DEMONOLOGY AND WITCH-HUNTING IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE
D •r11 onology - the inteHectu;i.l study of demons and their powers - contributed co the prosecution o f thous:inds of witch es. But how exactly did intel lectu:i l ideas rd ate to pro ccutio nsi R e ·ent schobrship h:is sh wn that so me of the dcrnonolo gists' concerns remained at an :ib tract intell ectual level, w hi le some of the judges' concerns reAected popular culture. This boo k btings de111 onology and w itch hunting back together, whil e placing both topics in the.ir s1xcifi c regional cul tures. The book's chapters, each written by a leading sc holar, cover 111 osc regions of Europe, from Scandinavia and l:3rita.in througb to Gennany, Frwce and Switzerland, and Italy and Spain . By fo cusing on vatious intel.lectuaJ levels of demonology, fi- 0 111 sophistica ted de111 onologicaJ th ought to th e development of specifi c demonologica.l ideas and ideas within the witch ttia.l environment, the book offers ;i thorough exam ination of the relationship between demonology :md w itch- hunting.
Dc11101·10/o_~y (111(/ ltllifch-l-!1111/i11,~ i11 [;a r/y Mor/em [ 11ropc is essential reading fo r all stu dent~ and researchers of the history of demonology, witch- hunting and ea rl y modem Europe.
Julian Goodare is Pro fessor o f 1-lisco ry, University o f Ed inburgh. H is 111 ost recent book is 71,e E11ropra11 Wirc/1 -/-/11111 (Londo n: I o utlcdge, 20 16). Hi· edited books include co ltish Witrhes a11d Wi1d1 -/-f11111 crs (Basings toke: Pal!,'Tave M ac 111i l lan , 20'13), and Ir e is Director o f the o rd ine urvey of Scottish Witchcrafr.
Rita Volttner is ··eni o r Lecturer in Medi eva l and Ea rly Modern History, University of Trier. Her most recent edit ·d book is l-lem•11 1111d Hexc 11 i11 rlcr Nordcifi·I (Wcil crsw ist, 20 18) . H er LIITCJlt projects ~re on th e circulatio n of knowlcdg~. pro ·esscs of re ·ili ence, and cri rninaJ justi ce in rnedieva.l and earl y modern Europe.
Liv Helene Willmnsen is Professor Emerita of History, University of Trormo (UiT The Arcti c University of Norway). H er books include Wit rhcs t!f th e No rr/,: Sco 1/a11d a11d Fi11 111 11 ark (Lei !en, 20 13) . In 20 19 she was awarded the N o r w egian King's M edal of M etit. She is currently resea rching transferen ce of demonologiecd ideas across Eu rope. Routledge Studies in the History of Witchcraft, Demonology and Magic DEMONOLOGY AND The Science of Demons Early Modern Authors Fa cing Witchcraft and the D evil .Edited by Ja,, Ma chiclsen WITCH-HUNTING IN Demonology and W itch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe EARLY MODERN EUROPE Edit ed by Julian Cooda re, Rita Vo /11-ner, a11d Li11 l-1elene Wilh1m se 11
For more information about this se ri es, pi ase vi ·it: www.routl edge.com/ Routle dge-Studies-in- th e-History-of- Witchcraft-D emonology-and- Magic/book-series/ RSHWDM
Edited by Julian Goodare, Rita Voltmer, and Liv Helene Willumsen
I~ ~?io~!!!n~~~up LONDON AND NEW YORK First publi shed 2020 by R.outlcdgc 2 Park Square. Milto n Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX 14 4R.N and by R.o utledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenu e, New Yo rk , NY 100 17 Ro11 1led_{!e is m1 i111pri111
ISBN: 978-0-367-4Ll[)45 -9 (hbk ) ISl3N 978-IJ-367-44052-7 {pbk) 1S13N : 978- 1-003-00729-!i (cbk)
T ypcst' t in Ucrnbo by Swales & Wi lli s, Exeter. Devon, UK CONTENTS
ll/11 stratio11s X Preface .x ii Contributors .X III
Introduction: D emonology and witch- trials in dialogue Rita Vo lt111 er and Liv Hele11 e Wil/11111 sc 11
1 D emonology and th e Relevance of the Witches' C onfessions 19 Rita Vo ltm er
2 T he Metamorphoses of the Anti- Witchcraft Treatise Errores Caz arionm1 (15th Century) 49 C eo1;{! Modes tin
3 " l C onfess T hat I H ave Been ignorant:" How the J\,fa l/eus Malef,cant111 C hanged the Universe of a C leri c at th e End of the Fifteenth Century 65 vlla lter R 11111n1 el
4 " Jn th e Body:" T he Canon Episcopi , Andrea Alciati, and Gianfra ncesco Pico's Humanized D emons 86 Mla/t cr tephens viii Contents Contents ix
5 French D emonology in an Engli sh Vill age: T he St Osyth 16 Interpreting C hildren's Blakulla Stori es in Sweden (1675) 327 Experiment of 1582 107 Jari Eilala Marion Gibso n 17 Connecting D emonology and Witch-Hunting in Ea rl y 6 English Witchcraft PJmphlets and the Popular D emonic 127 Modern E urope 345 Jam es Sharpe Juliau Coo r/are
7 Witches' Fli ght in Scottish D emonology 147 382 J ulian Coo r/are
8 D emonology and Scepticism in Early Modern France: Dodin and M ontaigne 168 Felicity Green
9 Judge and D emonologist: R evi siting the Impac t of Nicolas R emy on tb e Lorrain e Witch T ri als 187 Rita Vo llrn er aurl Maryse S i111 on
10 D emonologica l T exts, Judicial Procedure, and th e Spread of Ideas about Witchcraft in Ea rl y Modern R oth enburg ob der Tauber 208 A liso n R owlan ds l 1 T o Bea t a Glass Drum: TbeTransmi ssion of Popular N oti ons of D emonology in D enmark and Germ any 233 J ens Chr. V. J ohansen
12 " He Pro mised H er So Many Things:" Witches, Sa bbats, and Devil s in Ea rl y Modern D enn1ark 243 Louise N yholm Ka lles trup
13 Uoa rd Ga mes, D ancing, and Lost Shoes: Ideas abo ut Witches' Ga therings in the Finnmark Witchcraft T rials 261 Liv H elene Willumsen
14 What did a Witc h- Hunter in Finland Know about Demonology? 282 R aisa Maria Toivo
15 T he Guardian of Hell: Popular D emonology, Exorcism, and M ysticism in 13 aroque Spain 302 Marfa Ta11 siet Illu strations xi
4.2 Coin with th e portrait ofGianfrancesco Pi co deUa Mirandola (c. 1515) 92 4.3 Title page ofGianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola, Strix (1523) 94 5. 1 T itle page of A true a11d j11st R aorrle (1582) 108 ILLUSTRATIONS 5.2 Titl e page of R eginald Scot, The Disco 11erie of Witchm!ft (1584) 110 6. 1 Titl e page of Th e Exa 111i11 at io11 and Co 1ifessio 11 of ccrtai11 e ltfl ytches (1566) 130 6.2 Title page of A f 11I/ and Impartial Acco 1111t Miracle Book of Eberlwrrlskla11 se 11 (1490- 1536) 68 17 .3 The so-called "T 1ierer H exentanzpbtz" (1593) 356 3.2 Detail from th e Miracle Book of Ebe r/1 arrlsklause 11 (1490- 1. 536) 71 17.4 Portrait ofj ose ph Gl:rnvill (r. 1681) 368 3.3 D etai l from the Miracle Book of Eberl1 arrlskla11se 11 (1490- 1536) 72 4.1 Portrait of An drea AJ ciati (c. 1617) 90 Preface xiii
PREFACE Mapl Europe
W e are gratefu l to th e D epartment of History, University of Trom 0, for host ing a confe rence in 201,1, "D emons and W itches: The Impact of D em onology o n Europea n Witch Hunts," orga ni zed by Rita Voltmer and Liv Helene Will umsen. Earl y versions of twel ve of th e chapter printed below were presented at this confe rence . Jari Eilola, Peter Elmer, M arion Gibson, J ulian Goodare, Loui se FRAN E N yholm Kall estrup, Gcorg M odes tin , Alison R owlands, W alter Rummel, Jam es Sharpe, Maryse Simon, R aisa Mari a Toivo, R..ita Voltmer, and Li v Helene Will L1111S en spoke at th e conference, w hil e Wolfgang Behringer and Stuart C lark acted as chairs and di sc ussa nts. T he editors subsequentl y invited Felicity G reen, Walter Stephens, and M aria T ausiet to broaden the perspective of the present book with their chapters. C hapter 15 below, by M aria Tausiet, was kindly translated from Spani sh by Ismael del O lmo (whose own sc holarly work is cited in the footnotes of th e chapter). W e arc gra tefu l to Dr de! O lmo fo r his ca refu l work , and to the School of History, C lassics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, fo r pro viding necessa ry funds.
The sa ddes t event to occur during the preparation of th is volume was the 0l.711s 500km, 1000kms dea th in 2017 of one o f its contributors, J ens C hr. V. Johanse n. Professor Johan sen was one of th e fo remost histo rians of Danish w itchcraft . H e had hoped to MAP 1 Europe speak at th e Tromso conference but was too iU to do so. H e did, however, complete his chapter for th e volume, and we arc delighted that his widow, G reth e Jacobsen, has agreed to its publica tion . The volume is dedica ted to his m emory. T he editorial statf at R.outledge have maintained a con istent intere ·t in the proj ect and have helped to guide us in preparation of th e volume. Co ntributors xv
Louise Nyholm Kallestrup is Associate Professor in History, University of So uthern D enmark. She is author of Agc11t s ~/' Witchcraft i11 Early N!odem Italy and Dc11111 ark (Basingstoke, 2015) . She is co-editor (with Raisa M aria Toivo) of Co ntesling Or1 /10doxy: Heresy, J\,fog ic a11d ltlli!cl1 ffaft i11 Med ieval a11d Da rt y Modem CONTRIBUTORS E 11 rope (Bas ingsto ke, 2017) .
Georg Modestin is a resea rch associate at the University of Fribourg, and teaches history at th I(antonsschule (Gymnasium) Freudenberg in Z urich. His publications include Le diab le c/1 ez l'e11eq11c: Cl1assc a11 sorciers da11 s le diocese de La11 sa 11ne (11ers 1460) (Lausann e, 1999). R ecentl y he has extended his resea rch interests to fourteenth-century chronicles.
Alison Rowlands is Professor in European History, University of Essex. H er publications include Witch.craft N arratives in Cen 11 a11y: R oth e11/J1 11;~, 15 61- 1652 (Manches ter, 2003) and, as editor, vVirchcraft a11d Masrnli 11ities i11 Early Modern E 11 rope (Basin gstoke, 2009). She is currently working on mas cu linity in ea rly modern Germany and on witchcra ft in R.othenburg ob der Tauber. Jari Eilola is Academy R esearch Fell ow in History and Ethnology, University of Jyvaskyla. His publica tions include RaJapinnoil/a: Sa lli t1111 Ja kielletyn miiiirittelemine1·1 Walter Rummel is Director of the Lindesa rchi v, Speyer. Besides w itc hcra ft '/ 600-luvun. Jiilkipuo liskon noit1.111 s- Ja taik11 1.1stapauksissa (Helsinki , 2003). His research persecutions, his research interes ts are nineteenth-century agrarian history and interests include witchcraft in Finnish and Swedish towns. National Socialism. His publica tions include Hcxc 11 und Hexc 1111e,j'olg1111,~ i11 der Fn:i he11 Neuzeit (2nd edn., Darmstadt, 2012), with Rita Voltmer. H e is currentl y Marion Gibson is Professor of R..enai ssa nce and Magical Literatures, Unive rsity writing a study of nineteenth-century bureau cracy and village li fe. of Exeter. H er most recent books are R edisco verinJi R enaissance Witchcreft (London, 2017) and W itchcreft: T!t e Basics (London, 2018). H er other books James Sharpe is Professor Emeritus of History, University of York. Witchcraft include Reading Witchcraft. (London, 1999), Witch.craft Mylhs in A 111erica 11 C11lture is one of his maj or resea rch areas, as weU as crime, and, more recently. violence, (London, 2007) an.cl l111aglni,,1/~ tl, e Pagan Pt1st (London, 2013) . in ea rly modern England. He has published widely on earl y modern English
witchcraft, most notably lllstr11111 ents
Poppins: Ma,~ia, leycnda, mito (Madrid, 2018) and Urban Magic in Early Modern Spain: A bracadabra Omnipotens (Bas ingstoke, 20l4). She is cunently researching gender and the Enli ghtenment.
Raisa M ari a Toivo is Professor of History, T ampere University. She is author of INTRODUCTION Witchcraft and Gen der in Ea rl y Modern Society: Pin/a nd and the W ider Europea n Experience (Aldershot, 2008) and Faith and Masic in Ea rly Modern Fin land Demonology and witch-trials ,n dialogue (Basings toke, 20 16) . H er current project is on Catholic R eformation in Lutheran Finland. Rita Voltmer and Liv Helene Willums en Rita Voltmer is Seni or Lecturer in Medieval and Ea rl y M odern History, University of T ti er. H er most recent edited book is Herren 11 11d Hexen in der Nordcifel (Weil erswist, 2018) . H er current projects are on the circulation of kn owledge, processes of resilience, and criminal j usti ce in medi eval and ea rl y modern E urope.
Liv Helene Willumsen is Professor Emerita of History, University of Troms0 (UiT The Arctic University of Norway). H er books include Witches of the This volume provides se venteen studies of demonology and witchcraft. With North : Scotland and Finmnark (Leiden , 2013) . In 2019 she was awarded the a broad comparative approach and geographical covera ge, ranging from North No1wegian Kin g's Medal of Merit. She is currently researching transference of ern N orway to the Iberian Peninsula and including both Protestant and C atholic demonological ideas across Europe. milieus of prosec ution and non- prosecution, th e prese nt volume takes forward recent debates about the impac t of demonology on witch-ttials in a European context. In illustrating the w ide themati c and geographical range in the chapters below, this introducti on foc uses first on the definitio11 of demonolosy and witch huntin,~, and second on the cirrnlation of knowled,~e between the two fields of thinking with demons, and of taking action against demons (exorcism) and witches (criminal trials) . ln its third and last part, the introduction presents a short oven1iew of each of the seventeen chapters.
Sc holars have been debating th e relationship between demonology and witch hunting for a long time. In 1959, R ossell H ope R obbins prese nted the first Engli sh-lan guage encyclopedia of " W itchcraft and D emono logy," and es tab lished a firm link between dem onology, demonologists, and witch- hunts. 1 Continuing the line of argument that had originated with Andrew Dickso n White, George Lincoln Burr, and H enry C harl es Lea,2 R obbins belonged to the rati onalist sc hool of witchcraft research rs w ho foc used on the persecu tions of the fifteenth to th e seventeenth centuries as part of th e "history of Europea n civiliza tion, or rath er un- civilization."3 H e defin ed witchcraft as a new heresy, invented by the Inquisition, and de 111 onology as subordinated to "witchology." His often reprinted encyclopedia treated " the scientific