Weather Magic in the Early Modern Period as Reflected in the Minutes of Witchcraft Trials
Weather Magic in the Early Modern Period as Reflected in the Minutes of Witchcraft Trials

Author(s): Éva Pócs
Subject(s): History, Cultural history, Customs / Folklore, History of Law, Modern Age, Culture and social structure , 16th Century, 17th Century
Published by: Historický ústav SAV
Keywords: weather; magic; early modern period; witches; witchcraft trials; maleficium; bewitchment; black magic; belief system; culture;
Summary/Abstract: In the past few decades I have begun to examine the role that magic played in the lives of village and small town societies in the early modern period, in their mentality, religiosity and belief system. The examination was based on sources related to witchcraft. It is commonly known that the minutes of the witchcraft trials which took place throughout the 16th to 18th centuries are valuable sources with regard to the rural communities of the early modern period, in fact they constitute the only early modern source, which gives a detailed account of the communal role and social background of magic. The witness accounts of these trials reflect almost directly the ‘rural witchcraft’, which took place in the background of the official events and preceded these trials. Contrary to the accused, who may even have been forced by the expectations of elite demonology to make a false statement, the witnesses reconstructed the goings on of their village in the context of traditional witchcraft belief. They relate those of their memories, which can be interpreted as malefactions of a witch in the light of their beliefs. This allows us to gain what might near enough be called direct evidence regarding bewitchment (‘maleficium’) or black magic (or, in fact, its absence, as we shall see in what follows).

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