Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic Series Editors: Jonathan Barry, Willem de Blécourt and Owen Davies Series Foreword The history of European witchcraft and magic continues to fascinate and challenge students and scholars. There is certainly no shortage of books on the subject. Several general surveys of the witch trials and numerous regional and micro studies have been published for an English-speaking readership. While the quality of publications on witchcraft has been high, some regions and topics have received less attention over the years. The aim of this series is to help illuminate these lesser known or little studied aspects of the history of witchcraft and magic. It will also encourage the devel- opment of a broader corpus of work in other related areas of magic and the supernatu- ral, such as angels, devils, spirits, ghosts, folk healing and divination. To help further our understanding and interest in this wider history of beliefs and practices, the series will include research that looks beyond the usual focus on Western Europe and that also explores their relevance and infl uence from the medieval to the modern period. Titles include: Jonathan Barry WITCHCRAFT AND DEMONOLOGY IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND, 1640–1789 Jonathan Barry RAISING SPIRITS How a Conjuror’s Tale was Transmitted Across the Enlightenment Edward Bever THE REALITIES OF WITCHCRAFT AND POPULAR MAGIC IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE Culture, Cognition and Everyday Life Ruth Bottigheimer MAGIC TALES AND FAIRY TALE MAGIC From Ancient Egypt to the Italian Renaissance Alison Butler VICTORIAN OCCULTISM AND THE MAKING OF MODERN MAGIC Invoking Tradition Johannes Dillinger MAGICAL TREASURE HUNTING IN EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA A History Julian Goodare (editorr) SCOTTISH WITCHES AND WITCH-HUNTERS Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin and Joyce Miller (editorr) WITCHCRAFT AND BELIEF IN EARLY MODERN SCOTLAND Jonathan Roper (editorr) CHARMS, CHARMERS AND CHARMING Alison Rowlands (editorr) WITCHCRAFT AND MASCULINITIES IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE Rolf Schulte MAN AS WITCH Male Witches in Central Europe Laura Stokes DEMONS OF URBAN REFORM Early European Witch Trials and Criminal Justice, 1430–1530 María Tausiet URBAN MAGIC IN EARLY MODERN SPAIN Abracadabra Omnipotens Robert Ziegler SATANISM, MAGIC AND MYSTICISM IN FIN-DE-SIÈCLE FRANCE Louise Nyholm Kallestrup AGENTS OF WITCHCRAFT IN EARLY MODERN ITALY AND DENMARK Forthcoming: Lizanne Henderson WITCHCRAFT AND FOLK BELIEF AT THE DAWN OF ENLIGHTENMENT Andrew Sneddon WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC IN IRELAND, 1890–1940 Liana Saif ARABIC INFLUENCES ON EARLY MODERN OCCULT THOUGHT Palgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic Series Standing Order ISBN 978–1403–99566–7 Hardback 978–1403–99567–4 Paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of diffi culty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England. Agents of Witchcraft in Early Modern Italy and Denmark Louise Nyholm Kallestrup University of Southern Denmark, Odense © Louise Nyholm Kallestrup 2015 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-0-230-30071-2 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identifified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-59355-2 ISBN 978-1-137-31697-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-31697-4 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kallestrup, Louise Nyholm, 1975– Agents of witchcraft in early modern Italy and Denmark / Louise Nyholm Kallestrup, University of Southern Denmark, Odense. pages cm. — (Palgrave historical studies in witchcraft and magic) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Witchcraft—Italy—History—17th century. 2. Witchcraft— Denmark—History—17th century. 3. Trials (Witchcraft)—Italy. 4. Trials (Witchcraft)—Denmark. I. Title. BF1584.I8K345 2015 133.4'3094509032—dc23 2015002373 Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India. To my family In memory of my father This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables x Acknowledgements xi Maps xiii 1 Introduction 1 Comparing witchcraft 3 A modern breakthrough 5 Tales of magic: reading the court records 8 Moving between scales: the structure of the book 9 Part I The Prosecutors 2 Marking the limits of transgression 13 The early Christian Church 13 From Augustine to Thomas Aquinas 15 Defining witchcraft for the 16th century 18 The Witches Bull of Innocent VIII, 1484 18 Sixtus V and the Coeli et terrae 20 Love magic, a violation of free will 24 The fons et origo of witchcraft: the pact with the Devil 26 The witch: the Devil’s handmaid 27 Instructio in causis strigum 29 Renunciation and punishment 31 3 The condemnation of witchcraft in Denmark 33 Witchcraft in medieval Denmark 33 The Reformation and ‘a better world’ 35 The Devil’s milkmaids 36 Refining witchcraft trials 39 Protestant versus Protestant 41 The dreadful profanity 42 Witchcraft in an era of Lutheran orthodoxy 48 4 Comparing procedures against witchcraft in the Roman Inquisition and the Danish secular courts 53 Identifying witchcraft 53 Accusations and denunciations 54 Procedures of torture and the question of evidence 56 Judgement and sentence 59 A crimen mixti fori 62 vii viii Contents Part II The Prosecuted 5 The local studies 65 Jutland 65 Orbetello and the presidios 66 Single women and a garrison of Spanish soldiers 67 Introducing two trials: from gossip to accusation 68 Virginia di Leandro, Orbetello 69 Sidsel Christens, Hostrup 71 6 Constructing an accusation of witchcraft for the court 73 Love magic: an Italian specialty? 75 Reputed to be a witch 78 One witch reveals the other 80 Witchcraft societies in northern Jutland 82 7 From allegation to formal accusation 87 The signs of witchcraft 87 Love magic: Magia ad amorem, maleficium ad amorem 88 Unrequited love: the trial of Francesca di Rosata 89 Inappropriate love: the trial of Agata di Camillo 92 Wicked women: opening the case of Pollonia di Gallo 94 The denunciations in Orbetello accumulate: the case of Lucida di Canino 96 Denouncing for revenge: Faustina di Leusta 97 The gravest accusations of witchcraft 98 Accusations of witchcraft at the provincial court in Viborg 99 Encountering evil 102 One true witch in Orbetello: Mensola di Tiracoscia 106 To gain or to harm 109 8 Popular notions of witchcraft 111 Suspicious behaviour: three denunciations of witchcraft and magic in Orbetello 112 Manifestations of evil: Danish accusations of witchcraft 114 Narratives in court 116 Stealing or gaining? 124 The origins of magic – a source of conflict 129 Part III Encounters in the courts 9 Honest people and wicked people 133 The ‘good Christian’ 134 Convincing the judge 137 Judgement in Denmark 139 Responses to popular narratives 141 The Danish confessions 145 Parting ways 147 Contents ix 10 Conclusion: the confessor and the judge 149 Instruction and reaction 149 Witchcraft: gaining and harming 150 Honest people always speak the truth 151 Ideas of witchcraft within the courts 153 Epilogue: changes at the turn of the 17th century 154 Notes 156 Archives/sources 187 Printed primary sources 187 Bibliography 189 Index 203 List of Tables 6.1 Linked cases in Orbetello 1649–1650 81 6.2 The denunciations from Storvorde-Sejlflflod, 1620–1637 82 6.3 Denunciations amongst the witches of Aalborg, 1612–1620 84 x Acknowledgements Finishing a book feels like completing a long journey. A lot of people have helped me on mine, and I feel indebted to them all. Without their encouragements, comments and inspiration, I would never have come this far. First and foremost I wish to thank Stephen Mitchell and Matteo Duni. Stephen Mitchell for the many inspiring discussions, the provision of con- structive comments and questions to the manuscript, and for his continu- ous encouragement during the past five years. Matteo Duni for thoroughly reading and commenting on the manuscript, and for his interest in my comparative approach. I also wish to thank Elizabeth S. Cohen and Gunnar W. Knutsen and my series editor at Palgrave Macmillan, Willem de Blécourt, for reading final versions of the manuscript and offering me their valuable specialist comments. I thank Gustav Henningsen and the late Alex Wittendorff, from whose remarks I have learned a great deal. Their works continue to be a source of inspiration. I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to study at the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Santa Fede.