louis Martello (1933-2001). Martello claimed to have been initiated by a family member as a young man. He described a secret hereditary tradition based on a Sicilian version of the myth of Proserpina (Persephone). Along with priestess Lori Bruno, also a hereditary practitioner, he founded the Trinacrian Rose of New York City, one of the first Italian American covens in North America. But the real heir of Leland is Raven Grimassi, the architect of Stregheria. Like Martello and Bruno, Grimassi claims to have been initiated into a family tradition of magical practice which he describes as hereditary, domestic, and secret. Grimassis mother comes from the region of Campania, outside Naples. She belongs to a family whose members practiced a number of magical traditions, including the removal of the evil eye, the making of medicinal liqueurs and oils, and divination. Like the traditions described by Martello, Bruno and a number of Italian ethnologists, it consisted of a set of secret teachings limited to family members, passed on only to those who were felt to have some innate magical ability and interest. But it is not this tradition that Grimassi writes about in his works The Ways of the Strega (1995), Hereditary Witchcraft (1999), and Italian Witchcraft (2000). Instead, he presents an elaboration of what Leland described: a religion similar to Wicca in structure and practice, with Italian flavor added through the names of deities, spirits, and sabbats. According to him, Italian Witches divide themselves into three clans: the Fanarra of northern Italy, and the Janarra and Tanarra of central Italy. No mention is made of southern Italy, despite the fact that the majority of Italian immigrants to North America, including Grimassis mother, originated there. Each tradition is directed by a leader known as a Grimas. Like the names of the three Strega clans, the word Grimas does not occur in Italian or in any of its dialects. Italian American Streghe worship in circles called boschetti (groves) led by a High Priestess and Priest. The meet on full and new moons and observe eight sabbats. They venerate a lunar goddess and a horned god based on the Etruscan deities Uni and Tagni, also known as Tana and Tanus, Jana and Janus, Fana and Faunus. Ancestor spirits known as Lasa watch over each family, and various nature spirits such as Fauni, Silvani, Folletti and Linchetti play key roles in Stregheria. The guardians of the four directions are known as Grigori. While Grimassis books have been very influential in the United States, individual Stregheria covens that are not descended from his may not necessarily follow his teachings. As in all Neo-Pagan Craft, there is a wide range of variation and adaptation among groups and individuals. The common thread that links all Stregheria covens seems to be their efforts to give their practice an Italian flavor, whether through the types of deities venerated, the food served at rituals, or the adaptation of Italian and Italian American cultural practices to a Pagan context. Grimassis genius is creative, rather than scholarly. He never claims to be reproducing exactly what was practiced in Italy, admitting that Streghe have adapted a few Wiccan elements into their ways (1995:xviii). He openly acknowledges that he is expanding on his family tradition, adding elements to it to restore it to what he imagines was its original state. But from his attempts to restore a tradition, a brand new tradition has emerged: one that bears little resemblance to anything that was practiced in Italy or in Italian American ethnic communities. While based on Italian folk magic, historical accounts and folklore collections,

Stregheria is, like most revival Witchcraft, a modern tradition. Folklorist Robert Klymasz, writing about what happens to folklore as a result of immigration to a new culture, identified three layers of folklore that are present in any ethnic community. These include the traditional, with clear links to Old World forms; the transitional, in which some elements from the Old World crystallize, while others adapt to the new context; and innovational, in which new folklore is developed to make up for older forms that have been lost (Klymasz, 1973). Stregheria belongs to the last category. It has some points in common with Italian vernacular magic, which I will outline below; but there are more differences than similarities. Its true value lies in its ability to provide contemporary Italian Americans with a new context in which to interpret folk magical practices that have remained in their families for many generations, giving these traditions a new life. In the process, it plays a vital role in helping to create and maintain identity for its practitioners. Italian vernacular magic, by contrast, is neither a religion nor a formalized system of practice. It is both a worldview and a set of customs tied to the agro-pastoral cycle which is strongly embedded in the lives of its practitioners, almost never on a self-conscious level. For most of its carriers, it is simply an ordinary way of doing things and behaving. While it may have historical roots in pre-Christian practices, it is emphatically not a pagan tradition, but firmly embedded within a Roman Catholic cultural matrix. In my more recent work, I have called it the enchanted worldview, playing on Max Webers trope of the disenchantment of the world. The enchanted worldview in Italy is rooted in specific pre-market economic and social systems. Because of subsistence activities associated with the land, time is organized according to seasonal cycles; these are reflected in the ritual year, which is dominated by Catholic liturgical forms. These almost always are locally interpreted in ways that connect them to the economic cycle: for example, in Campania, where wheat and hemp crops have been replaced by tobacco, which has a similar growing season, the ritual year begins at planting time near St. Martin in mid-November, and extends until the end of the harvest season at St. Cosimo and Damiano in October. In pastoral areas such as Sardinia and the Apennine, May and September, the months that frame transhumance, are emphasized in local ritual practices. The exact shape of the ritual year thus differs markedly from one area to another. The symbols the Madonnas and saints are the same, but each township differs in the way it situates these characters within its symbolic and economic system. The enchanted worldview is not only rooted in the ritual year cycle; it is all-pervading in the individuals life cycle. It begins at birth and penetrates every phase of life and every rite of passage, from the moment of birth, when most Italian babies who are not born with a caul (la camicia, or shirt, in Italian) are given a fine lawn shirt by a relative, often a godparent, to protect them against evil influences, to funerals, where a variety of beliefs about the otherworld are made manifest through practice. The core of Italian vernacular religion and magic is thus the correlation of its symbolic systems with local economic and social structures. The primary connection is never with the dominant structures of church and state. Hegemonic structures may or may not coincide with indigenous ones, but where there is no match, they are simply ignored. If a particular element does not make sense in terms of local understandings of time, space, and the nature of the world, people will treat it as though it does not exist, as if it were of

no consequence. As a result, the landscape of the enchanted worldview in Italy is everywhere local. Despite its exquisitely local character, the enchanted worldview exists throughout Italy, in both northern and southern regions, with significantly more commonalities than one might think, given the differences in language, culture and economy that characterize Italys twenty regions. Certain concepts are ubiquitous: for example, the evil eye and its diagnosis and cures are found in all regions, and are very similar throughout. Yet the enchanted worldview defies systematization. Beliefs and practices are nowhere standardized, or even organized into an easily articulated set of principles; they are part of everyday life, part of praxis. German ethnologist Thomas Hauschild, who spent nearly twenty years studying magic in Basilicata, a region in the south of Italy, wrote: There is no system, only practice (Hauschild, 2003:19). The practice is the system. Practices and beliefs exist within a particular cosmology, but its details seldom preoccupy its technologists. Thus, a structure like that described by Grimassi, with orderly branches in various parts of Italy, each with its own leader and systematic body of lore, is inherently foreign to the enchanted worldview in Italy. The main characteristic of the enchanted worldview is a belief in the omnipresence of spiritual beings that can influence human lives. These beings include the dead, saints, and the Virgin Mary and Jesus (who are, after all, nothing more than particularly powerful dead). Spirits such as folletti, linchetti and monachelli also appear, echoing some of the spiritual flora and fauna in Grimassis works, but they are often troublesome, rather than helpful: they tangle the manes of horses, frighten donkeys and confuse travelers who cross their paths. Some spirits are associated with certain kinds of illnesses, although exact relationships are generally determined by local lore. For instance, in Basilicata, the unquiet dead are said to cause skin diseases such as erysipelas and St. Anthonys Fire (herpes zoster); in Campania, children who fail to thrive are said to be taken by witches on their night flights, and worn out with flying and dancing; in Emilia Romagna, Puglia and Sardinia, spiders and/or insects are responsible for a range of illnesses from tarantismo to argismo to arla. Some scholars suggest these insects once embodied ancestor spirits who then possessed their victims through the bite or sting (De Martino, 2005 [1961]). Even spirits such as saints and the Madonna, who belong to a greater Catholic pantheon, are everywhere localized: the Madonna is usually worshipped in one or more of her local manifestations, and the devout have their personal favorites based on each Madonnas attributes and the qualities she stands over, or rules, and their own individual needs or interests. Everywhere in Italy, there are experts who specialize in interfacing with the spirit world. These are the Italian equivalents of British and European cunning folk, and much of their work consists in the diagnosis and cure of spiritual illness. Their names vary according to region; they may be known as guaritori (healers), donne che aiutano (women who help), praticos (knowledgeable or wise people), fattucchiere (fixers), maghi (sorcerers), and by numerous other dialectical terms; but they seldom call themselves streghe (witches). This term is overwhelmingly negative in Italian folklore, and almost always refers to a person who brings harm to others. Italian folklore is rich in legends about witches who fly through the air to their legendary gatherings around the walnut tree of Benevento, shrink themselves so small they can fit through keyholes, suck breath or blood from victims, and cause all manner of illness and mischief to their neighbors.

Clearly, these activities refer to folkloric witches; they have never been practiced by actual human beings. Occasionally, however, healers may be accused of being streghe by those who believe themselves to be victims of black magic, or by clients who have failed to be healed by the cunning persons cures. There are two principal strains of healing in Italian vernacular culture: healing through the use of herbs, and spiritual healing. In some cases, both may be practiced by the same individual. Of the two, healing with herbs is considered less a matter of spiritual ability than of practical knowledge. Spiritual healing, in contrast, is believed to be more connected with personal power. This is variously called la forza (power), la virt (virtue; also attribute); or il segno (the sign), and is generally believed to be inborn. But power alone is useless without the prayers, magical formulae and techniques that make up the cunning persons craft. Knowledge and power are passed on through an initiation, most commonly at midnight on Christmas Eve mass, during the elevation of the host -- that magical moment of transformation in the Catholic liturgical year at which the world is transformed by the birth of the Savior, and the host is transformed into his body -- and thus, by association, any transformation can take place. The knowledge takes the form of prayers that call upon a saint or the Madonna, and in some cases an accompanying technique, which varies according to the nature of the spiritual cure. These formulas and techniques are secret; they cannot be passed on to others without the healer losing her or his power, and they can only be passed on at the appointed time in the ritual cycle. Often, this is the only initiation and training necessary for the transmission of simple charms. Healing knowledge and power are typically passed down within the family; in some cases, family members typically a group of siblings or cousins must work together in order to bring about the cure. As scholars have documented for other parts of Europe, spirits figure prominently as the helpers of Italian cunning folk. While many ordinary Italians living in traditional communities admit to belief in spirits, and occasionally even to contact with them, cunning folk seem to possess an intensified ability to commune with them above and beyond that of ordinary people. In many areas, healing is essentially conceptualized as a battle against malevolent spirits whether those of the unquiet dead, witches, or others. Healers need spiritual allies in these battles, and many healers claim to have them in the form of spirits who guide and help them in their craft. The nature of these spirits, once again, is highly localized as well as idiosyncratic: they may be saints, personal ancestors, or helpful dead. They may appear to the healer in dreams and visions: trance and ecstatic states are a fundamental part of communicating with the spirits; they are doorways into the spiritual world for healers and magic workers. When cunning folk rely on saints or the Virgin Mary as helpers, they may maintain shrines to them, participate actively in the organization of festivals in their honor, and play active roles in religious sororities and fraternities that raise money for the feasts. Cures for certain illnesses may take place only on specific feast days or in the context of saints festivals. Thus, healing is closely connected to the seasonal and economic cycle of the community, and to the Catholic liturgical calendar. Italian cunning folk may use a variety of tools in their work which suggest a connection to Stregheria and Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. They commonly keep notebooks in which charms and prayers are recorded the forerunners of modern-day books of shadows. Some use weapons of various types (daggers, swords, bayonets and even guns) to

frighten evil spirits or symbolically cut away certain illnesses, such as worms. Ropes or cords may be used in binding spells and charms, while other tools may be entirely idiosyncratic. The Italian cunning tradition has a number of traits that suggest that some aspects of modern Stregheria may derive from it in part, and that many Italian Americans who see themselves as carriers of Stregheria grew up in families that preserved aspects of the rural Italian enchanted worldview. Like modern Neo-Paganism and revival witchcraft, this way of life was organized around a ritual year that followed the cycle of the seasons; the moon and sun influenced rhythms of work and production. Women were recognized as life-givers and nourishers, and were closely involved in the maintenance of shrines to a feminine divine figure, the Virgin Mary. Their immigrant ancestors may have been carriers of a tradition of healing that involved herbal and magical practices. They may have kept notebooks of charms and prayers that were precursors of todays Neo-Pagan books of shadows. Their tools may have included knives, swords and other weapons designed to frighten away malevolent spirits, and their craft involved communication with helpers who took the form of ancestor spirits. Since these traditions could often be conflated with witchcraft in popular narratives, it is possible that this link persisted into the second, third and fourth generation after immigration, giving contemporary Streghe the impression that their ancestors belonged to an organized, hierarchical but secret society of witches. But Italian cunning craft also differs from modern Neo-Pagan Stregheria in important ways. It is emphatically not a pagan religion; there is no mention of a goddess and god, nor are deities ever drawn down into the bodies of practitioners. It exists within a largely Catholic worldview, albeit one permeated with ancestor spirits, magical practice and other elements that mark it as vernacular, rather than ecclesiastical, in nature. Absent, too, is the Wiccan ritual framework, and while there may be certain similarities between the Wiccan year cycle and that of rural Italy, that is because the former is based largely on the Irish agro-pastoral cycle, which shares a common heritage with that of other parts of Europe, including Italy. But could an ancient pre-Christian religion involving the veneration of Diana have survived in Italian peasant tradition, only to be brought to North America by Italian immigrants? The lack of written evidence makes any answer to this question hypothetical at best, but from the historical record, such a scenario would be very unlikely. Three factors make the survival of a pagan religion in Italy into the 20th century, and its transmission through written documents such as Lelands Aradia, improbable: the strong presence of Christianity throughout the peninsula from fairly early after the fall of the Roman Empire; the lack of a unified Italian culture and language until the late 19th century; and the relative isolation and lack of resources of the peasant classes the very ones who are said to have preserved the religion, according to the Neo-Pagan mythos. Stregheria and Italian vernacular magic and healing are, then, quite different but interconnected traditions. Many Italian Americans who today see themselves as carriers of Stregheria grew up in families that preserved aspects of the enchanted worldview in an immigrant context. While Stregheria may be helping contemporary Italian Americans rediscover aspects of their roots and feel pride in their ethnic identity, its form, structure and cultural context are markedly different from those of the enchanted worldview and its associated practices in Italy. Yet Stregheria should not be interpreted

as inauthentic, fake or contrived, for innovation and reclamation are part of the process of tradition. The enchanted worldview cannot exist in the context of contemporary urban North America; Italian Americans need new ways to construct and preserve ethnic identity, and for some, Stregheria satisfies those needs. http://tribalpaganism.livejournal.com/10321.html

Compiled by Marc Carlson It was last edited 9 June 2004 My thanks to Andy Anderson pd49@dial.pipex.com for assistance on converting the table. Much of this work was based on the "Calender of Witch Trials" in European witch trials, their foundations in popular and learned culture, 1300-1500. Berkeley: University of California Press,by Richard Keickhefer. Please note, this listing is not intended to be exhaustive, but is an ongoing compilation, as this evidence comes out.

ItalyDate 371 Place Rome # ? Name "Some People" Sex Notes and sources: Used divination to determine the time of death of the Emperor Valentian I, and the name of his successor, ? were tried and executed (Source: Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 41) Eight Ghibbeline Lords of Recanati, allies of Federico of Montefeltro (count of Urbino) charged by John XXII with idolatry, heresy, and Invocation. (Sources: Raynaldus, Annaks, a.a. 1322, no. 1ff., and esp. 1321, no. 38; Conrad Eubel, ed., Builariun franciscanuin sive Roinanorum pontificuin constitutiones (Rome, 1898m 1904), V, no. 405, 455a, 46i, 536, 582. Hansen, Zauberwahn, 334; F. Bock, 'I processi di Giovanni XXII contro 1 Ghibellini delle Marche', Bolletino dell'Istituto storico 1taliano per 11 medio evo, LVII (194I), 19-43; Cohn, Europe's Inner Demons, 193; Kieckhefer, European witch trials) Woman tried by ecclesiastical court for diabolism [case known only from possibly forged judicial opinion attributed to Bartolo of Sassoferrato (both opinions are given, at different times, by Keickhhefer)] (Sources: ? Hansen, Quelien, 64-6; cited Ibid., 453. Hansen, Zauberwahn, 334-6; Lea, History ofthe Inquisition, III, 534; Lea, Materials, 1, 232. See esp. Cohn, Europe's Inner Demons, 138-45; Keickhefer, European Witch Trials; Keickhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages) ? A number of people, including a widow, a monk, and the rector of a church are interrogated by the Inquisition for using charms (Sources: Keickhefer, Magic in the

1320

Italy, Ancona

8

??

c1340

Italy, Novara

1

??

1344/46 Italy, Florence

?

??

1360c

Italy, Como

?

??

?

1370

Italy, Milan ?

??

?

1371

Italy, Salurn

2

???

?

1375

Italy, Florence

?

??

?

1375

Italy, Reggio

?

??

?

1375c

Italy, Florence

?

??

?

1383

Italy, Siena ?

??

?

1384

Italy, Florence

?

??

?

1384

Italy, Milan ?

??

?

Middle Ages, 192) Unspecified number of persons tried (presumably by Inquisitor) as members of secta strigiarum, according to sixteenth-century treatise. (Sources: Hansen, Quellen, 282; cited Ibid., 454. Hansen, Zauberwahn, 337. Cohn, In Europe's Inner Demons, 145f, dismisses this case as a fiction; 1t seems more likely that it is based on an archival reference to action against some form of witchcraft, probably mere sorcery.) Date given for trial by Russell, Witchcraft, 2io, evidently In reference to trial Of 1390.1) Woman and man tried by secular court for 1mage magic; woman apparently executed. (Sources: Hartmann Ammann, 'Ein Mordversuch durch Zauberei 1m jahre 1371', Mittheilungen des dsterreichischen Instituts fur Geschichtsforschung, X (1889), 135-8 (with commentary). Hansen, Zauberwahn, 389.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Woman tried for love magic by municipal court; sentenced In absentia to burning, but sentence later canceled. (Sources: Excerpts translated In Brucker, Society of Renaissance Florence, zeof Brucker, 'Sorcery@, gf, 23 (from MS).) Gabrina degli Albeti branded and mutilated by municipal court for sorcery (mostly love magic), diabolically Instigated curses, and Invocation. (Sources: Aldo Cerlini, 'Una strep reggiana e 1l suo processor Studi storici, XV (igo6), 59-68 (with commentary). Russell, Witchcraft, 209f) Woman tried for magic. Cerlini, 'Una dama e una stega', 85; Russell, Witchcraft, 210.) Effort by Inquisitor to Instigate proceedings against group of witches, who allegedly engaged In love magic, Invocation (to obtain murder), and especially diabolism; no record of judicial proceedings. (Sources: G. Sanesi, 'Un episodio d'eresia nel 1383', Builettino senese di storia patria, III (1896), 384f. Brucker, 'Sorcery', 1 9f , 23; Russell, Witchcraft, 2 1o.) Niccolo Consigli executed by Inquisitor for illicit exorcism', necromancy, divination, sorcery (infliction of disease, attempt at death, and manipulation of affections), and diabolism. (Sources: Excerpts translated In Brucker, Society of Renaissance Florence, 36i-6. Brucker, 'Sorcery', 13-16, 22f. (from M8).) Woman tried by Inquisitor for attending assemblies with 'Oriente'. Verga, 'Documenti', 1 66; Russell,

1387-8

Italy, Turin and ? Pinarolo

??

?

1390

Italy, Milan ?

??

?

1390 1390 1394 1396

Italy, Milan ? Italy, Milan ? Italy, Florence Italy, Florence ? ?

?? ?? ?? ??

? ? ? ?

1399

Italy, Portogruar ? o

??

?

1404

Italy, Florence

?

??

?

1409

Italy, Pisa ?

??

?

Witchcraft, 2 1I.) Waldensians tried by Inquisitor; charges Included diabolical assemblies. (Sources: Girolamo Amatil 'Processus contra Valdenses In Lombardia superiori, anno 1387', 4rchivio storico 1taliano, ser. 3, 1) Pt 2 (I 864), 3-52, and 1I, Pt 1 (I 865), 3-6i; excerpts Inj.j. 1. von D611inger, Beitrdge zur Sektengeschichte des Mittelaiters, 1I (Munich, 18go), 251-73. Hansen, Zauberwahn, 41 1; Lea, Materials, 1, 204; Riezler, Geschichte der He.ren- prozesse, 46; Russell, Witchcraft, 220; Cohn, Europe's Inner Demons, 37f) Woman executed by Inquisitor for attendance at assemblies led by 'Diana' or 'Erodiade' or 'Oriente'. Verp, 'Documenti', 1 67 (from MS); Russell, Witchcraft, 7-13.) Woman executed for diabolism by Inquisitor. Verga, 'Documenti', 167 (from MS); Russell, Witchcraft, 211) Woman tried, presumably by ecclesiastical court, for attending assemblies with 'Diana'. Verga, 'Documenti', 167 (from MS); Russell, Witchcraft, 2I2f) Woman whipped and imprisoned by municipal court for love magic. Brucker, 'Sorcery', 10, 24 n. 45.) Man imprisoned by municipal court for attempted divination. Brucker, 'Sorcery', 1 2f , 22, 24 (from MS).) Unspecified number of witches burned; court not specified. (Sources: Francesco di Manzano, Annali del Friuli, VI (Udine, 1868),139; reprinted In Bonomo, Caccia, 478 n. 1. Russell, Witchcraft, 209.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Man sentenced to penance and imprisomnent by municipal court for various offenses; had employed love magic (applying unguent to his own genitals before Intercourse, Leaving Inscribed parchment In certain place) and administering pulverized bird-bones) and other forms of magic. (Sources: Excerpts In Brucker, Society of Renaissance Florence, 266-8. 'Brucker, 'Sorcery',IOf, 22., 2.4 n. 45 (from MS).) Trial of Benedict XIII at council of Pisa for divination, Invocation, sorcery (weather magic), and other offenses. (Sources: J. Vincke, 'Acta Concilii 120 Calendar of Witch Trials Pisani' . Rimische Quartalschriftfir christliche 41tertumskunde undfsir Kirchen- geschichte, YLVI (I938), esp. 185-2o8. Margaret Harvey, 'Papal Witch- craft The Charges against Benedict XIII', Sanctity and Society The Church and the World, ed. Derek Baker (Oxford,

1412

Italy, Florence

?

??

1420-3

Italy, Rome ?

??

1421

Italy, Florence

?

??

1422

Italy, Venice

?

??

1424

Italy, Rome ?

??

1427

Italy, ? Benevento Italy, Florence ?

??

1427

??

1427 1428

Italy, Rome 1 Italy, Todi ?

?? ??

1973), 109-16.) Man sentenced to amputation and banishment by municipal authorities for fraudulent claims; had obtained money from certain Individuals by promising ? to Invoke devil In their service. (Sources: Excerpts translated In Brucker, Society ofrenaissance Florence, 268-70) Woman burned by Inquisitor for changing self Into form of cat and killing children, with devil's aid. (Sources: Felix 14enimerlin, Dialogus de nobilitate et rusticitate, C. 32 (reprinted In Hansen, Quellen, 1io); Johann Hartlieb, Buch aller verbotenen Kunst, c. 3 3 (reprinted In Hansen, Quellen, 13 1). Hansen, ? Zauberwahn, 349; Russell, Witchcraft, 2 1 6; Riezler, Geschichte der Hexenprozesse, 68f Hemmerlin gives the date 1420, while Hartlieb (an eyewitness) gives 1423. The Incident may be 1dentical with one In 1424, Rome (q.v.), though Riezler 1s rightly cautious about makeing this identification.) 2 women penanced by municipal court for contriving ? sorcery and Incantation to recruit personnel for brothel. Brucker, 'Sorcery', 1 1, 24 n. 45 (from MS).) Franciscans tried by ecclesiastical-secular commission for sacrificing to demons. Lea, History of the ? Inquisition, III, 547; cited In Hansen, Quelen, 455; Hansen, Zauberwahn, 338 n. 1.; Russell, Witchcraft, 2IO.) Woman burned by unspecified court for killing children and bewitching people. (Sources: Hansen, Quellen, 529f Hansen, Zauberwahn, 349; Lea, History of the ? Inquisition, III, 535; Riezler, Geschichte der Hexenprozesse, 68; Russell, Witchcraft, 216. Cf 1420or 1423, Rome, for date.) (Source: Date given In Russell, Witchcr4ft, 338; applies only to sermon given by St Bernardino, with reference ? to undated story about witchcraft.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Woman beheaded by secular court for love magic and ? Invocation. Brucker, 'Sorcery', 16f (from MS).) Burned. Confessed without torture for the murder of 30 children and sucking their blood, killing many other ?w people, including her own son with a magic powder. (Source: Kieckhefer, Magic in the Middle Ages, 195) ? Matteuccia Francisci burned by municipal court for witchcraft; In first part of trial, charged with various forms of sorcery (mostly love magic), Incantation, and

1445

Italy, Perugia

?

??

f

1446 1448 1448

Italy, Perugia Italy, Gorze Italy, Gorze Italy, Gorze

? 1 1

?? ?? ??

?

beneficent magic; In second part, charged with diabolism and killing children as strega. (Sources: Candida Peruzzi, 'Un processo di stregoneria a Todi nel '400', Lares Organo delta Societd di Etnografia 1taliana-Roma, XXI (I955), fasc. 1-II, 1-17 (with conunentary). Bonomo, Caccia, 119.) Woman burned by secular court for divination and sorcery. (Sources: 'Cronaca della citta di Perugia dal '3og al 14ig nota col nome di "Diario del Graziani" ', 4rchivio storico 1taliano, ser. 1, XVI (i 85o), pt 1, p. 565; reprinted In Hansen, Quellen, 547f- Calendar of Witch Trials 127; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Date given In Russell, Witchcraft, 339, for trial Of 1445, q.v.)

?m Banished ?f Burned Branded 2 women and 1 man tried by secular court as witches; 1 woman burned, other branded, man banished. (Sources: Huguenin, Chroniques, 261; reprinted In Hansen, Quellen, 552f; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Woman burned by secular court for love magic. Werner L. Gundersheimer, 'Crime and Punishment In Ferrara, 1440-I500', In Lauro Martines, ed., Vioknce and Civil Disorder In 1talian Cities, 1200-1500 (Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, 1972), 120f) Unspecified number of witches accused by Inquisitor, who requested aid of secular authority; had allegedly rejected sacraments, immolated children, adored devil. Cesare Cantii, Gli e"tici d'Italia, III (Torino, 1868), 143; summarized In Hansen, Quellen, 472; Hansen, Zauberwahn, 419; Lea, Materials, 1, 235.) burned Man tried for witchcraft and Invocation by Inquisitor; absolved. Vittorio Spinetti, le streghe In Valtellina (Sondrio, 1903), 56-8.) Man burned by secular court as stregone. Hansen, Quellen, 569.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Hansen, Quellen, 476, deduces from the treatises of Girolamo Visconti, Ambrose de Vignate, Bernard of Como, and Sylvester Prierias that these cities witnessed witch trials during this decade; while the treatises do

1448

1

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1454

Italy, Ferrara

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?

1455

Italy, Edolo (Val ? Camonica) Italy, Locarno Italy, Como

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1455 1456 1457

1 ?

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Italy, Milan ? ?

1460-70 Italy, Milan, Como, Turin

1462

Italy, Ascanio and Bologna

?

??

?

1463-4

Italy, Milan ?

??

?

1465

Italy, Porlezza

?

??

?

1466

Italy, Assisi ?

??

?

1467-80 Italy

?

??

?

1467

Italy, Brescia

?

??

m

1467

Italy, Rome ?

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?

1468

Italy, Bologna

?

??

?

imply familiarity with recent proceedings, any specification of time and place remains speculative; d, however, the reference to Mendristo, c- 1457, In Hansen, Quelen, 281.) References given In Russell, Witchcraft, 339, to letter of Mariano Sozzini, In which Sozzini relates a story about a witch; action of the story is not dated, and is fanciful; there i no evidence of judical action.) Reference given In Bonomo, Caccia, 143; sources cited letters, which do not give details of prosecution.) Reference given In Russell, Witchcraft, 339; source is undated petition from citizens of Porlezza to Francesco Sforza, requesting prosecution of witches responsible for bewitching townsmen; no record of consequent judicial action. (Sources: Luigi Fumi, 'L'Inquisizione romana e lo stato di Milano', archivio storico lombardo, ser. 4, XIII, anno 37 (I9IO), 1o6.) Ecclesiastical trial of heretics, accused Inter alia of holding diabolical assemblies. (Sources: Franz Ehrle, 'Die Spiritualen, 1hr Verhil@ zum Franziskanerorden und zu den Fmticeflen', 4rchivfu-r Literatur- und Kirchen- geschichte des Mittelalters, IV (1888), 11034. Hansen, Zauberwahn, 412; Cohn, Europe's Inner Demons, 44-9.) (Reference given In Russell, Witchcraft, 339; not borne out In source there cited.) Man tried by Inquisitor for heresy; allowed abjuration; later charged with diabolism, 148o, but record does not specify that this charge arose 1467. (Sources: Guenini, Cronache bresciane, 185.1; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Fraticelli tried for holding nocturnal orgies and maleing sacramental powder from ashes ofchildren. Lea, Materials, 1, 203; Russell Witchcraft, 339.1) Prior tried by secular court for maintaining succubi In brothel, and offering sacrifice to them. Jakob Burckhardt, The Civilization of the Renaissance In 1taly, transl. S. G. C. Mddlemore (New York, 1929), 1I@ 502 n. 2; cited In Hansen, Quellen, 578; Lea, Materials, 1. 255 ('This seems to be the acme of the superstition').) burned 3 women burned by ecclesiastical court for witchcraft. Vayra, 'Le streghe del Canavese', esp. 256ff., 658ff.;

1472 1472

Italy, FornaRivara Italy, Val Canavese

3 3

?? ??

? f

cited In Hansen, Queleni 485.) 1474 Italy, Levone Italy, Val Canavese 2 ?? ? burned 5 women burned by ecclesiastical court for witchcraft. Vayra, 'Le streghe del Canavese', esp. 228; excerpt In Hansen, Quelen, 485-7; Lea, History of the Inquisition, III, 518f) 2 women tried by ecclesiastical court for witchcraft. Vayra, 'Le streghe del Canavese', esp. 228-36; excerpt In Hansen, Quellen, 485-7; Lea, History of the Inquisition, III, 516f) burned Man tried by Inquisitor for relapse Into h@; reLeased; later charged with diabolism, 148o,- but record does not specify that this charge arose 1467. (Sources: Guerrini, Cronache bresciane, 185f; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Woman accused of magic; illicitly absolved by Dominican posing as Inquisitor. (Sources: Hansen, Quelen, 487. Hansen, Zauberwahn, 4I9f 1) Man tried by ecclesiastical court for diabolism. (Sources: Gueffini, Cronhe bresciane, 1, 185f; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Maria 'Medica' tried by ecclesiastical court for diabolism, sorcery and Invocation (love magic, @g), divination, and cures. (Sources: Guerrini, Cronache bresciane, 1, 183-5. Bonomo, Ca"ia, 121; Russell, Witchcraft, 26of; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) (Reference In Russell, Witchcraft, 339, not borne out In source given.) Reference given In Russell, Witchcraft, 339; not borne out In source there cited.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Unspecified number of persons condemned by ecclesiastical court for heresy; Hansen Interprets the offense (probably rightly) as witchcraft. (Sources: Hansen, Quellen, 29; cited Ibid., 502. Lea, History of the Inquisiiion, III, 547.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Woman tried by ecclesiastical court for countersorcery.; Kieckhefer, European Witch Trials) Beheaded.

1474-5

5

??

f

1474-5 1475

Italy, Val Canavese

2

?? ??

f ?

Italy, Forna 5 Italy, Brescia

1476

?

??

m

1476

Italy, Milan ? Italy, Brescia

??

?

1480

?

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m

1480

Italy, Brescia Italy, Sardinia Italy, Brescia

?

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f

1480-9 1485-7

? ?

?? ??

? ?

1486

Italy, Brescia

?

??

?

1497 1500s

Italy, Modena Italy

1 1

??

f

Bragadini, Mark m Antony

Italy North Italy, Val 1518-21 Camonica Italy, 1523 Como Italy, 1524 Como Italy, 1552Venetian 1722 Inquisition Italy, 1583 Meolcina Italy, 1583 Mesocina 1647 Italy, (4/14) Castelnovo 1647 Italy, (4/14) Castelnovo 1647 Italy, (4/14) Castelnovo 1647 Italy, (4/14) Castelnovo 1647 Italy, (4/14) Castelnovo 1510

60 ??? 64 ???

?? ??

? ? ? ? ? ? f f f f f f

burned burned Burned Burned Tried. 78.3% Women (Source: McLachlan, et al. "Witchcraft and Rape"; Monter, E. William. "Patterns of Witchcraft in the Jura". in Levack.) burned burned beheaded and burned. beheaded and burned beheaded and burned beheaded and burned beheaded and burned.

100 ??? ?? 1000+ ? ?? ?? 549 ???

"Several ?? " Quattrino, 1 Dominic Camelli, 1 Domenica Gratiadei, 1 Domenica Caveden, 1 Lucia Cemola, 1 Zinevra Baroni, 1 Catterina

Historical Witches and Witchtrials in Italy.This material is under copyright by I. Marc Carlson, unless specifically cited otherwise. The noncommercial use of these images and text is encouraged, and does not require explicit written permission from I. Marc Carlson as long as the following statement is included on each copy: Copyright I. Marc Carlson, 1998, 2000 The copyright law of the United States (United States Code Title 17) governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material, including but not limited to downloading, printing, and performance (i.e. display.) The Berne Convention, of which the United States is a signatory, governs the making of reproductions of copyrighted material internationally.

Religion and ritual

Norcias modest origins began in 1300 BC under the Sabines (an ancient tribe from Umbria) but later came to prominence under the Romans who developed the town into a powerful

municipality. After the collapse of the mighty Roman Empire the new ruling class included Barbarian invaders, the Lombards of Spoleto and the church, Christian religion later playing a major role in controlling Norcia, the Valnerina and the Valcastoriana during the Middle Ages. But this was not only a time when religion ruled supreme. Witchcraft, popular superstition and the belief in the supernatural were also universal and it is no secret that witches and sorcerers practiced their art in these Papal-controlled territories. It is said that there was even a college for sorcery in Norcia during the Middle Ages, but the only thing standing witness to this necromantic setting today is the enigmatic Lago di Pilato which is located on Monte Vettore in theSibillini mountains. It is a place of pilgrimage. A place where many sorcerers from all over Europe once came to hold their strange rituals around its shores until Papal rulers put up a wall to prevent access to the lake. Some weird stones inscribed with occult symbols have apparently been found near the lake, suggesting perhaps that some truth and not just myth surrounds this very unusual place (sadly, no one knows where they are). Not only does the lake get its name from a remarkable legend concerning Pontius Pilate who is supposedly buried here, it is one of the most important visitor attractions in the entireMonti Sibillini National Park. Local legend also has it that one of the ancient and wise priestesses with oracular powers lived near Norcia. The most famous of these, the Cumaean Sibyl from Campania, took refuge in a cave in the mountains above the town, which is perhaps why they are called the Monti Sibillini. Her magical kingdom seduced many intrepid visitors but those who came face to face with the Sibilla would discover that she was really a wicked temptress and once lured to her cave would eventually remain trapped there forever.

Black arts in NorciaMythical and legendary flirtation apart, there are some written accounts which seem to suggest that the black arts were actually practised in these parts. Pierre Bersuire told of macabre goingson in Norcia. Antoine De La Salle wrote about his visit to the area in 1420, recording his findings in Le Paradis del la Reine Sybille. Fra Bernadino Bonavoglia di Foligno wrote about strange rituals during the 15th century. Enea Silvio Piccolomini (later Pope Pius II) knew of a location somewhere near Norcia where witchcraft was practised and taught. And we also learn a little more from Benvenuto Cellini who recorded in his autobiography that a Sicilian priest who liked to dabble in necromancy tried to persuade him to take part in a macabre ritual up in the Sibillini Montains in order to gain access to the riches of the world. According to the priest, the locals were experienced in creating magic circles thus making Norcia a most suitable location for the black arts. By happy coincidence the name Nursia which is said to be Etruscan in origin, is believed to have a magical connotation and most towns and villages in the area have inspired several tales that still associate Norcia and its environs with alchemy, witchcraft and sorcery to this very day.

Another kind of magicTo discover the hidden secrets of Norcias haunting landscape of myths and legends, you have to take the winding road that runs east of town and up to Forca Canapine. This extremely scenic route leads you to the eerie and desolate Piano Grande, a huge karstic basin that was once a glacial lake. Completely surrounded by the dark, craggy peaks and the barren slopes of the Sibillini mountains, the scenery here is unsurpassed and for me like no other in Italy. It is virtually inaccessible during winter and is positively breathtaking. The only magic you will find here is nature at its very best and the site is best seen during late spring when the entire plain is transformed into a technicoloured sea of wild flowers. I am tempted to say that Norcia, the Piano Grande, and the Sibillini mountains remind me of The Wizard of Oz, Escape to Witch Mountain, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, and The Witches of Eastwick all rolled into one. But this fascinating corner of Italy goes much deeper than a flirtation with the hocus-pocus world of sorcery and witchcraft. Norcia itself is also much more than one of Italys great culinary capitals. It offers a fascinating insight into a seemingly timeless legacy of more than 3000 years of history.

http://www.italymag.co.uk/italy-featured/norcia/norcia-world-sorcer.. The prominence of humanism and the influences of classical rather than medieval society during the Renaissance were contributing factors to the lack of violent action against witchcraft in Italy. A social, political, cultural, philosophical, and geographic survey of Renaissance Italy will justify the claim that it was a time and place of a rational, tolerant, skeptical, and even a sometimes supportive response to witchcraft.There were many casualties in parts of Western Europe as a result of the execution of alleged witches throughout the history of witch hunting. However, it is important to note a decline in such casualties as geographical perspective moves south from Germany and Poland, where the most deaths associated with witch persecution occurred, to Italy and Spain [where] there were numerous investigations but few executions.[1] It is apparent from this lack of execution that there was a particularly thorough legal process in Italy during the Renaissance, very much speaking for its rational response to witchcraft. The emphasis on legal procedure in the Italian courts comes through very much in the conduct of the Spanish inquisitors investigation of witches in Italy and the careful supervision of their work by central authorities.[2] An example of restraint and fair legal procedure in the Italian investigation of witchcraft is apparent in the case of Chiara Signorini towards the end of the Renaissance. Chiara was arrested in 1519 when her practice of magical arts had become general knowledge. There was a long inquisitorial process on her behalf and it was not until it became very obvious that her only spiritual knowledge was of witch culture that she was eventually prosecuted. After confirming this through torture, which was used as an absolute last result, Chiara was convicted of witchcraft. Rather than being executed, she was sentenced to life commitment to the Modena hospital for the poor. In contrast to the

Italian legal system she was tried by, had Chiara been in a German court she would surely have been sentenced to death.[3] Another notable aspect of Chiaras case illustrates well that people both feared yet depended on the magic-workers.[4] In her community before being arrested as discussed above, Chiara was sought by her neighbours to cure Lady Margherita Pazzani, who was Chiaras landlord until she was evicted for her magical practices, of her paralysis. This interest and involvement with magical practices by the general public was wide-spread in Italy at the time. The Catholic Church throughout the 1520s had to take measures in order to turn the Italian public from popularizing prophesy and divination. [5] In addition to the openness expressed by Renaissance Italians to the utilization of the resource of witches, there was sometimes the case of belief that witches held counsol with truly benevolent forces. For example, discourse presented by Brian Levack on the goddess Holda who conducts witches flying to the night-time Sabbath notes Italys belief in the ladies of the night, mysterious women under the direction of a queen who visited homes for beneficent purposes.[6] While witchcraft was essentially considered heretical and therefore criminal activity in Italy, there was also some open-mindedness and interest in the activities of female fortune-tellers and male magicians.[7] Essentially, there was a general feeling that one could have some involvement in magic without the fear of immediate execution, as was certainly not the case in northern regions such as Germany. In fact, the only Mediterranean examples of typical witch hunts occurred in northern Spain and Italy, influenced by the more savage French and German hunts across their borders.[8] One may also attribute the classical influences of Renaissance Italy, which were of high cultural significance at the time, to an environment more open to the prospects of witchcraft. Examples from classical myth were often used in Renaissance Italy to characterize witches as people who practice love magic, healing, prophesy, and other non-baleful forms of witchcraft. There was also little belief in Italy that witches dealt directly with the devil, and were condemned merely for having beliefs that went against the established religion. In this case, conversion and means of manipulation were the primary reactions to witches, rather than hunting and execution.[9] Also in the fifteenth century, acceptance of witchcraft was on the rise partly due to the growing popularity of the comprehensive world view of Renaissance Neoplatonism.[10]This raised witchcraft to the realm of intelligent speculation and eventually to common culture as the rules and practices of Christianity became somewhat skewed by new philosophies coming from neoplatonism regarding spirits and greater themes of the cosmos. An example of this blurring between the lines of Christianity and witchcraft can be found in the case of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa who studied in Italy for some time during his career during the Renaissance. He is a good example of why the acceptance of magical beliefs developed because of his own interest in occult magic and his inconsistent adherence to strict religious protocol. However, as asserted by George Mora: The inability of human reason to grasp the essence of the mysterious reality of the world and, consequently, the necessity for anyone involved in the search for the ultimate entities to open his heart to the infinite dimensions of the divine grace.[11] Essentially, Agrippa was in favour of branching out beyond Christianity and expanding on it with alternative beliefs, making him the perfect example of a Renaissance individual embracing elements of witchcraft.

There was also the fact that Renaissance Italy was quickly becoming skeptical of witchcraft as a legitimate threat to religion and the state. This as well as again the notion of emphasis being placed on law and justice is apparent in that the Inquisitions in Spain and Italy, which had become exceedingly painstaking in their legal procedures, seem to have grasped earlier than most other jurisdictions the scale of the difficulty of obtaining satisfactory proof that an accused person was a witch; they appear, too, to have to have been doubtful whether witchcraft was common.[12] There was also much more concern in these southern regions about the consequences both social and political of frivolously executing and conducting mass witch hunts as often occurred in more northern regions. Another way in which Renaissance thinking downplayed the threat of witchcraft was the assertion that witches themselves had no real power and were merely under the influence of the devil to believe that they had their own power and could cast spells. In reality, it was believed that the devil deceived women into thinking that they were a magical force of their own. Essentially, the general belief was that magic and witchcraft were not real things and worked through a series of lies, illusions and fictions.[13] This notion relates well with the Canon Episcopi which emerged in about 906 in a work by Regino of Prm, an abbot at the time, that asserts that some women are perverted by the devil, seduced by illusions and phantasms of demons, believe and profess themselves[14] to have magical control and the ability to be an independent participant alongside demonic beings in night-time escapades. Another occurrence was the skepticism posed by the Renaissance humanists like Desiderius Erasmus, Pietro Pompanazzi, and Andrea Alciati [who] attacked certain witch-beliefs.[15] They also attacked the scholastic mentality that proved receptive to it.[16]It was such people of the intellectual realm who questioned the validity of witchcraft and whether it was even worth investigation. A trend around the beginning of the sixteenth century was the cultural interweaving between standard religion and magical practices. Renaissance humanists were displeased with this tendency and asserted that such confused belief systems could be righted by drawing upon the classical influences of ancient Greece and Rome.[17] This is a prime example of the classical influences of the Renaissance leading the thinkers of the time to disregard witchcraft as a genuine concern. Desiderius Erasmus, mentioned above, became the sixteenth centurys most fervent critic of superstition and popular devotionalism.[18] Erasmus was a Dutch philosopher, but he spent time studying in Italy and is a very relevant figure to Renaissance ideals as discussed thus far. In his A Terrible Case of Sorcery in Orleans, Erasmus describes in detail the account of a man and his family who practiced all forms of dark arts and even raised the devil himself. Following this account, Erasmus goes into a discussion about how strict the Church is in punishing various forms of prophets and magical practitioners. The point that he makes is that there is only the rare case of a truly wicked individual drawing upon demonic forces, and that the majority of Church efforts go into condemning people who are barely guilty at all compared the individuals in his account.[19] Witchcraft in Renaissance Italy has been thus discussed with the rational legal procedures in place to deal with the matter fairly, to the notion that great thinkers of the time and place simply argued against the validity of the threat of witchcraft. The basic conclusion is that the society and culture of Renaissance Italy had a more rational and reasonable rather than a violent and excessively suspicious response to witchcraft.

[1] Anne Llewellyn Barstow, Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts(San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1995), 58. [2] Brian P. Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (London: Longman Group Limited, 1995), 223. [3] Barstow, 118-19. [4] Barstow, 118. [5] Gary K. Waite, Heresy, Magic, and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2003), 95. [6] Levack, 45. [7] Barstow, 90. [8] Barstow, 90. [9] Levack, 223-5. [10] Jeffry Burton Russel, Witchcraft in the Middle Ages (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972), 223. [11] Waite, 122. [12] Geoffrey Scarre, Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe(Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International, Inc., 1988), 21-2. [13] Gareth Roberts, The Descendants of Circe: Witches and Renaissance Fictions, inWitchcraft in Early Modern Europe, gen. ed. Jonathan Barry (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 185. [14] Regino of Prm, Canon Episcopi, in Witchcraft in the Middle Ages, Jeffry Burton Russell (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1972), 76. [15] Levack, 60. [16] Lecack, 187. [17] Waite, 53. [18] Waite, 53. [19] Erasmus, Desiderius. Desiderius Erasmus: A Terrible Case of Sorcery in Orleans (1501). in Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History, ed. Alan C. Kors and Edward Peters (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), 231-6.

http://spongy0llama.hubpages.com/hub/Witchcraft-in-Renaissance-Italy

Witch famous Adsagsona: Celtic Goddess (French or German) called the weaver of spells. In Celtic culture, the word was power,finding the right word was a magic act.

Arianrhod: Goddess of Wales, whose name translates as silver wheel. He lives on a magical island in the sky or ocean,where he is assisted by a bevy of girls.

Carman: Powerful Stega Irish, able to destroy anything with its secret spells.

Cerridwen: Goddess of Wales, connoisseur of all herbs, which prepares magic potions. E 'can change shape at will.

Circe: One of the most famous witches of Greek myth. Circe, whose name means circle or ring, lives on a floating island in the ocean, surrounded by wild animals. With a magic potion of herbs turns men into animals.

Dahut: Spirited Maga - Princess of Britain. The also built the most beautiful city in the world, Ys, walls of glass, which he built with the help of the Sea of Fate, the Korrigan.

Hecate: Famous Greek Goddess of the Witches, was worshiped at the new moon at the intersection of three roads,because Hecate was the only one able to watch simultaneously in three directions. fact Hecate has three heads, (serpent - horse and dog)

Heith: Scandinavian Stega Shaman, able to do spells so mysterious that no one is aware of his speech, and which give rise mysteriously in the mind the thoughts that Heith wants you to think.

Heget or Hekt: Goddess - frog ancient Egypt; Chair not only the magic of humanity, but also to that of the Earth,especially the magical transformation of seeds into plants.

Louhi: Finnish goddess, cunning and fierce, powerful enough to steal the sun from the sky and keep it hidden in his home, the North Farm. It has the Sampo, a magical instrument that gives abundance, which was stolen from a hero of the saga Finnish .

Marinette: Witch - spirit of Haitian Vodou, which leads its followers to shake and move her arms as if they were owls. Fly at night in the form of an owl.

Medea: Famous sorceress of Greek mythology, magic potions to induce love, sleep and death. traverses the sky with his chariot trainatao from Dragons.

Meroe: Sorceress of Greek mythology, which has the power to bring down heaven on earth, to turn men into beaversand teleport anywhere it wants.

Morgan: It 'a very powerful witch saga of British and Welsh, in whose veins runs the blood of the fairies. E 'in connection with the famous Merlin, which is the lover or sister.

Nimue: Mysterious sorceress, named Welsh, appears in the sky as the Camelot of King Arthur and Lady of the Lake The lake protects Avalon, her magical kingdom, from the looks of men.

Pamfile: Witch Greek capable of assuming any shape, smearing an ointment of magic herbs. To resume the human form, just to bathe in water that has thrown the anise and bay leaves.

Thorgerd: Women of the Scandinavian sagas, the magic so powerful that death became a Goddess. Particularly expert in divination, is in possession of magical tools that allow you to see the future.

Viviana: Witch of the Arthurian cycle, disciple and lover of Merlin. becomes more powerful than him, imprisons him in a tree where Merlin still sleeps.

Yaoji: Chinese Goddess of Witchcraft. reveals his secrets, jealously guarded, only in dreams.

http://digilander.libero.it/theola/streghe.htm

2008January 6 The Epiphany, CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL AND THE WITCH OF NAME "EPIPHANY " .... but the Befana is a wicked witch or a good old woman?

. the peasant was not to use the Christmas tree, nor the tradition of gifts, unlike what happened in the city. Even the traditional Tuscan crib, with plaster statuettes, from the churches in the rural homes came only much later, in the middle of last century. The real party of children was the Epiphany, when we thought to bring gifts to the Befana, the legendary character with the appearance of the witch, usually beneficial. He arrived at night and filled with sweets and gifts from children hanging stockings in the chimney of the kitchen. There was, however, also a witch "bad" and ugly , grim-featured, a sort of "supreme court", which distributed "coal" or worse , bad for children, as is mentioned in a popular local lullaby. . Lullaby, oh sleep, the baby who will I give? all'omo black will give it that takes a full year will give it to Befana who takes a week, to give of 'Mom . or the other, a Befana mischievous to the point of surprise in his sleep of children want them pierced ... . Befana Befana not pierce me because I ate bread and beans , and I have a hard body ture that sounds like drum On the night of the Epiphany children, in addition to hanging the stocking in the chimney, they used to put a basket of hay or a catastina of wood, instead of burning the Yule, the donkey of the Epiphany. La Befana was an intimate party and family, played entirely on the emotions of children. To increase the tension, the mother or some other relative was also fun to pull the "beans" from the chimney, claiming it was the Befana.

The commemoration of Epiphany Vinciarese, 2007 The "biography" of the Epiphany is the subject of a thorough revision by anthropologists and historians . There is no doubt that La Befana represents awitch , that in addition to use of the donkey, it can even fly on broomsticks. In northern European countries, the night of the Epiphany still burn the effigy of old women, thus confirming a reminder of the witch hunt and a certain form of hostility towards women . Even in the Florence of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the puppets were placed along the Befane high pali and dragged through the streets, with cries and shouts of "bad boys" in tow and correlative clashes between the "Befanate" who came from various quarters.The windows were displayed by families, in the sense superstitious, pictures of old women and witches, all in the midst of libations and people drinking in various taverns (G. Conti "Vecchia Firenze" from 1799 to 1859). in descriptions and stories of the early nineteenth century the Epiphany is therefore described ugly and grim, as to inspire fear and loathing, as in the local lullaby . Only later, even with the recovery of the figure of the "mother" as "first teacher", as part of new education policies of the late nineteenth century (the cd. "century of children), Epiphany became the" old lady "or" fairy ", a character certainly more sympathetic and less embarrassing for women. The fascist state , first, and thatrepubblican or Then, finally instituted the Epiphany - a package full of gifts - for children of families in need. As was customary even in Vinci, the " Epiphany of the City ", until the late sixties. Nevertheless, in the imagination of children remained the image of the "old" fairy who distributes gifts to good children . Of all the other Befane, including the "original" ugly dirty and nasty, no trace now remains, at least until recently.

The Witch Way Catherine, 2008 interpretation of the actress Kate Mills. Who would want to burn a witch like this? . Only three years ago, just in a village near Vinci, Vitolini , we see this dual and contradictory version of the Epiphany, which is first invoked and invited to bring desserts and socks to children and then is blown up and burned as a sign superstitious, not without a little 'perfidy, in the midst of the hilarity of the audience. So I assured them all the versions of the Epiphany, for some good, bad for others. Beyond the traditions to be respected, not genuinely would like to attend any more stake, albeit symbolic, especially if there are half of our children! ! From Christmas card in San Pantaleo, 2007 edited by Nicholas Baronti for the Lady of Bacchus POSTED BY DAMA COMMITTEE OF BACCHUS AT

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THE LADY OF BACCHUS TO WIN IN 2007

Tournament of Leonardo's Lady with gimmick and grape nectar

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