Introduction
The magnitude of suffering triggered by the shooting rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado leaves our society with a heightened fear of violence in the lives of our children. But it also brings to mind the artificial world that is created on the high school campus. An article by Leon Botstein entitled "Reality check: Time to abolish obsolete high school" is in the May 18, 1999 issue of the Houston Chronicle, and it addresses the absurd environment of the high school student. The campuses are not a microcosm of the real world, says Botstein, but a world dictated by superficial standards of dress, popularity, success and beauty. The adults do not set the standard but the students themselves, and many times these standards serve to insulate a small, select, and exclusive social clique. This world is filled with outcasts and as a result, these outcasts can internalize the rules and standards of their immediate world assuming that it is a reflection of what the real world holds for them. What is to become of the social outcast? Perhaps they seek a hiding place, or a comfortable niche, or do they strike back?
Botstein's article argues that it is time to abolish the high school and stop educating students by virtue of birth date, but as determined by achievement level. The college campus does not impose chronological restraints, so must the high school student be so constrained? Botstein is the president of Bard College in Annandale-on- Hudson, New Jersey, and his experience in academia convinces him that the current model of education is obsolete. "Adults should face the fact that they don't like adolescents and that they have used high school to isolate the pubescent...from the more accountable world of adulthood." It is apparent that the high school student is an outcast of society, and as we have all suspected, some of them have figured this out. The imbroglio found in society’s attempts to purge its outcasts have been observed throughout literature, and I believe the adolescent maintains a personal connection to the outcast.
Students will probably find the discussion and subsequent analysis of the outcast more relevant if they are presented with themes and issues which allow them to personalize the struggles of those rejected by society. Are the students certain that the community within the literary work is a fair society? Is it unfairly biased? Is the outcast a true threat to the well being of the community or is the outcast a target of hatred, ignorance and prejudice? This curriculum unit is relevant to the senior year of British literature because it serves to supplement the continuum of genre with issues surrounding the antagonist and not the ever-so-predictable hero. More to the point, this unit provides a forum for grasping the concepts of good and evil as well as the person throughout history deemed the outcast by society.
The strategy of this unit, called “Evil: Man’s Good Works Create the Desperate Outcast,” is to serve as a reference tool throughout the entire school year. It is a compilation of 1.) lecture notes covering key concepts on the origins of the Devil, magic, agents of magic, the association of these agents with the Devil, and various theories on evil, 2.) a book report on sixteenth century Essex County during a century of witchcraft persecution, 3.) objectives and suggested activities promoting the examination of the malevolent archetypes found in British literature throughout the senior curriculum. The unit is designed to assist the teacher in providing one more perspective of characterization. It provides the breath and depth of a perspective typically ignored and that is the point of view of the antagonist. This unit asks the student to consider the motives of the antagonist and the degree of fairness by which society treats him. This unit provides a forum in which the student can observe and question the various archetypes and theories of evil and whether they are always the same.
The following questions are designed to assist the teacher with integrating research with discussions about theories on evil, the Devil, agents of the Devil, as well as the history of magic and the occult. As the teacher surveys the various questions targeting these key concepts and their relevance to different works of British literature, sections of research are delineated for referral and application.
The senior year begins in the Anglo-Saxon period with the examination of an important archetype in a person condemned for their practice in the occult or magic. How does man historically judge others capable of commanding acts of mystery? Are these acts evidence of magic or miracle? Section A entitled “Research for Teacher-Preparation on the Historical Background of the Witch and her Role in Society.” These notes will assist the teacher in preparing discussion and lecture notes in the exploration of the following questions. Why were practitioners of magic outcasts? Why were they associated with the Devil? Section B entitled “Magic-Research for Teacher-Preparation” defines the two types of magic practiced throughout ancient civilization: a.) natural magic which is an invocation of the supernatural or preternatural for the sake of control over the influences of man’s life, and b.) demonic magic which is the invocation of explicitly demonic spirits for the sake of control over the influences of man’s life. Natural magic ultimately grew more reliant upon the invocation of demons. The witch became the outcast of society as the fear of Satan’s power grew.
The witch and sorcerer portrayed in the Arthurian tales serve as excellent archetypes for developing the theme of the antagonist as an outcast of society. Merlin proved a sorcerer whose powers diminished as faith and knowledge in the Christian and scientific realms developed. The life of Morgan Le Fey proves complex because she was the witness to the violent rape of her mother Ygraine by the warrior-king of England, Uther. The product of this violence was Arthur, the future king of England. The reference to the witch of Endor could be used as a comparison to Morgan Le Fey. I Kings 21 can be found in Section B which contends with her death sentence resulting from her attempts to gain land for her husband. Her death sentence heralds the doom of any practitioner in gods like Ba’al - Melkart, a nature god. Further references to Biblical scripture clarify the significance and distinguishing qualities found in magic, as well as other characters who were purged from society as agents of evil.
Another interesting aspect of Morgan Le Fey is the juxtaposition of this female character as witch as found in many of the French tales and as Greek goddess as told by later English authors. The Druidic priestess of the Celts who migrated through Gaul and Ireland is very similar to the character of Morgan in the Vulgate Cycle. The Druidic priestess maintained powers needed for the survival of the tribes and for success in tribal warfare. She was not an outcast but a leader or figure of respect within the tribe. In later English works, Morgan appears as a Greek goddess whose whims prove a trial for the mortal. Why did the English choose to alter her appearance? Was the portrayal of Morgan offensive to their sense of nationalist - pride? Answers to these questions can be explored with the use of the teacher’s annotated bibliography.
The year continues with an examination of the Geat-eating-monster Grendel and his mother in the Anglo-Saxon epic called Beowulf. Why is Grendel evil? Why has he performed his heinous crimes in the Mead Hall of Heorot? Does his cave symbolize the den of Satan? The teacher can refer to Section A for a short history on the background of Satan and include these notes when considering the following questions. What is the origin of this image of the dwelling? Does the creature feel remorse, guilt or shame for his actions? Initial discussion coupled with C. Fred Alford's survey from his text entitled What Evil Means to Us serves as an effective starting point for the class discussions on evil. Alford presents the theory that man dreads the prospect of existing as a vulnerable creature of impending doom. Evil acts are man’s attempt to inflict the feeling of dread on another human. Empowered by causing feelings of dread in another person, the evil doer can celebrate the knowledge that he is not the passive recipient to the dread of death. Particularly relevant to the creature are the questions of whether he perceives himself as evil or does he feel he is simply defending his domain. Can creatures of the wild be evil?
The teacher might refer to Freud’s theory on evil found in the text entitled Civilization and Its Discontents (1930). Within this theory Freud identified the basic instinct of survival and preservation by building community and family as Eros. The other instinct is death and its intent is to bring man to his original state of existence, the primeval state. According to Freud, man desires omnipotence and control over nature and may direct the instinct for death over others to gain these desires. Does this theory apply to Grendel? Perhaps a different view can be reached by reading a modern novel from the perspective of the creature which assures the reader a depth of knowledge unavailable in the epic.
Key concepts and attitudes toward evil and magic will be identified in the Judeo-Christian world in order to better understand the scribe's motivations in altering Beowulf. Another perspective of the prodigious outcast will be considered as the class reads Grendel. A goal in reading this novel is for the class to gain knowledge of Grendel's perspective for his motives. At this point, C. Fred Alford's text entitled what Evil Means to Us refers to the mind set of the prisoner and that their lack of empathy for the victim is rationalized by their idea of a society at war. There are no victims, just casualties of war. Does Grendel share in the perspective found in the prison? Is Grendel an outcast because he truly cannot be permitted in man's society? Or, is he unfairly judged and is his isolation the result of bigotry and prejudice? Does Grendel demonstrate the instinct known as Eros? As new characters are unveiled throughout the year, these questions will be addressed through a variety of activities focused on objectives of defining roles and the etymology of the archetypes.
Another example for effectively implementing this unit is found in the portrait of the witch in Shakespeare’s Mac Beth and Henry VI: Part One. The three troublesome witches and Hecate will be considered as paragons of the medieval witch. Are these witches consistent with the students' perceptions of witches? The teacher can refer to the background information on the witch in Section A entitled “Agents of the Devil.” More information is provided in Section C entitled “The Revival of Magic/Occult” which examines a debate as to a perceived growth or renewal in the practice of magic in the middle ages. Shakespeare portrays Joan La Pucelle or Joan of Arc as the conjurer as she defeats England's forces in Burgundy. Why did this playwright choose to portray this woman as a witch when she has been revered throughout history as a saint? What could be his political motives? Did his chroniclers, like Holinshed and Hall, depict her as a witch? An enlightening book report is included in Section D-entitled “ A Book Report and Case Study on Witchcraft.” This research is based on a 16th century county in England which tried in one year's time over five hundred cases of witchcraft. I chose to complete this report and include it in this unit because it provides worthwhile portrayals of the outcast deemed witch.
Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A Regional and Comparative Study was written by Alan Mac Farlane in 1970 providing the teacher and class with information about a community who feared those they purged from the village. The elderly, poor, widowed women were left without means of survival; as a result, says Mac Farlane, they resorted to beggary. As the town faced economic change, the townspeople failed to provide handouts to these outcasts who returned their failed gestures with curses of damnation. Accusations of conjuring soon followed and the accused soon found themselves faced with execution. The teacher might present this information in the format of a lecture with an outline conducive to accurate note-taking or they might choose to present the book report for the student's own reading and study. Questions can then be addressed to the nature of condemnation. Who decides when a person cannot be tolerated and who decides when they must be cast aside or purged?
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein should prove a valuable text for considering the outcast. Is the creature a figure of evil as defined by Freud of Alford? Or is the creature more like the accused witches in MacFarlane’s case study? In other words, was he acceptable as long as he proved valuable for mankind and then lose his value once he became dependent on man’s altruistic feelings? Did the creature seek dominion over others or did he seek to eliminate the feeling of dread from his psyche? Did the doctor violate social codes of morality when he deserted the creature for a slow, tortured death? Perhaps the evil acts performed by Dr. Frankenstien can be better understood if the teacher includes chapter two from Lawrence Thomas’ Vessels of Evil. The chapter discusses the development of man with regards to his propensity to commit acts of evil. If the human develops normally, then they will not be easily disposed to harming others. If the person does not develop accordingly, then they will violate others in order to maintain their own level of comfort.
Milton’s Paradise Lost provides the ultimate battle between Satan and God for dominion over mankind. Elaine Pagel’s text the Origin of Satan is a good reference tool for exploring the history and origins of Satan. Pagel’s work explores the thesis that people have historically battled agents of Satan as the only means of preserving the one true God. Those of other faiths had to be eliminated, or purged from society, as the only means of preserving the one, true religion. Disbelievers, always perceived as the enemy, were associated with the Devil, like the witch, in order to validate the certain destruction of the enemy. This theory can be the basis of discussing the relationship between Satan and God as presented by Milton. Why was Satan cast out of Heaven? Does this act validate the casting out of all sinners? What was Milton’s motive in creating the epic? Was he attempting to convert the congregation to a belief in the Christian view of good and evil?
Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner provides a battle for a castaway with elements of both good and evil. To better understand the epic on various levels, the text by Alford, What Evil Means to Us, discusses the need to project evil more abstractly. In other words, the images of slimy creatures, spectors, fire, and dead bodies allow man to view symbolic forms of his overwhelming dread of death.
SECTION A: “Agents of the Devil” - RESEARCH FOR TEACHER -PREPARATION.
This section is a report of the historical background of the witch and her role in society.
The development of the witch and her disposition within her community throughout the middle ages has depended upon the intellectual perceptions of her inherent relationship with the Devil and subsequently with god. From the period of St. Augustine (300 ad) to the 17 th century, the role of the witch has developed into one of Devilish cohort and heretic. Events throughout time such as the politics, economics. Religious teachings, plagues, disease and hardships typical of daily life served to galvanize the belief that evil was a constant companion of the individual and this agent was found in the Devil’s subordinate, the witch.
As agent of the Devil, the profile of the witch grew darker and more malevolent as the role of the Devil grew more threatening to the individual. The folklore of the witch and Devil were codified by church dogma and juridical prosecution. Initially, the once wise-woman or sorcerer was transformed into and dealt with as diabolic heretic worthy of execution not for acts of malfeasance so much as for their perceived association or pact with the Devil. Eventually, the association or pact with the Devil declined in importance with regards to the civil court procedures but the maleficia grew more important; however, the evidence itself was consistently scanty and hinged on the coerced confessions of the accused. How this transformation in church dogma and legal process developed for the witch and why it continued can be answered by looking at the intellectual shifts in the perceptions of the Devil from the Old Testament to the New Testament and the subsequent ramifications of this shift.
To begin, Satan from the Old Testament was popularly perceived as the fallen angel intent on tricking man or detracting man from God’s will. The role of Satan was not organized or well structured and as a result, he never posed a serious threat to the rule of God or to the individual. This role began to change when the dualistic view of good and evil grew in popularity. Beginning with the Manicheans, the role of the Devil became that of the causal agent for everything bad on earth. The New Testament provided for Christ’s triumph over the Devil; however, the suffering of Christ for man’s original sin reinforced the belief that a paradox exists for mankind. The threat of the Devil’s power and influence over man became paramount. By the 4 th century, Saint Augustine heightened the awareness of the Devil when he systematized the role of the Devil as the deceiver of the whole world. “Satan became the Great Devourer”(Kors and Peters).
To the contrary, the 12 th century was a time of mixed beliefs as some skeptics could be heard negating the power of the Devil. For example, Gratian (1140 a.d.) warned that the bishops and officials must uproot the followers of the Devil from the parishes and expel them. But Gratian did not suggest they execute or prosecute and the implication is that they were not as feared as they will become in the imminent centuries.
Saint Thomas Aquinas by the 13 th century (1225 a.d.) codified the theology of Christianity and the teachings of Saint Augustine with regards to the Devil as the source of the eternal suffering of mankind; hence, the Manichean view was codified into Christian doctrine. In “Witchcraft and Exorcism,” a chapter from the Summa Theologica, Saint Thomas declared that witchcraft cannot be removed by human agents and therefore, it is permanent unless God so chooses to destroy it.” The witch’s association with the Devil grew more important as the suffering of the Christ-god became the focus of the Christian faith. The Christian dogma provided the basis for her excommunication and for her civil prosecution which typically resulted in her execution.
In 1258, Pope Alexander IV issued a papal letter instructing the inquisition to investigate witchcraft only if heresy was deemed evident. Such evidence of heresy would be found in the witch’s confession or mark of a pact with the Devil. She would be investigated then, not for acts of malfeasance but for her pact with the Devil, and rendered unto the civil courts for sentencing. By 1310, the Council of Treves denied the accused-witch of sacraments; ultimately, this act resulted in the damnation of her soul. By 1320, Pope John XXII declared that any means necessary must be used in determining the witch and her heretical pact with the Devil.
In the 15 th century, the Malleus Maleficarum was written by Kramer and Sprenger, two Dominican monks and inquisitors. The text explored the powers, strengths and practices of the witch. As to the gender of the witch, they attributed the moral decay of the female as the impetus for the seduction of the Devil. The female is inherently weak and prone to amoral acts; therefore, she proves lustful of the gifts offered by the Devil. All witchcraft stems from carnal lust and the desire to better one’s self through material gifts. As a midwife, the witch will create miscarriage and abortion. She will make the infant a gift to the Devil, or she will devour the infant. By the 14 th century, the witches’ Sabbath is made known in the Inquisition of Toulousse. It is during the 15 th century that witchcraft is fully assimilated and the diabolical pacts with the Devil and the Sabbaths are marks of the witch striving to do harm against mankind. It is also in the 15 th century that a sweeping rise occurs in the witch hunts; accusations and prosecutions climb throughout Europe because there exist the stereotype of the witch, unrestricted use of torture, widespread inquisitorial prosecution, and suspicion that innocent magic might turn out to be demonic.
This innocent form of magic was the popular magic of the cunning man and woman, or the white witch around most villages, Their magic largely consisted of divination and what became known as thief-magic. These practices were based on the skill employed in the consultation of the cunning man when questioning the client about their beliefs as the source of the theft. Leading questions or general knowledge of the events would typically lead to the whereabouts or the source of the crime. The white witch depended on their popularity throughout the community for their survival. Even the popular, white witch kept to herself in order to avoid trouble or accusation.
The topics covered in this section explain and define the following topics; 1.) how magic was an integral part of ancient civilization; 2.) how important magic was in Greco-Roman civilization; 3.) what the Jewish and Christian attitudes were towards magic; 4.) whether these peoples had their own “magic”?
Gaining an intellectual hold on a comprehensive definition of magic as practiced between the years 500 A.D. and 1500 B.C. requires not only a comprehension of specific beliefs, but an understanding of those who practiced or witnessed the sheer existence of the phenomena. Richard Kieckhefer, author of Magic in the Middle Ages, addresses the difficulty in achieving a distinction between the acts of miracle and the acts of magic since the impetus for the invocation of power is so often times ambiguous; the very source of the power is therefore, equally unclear. The singular idea that “Magic tries to manipulate the spirits…” falls short in separating magic from miracle, or magic from religion. “The central feature of religion is that it supplicates God or the gods, and the main characteristic of magic is that it coerces spiritual beings or forces,” according to Kieckhefer.(15) However, two definitive works on magic in the Middle Ages, the Wolfsthorn manuscript and the Munich manuscript of necromancy, contribute to the very ambiguity found in the conviction of the practitioner’s invocation and its ensuing supplication or coercion of its source of power.
Within these manuscripts, acts of conjuring are intermingled with liturgical prayer. The question as the magician seeks to invoke divine spirits or to invoke demonic spirits for the origin of power is immediately obscured by this marriage of otherwise diametrically opposed forms of appeal. For example, the author of the Munich handbook prescribes the means of making oneself invisible through the use of a circle and the recitation of Psalm 51:7. 8 In the Wolfsthorn manuscript, the Trinity, sprigs of juniper and wine are
assembled for the exorcism of a demonically possessed person.(4) The historian’s quest for understanding the practitioner’s source for power is at best circuitous when the appeals for intervention are blends of conjuration and liturgical prayer. Magic in its curative efforts appears both scientific and religious. Likewise, it is in its unique integration of the discordant physical and metaphysical realms that magic remains essentially chameleonic. But Kieckhefer elaborates that “…intentions are so ambiguous, complex, and variable that it is unhelpful to take the intended force as the crucial defining characteristic of magic in general.”(16) To satisfy the need for a reasonable definition, he identifies two types; a. natural magic is the invocation of the supernatural or preternatural for the sake of control over the influences of man’s life; b. demonic magic is the invocation of explicitly demonic spirits for the sake of control over the influences of man’s life. In summation, he acknowledges magic in its most common or popular form as natural with a (growing)reliance on the invocation of demons. (16)
A historical approach to the phenomena of magic begins with the eminent figures of the Greco-Roman world from whom the Middle Ages inherited elements of their own beliefs about magic, religion and science. In 384-322 B.C., Artistotle observed the dynamics between the heavens and the lives of mankind. The universe, both physically and metaphysically, is intertwined with influences bearing on man’s singular life from a remote and distant prime mover of the five essences of life: air, fire, water, earth and, the supreme entity, the heavens, or the cosmos consisting of the stars and planets. Aristotle’s philosophy on the conditions of the universe, according to Kieckhefer, gave the impetus to the work of Ptolemy who devised a system of the universe with the Earth as its center. In the 2 nd Century A.D., Ptolemaic cosmology depicted the Earth at the center-most point of the universe with planets orbiting in its circumference. Relevant to the study of magic, Ptolemy’s philosophy explored the idea of man’s capacity to understand the impact of the universe on his life and his capacity to avoid its influence.
To the contrary, such Greco-Roman literary figures like Homer, Euripides, or Virgil portrayed man at the mercy of the heavens. Man is without free will and plagued as Oedipus, Odysseus or Agamemnon whose entire ancestry remained pre-disposed to tragedy. Essential to these systems of thought and core to their relevance to magic is the connection between the cosmos and man; mankind has the inherent capacity to study the very influences on his life and to even formulate a method of control over these very influences of his existence.
Kieckhefer attributes the synthesis of magic and prayer to the work of Plotinus (ca. 205-70 a.d.). “Beings on Earth are linked with each other and with the heavenly bodies in an intricate, living network of influences…subject tot he tug of magical influences from every where in the cosmos.”(27) Man can study the influences on his life by turning “inward in contemplation.” Once again, man can derive control over his own life by shielding himself from these remote influences. This form of magic for the scholarly mind is called theurgia, a magic relegated to the philosophers like the Neoplatonists who “…worked out extravagant rituals for invoking the gods and heightening their own magical power.”(27) What becomes apparent about magic in the ancient world is its varying levels of complexity. The antithesis of “theurgia,” the highest of magic, is “goetia” with its common practices of spells and incantations as catalogued by Pliny the Elder (ca. A.D. 23-79). For example, “…hyena stones, taken from the eyes of hyenas, bestow prophetic gifts on a person if they are placed under the tongue…” (27); although, he is not at length a proponent of these practices, Pliny does bring attention to remedies derived by acts of magic whose objects can be symbolic in value. Kieckhefer comments on the close relationship between magic and science and cautions the reader of artless assumptions; “…the works mentioned here are chosen not to represent classical science at its best, but for their impact on medieval magic.”(28)
Dissenting attitudes towards magic and its practitioners are evident in Jewish history. Clearly the practice of magic is prohibited in the Book of Exodus
22:18 in the requirement of death for a sorceress. In Deuteronomy 13;18:10-12 The absolute prohibitions and legal exclusions of magic are delineated in the Book of Leviticus; for example, 19:26 prohibits a man from practicing magic or enchantments of any kind. 19:31 prohibits the use of necromancy “…regard not them who have evil spirits or wizards who have defiled god…” Even the soul of the wizard will be prohibited from resting among his own people after death, Leviticus 20:6. The death sentence is imposed upon the wizard in 20:27; “…a wizard shall be put to death, stoned and their blood shall be upon them .” Not only is the wizard at the mercy of the law but the client of the practitioner is to be expelled from his village.
1Samuel 28 depicts the consequences for soliciting the powers of a sorceress like that at Endor. Saul, King of Israel, previously expelled all the wizards from the land of Israel; ironically, he chose to call upon the witch of Endor because he awaited the Philistines in combat. Facing David brought fear into his heart and he called upon the Lord for answers to his future but he was left in silence. He disguised himself and sought the spirit of Samuel through the necromancy of the witch. The resurrection of Samuel’s spirit was shrouded with demonic trickery; subsequently, St. Augustine said the very spirit could not be trusted to be that of Samuel since the demons were employed as the source of the necromancy. The spirit called upon Saul to denounce the Lord and to realize that the Lord had forsaken him and had taken up allegiance with David. Saul lost to the Philistines and fell to the prophecy of the demonic Samuel; “Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me…,” 1Samuel 28:19. Such punishments continue in the tale of Jezebel.
I Kings 21cites the life of Jezebel and her subsequent death sentence for her acts as a practitioner of the occult. Her husband Ahab found misery in Naboth’s refusal to sell Ahab his vineyard on the basis that the Lord forbade him to sell his inheritance. Jezebel devised a plan for her husband’s acquisition of the land by providing false witnesses who claimed Naboth “didst blasheme” God and the king. Naboth was then carried out and was stoned. Idolatry and witchcraft are forbade in 2Kings 9:22; “How can there be peace,” Jehu replied, “as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?” The word of the Lord was upheld contrary to Jezebel who refused to uphold the Lord’s commands. She was killed as ordered by Jehu who fulfilled the prophecy of both Ahab and Jezebel; “On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel’s flesh. Jezebel’s body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say ‘This is Jezebel.’” (2Kings 9:32,NIV) Jezebel’s indictment and subsequent death herald the certain doom of any practitioner in other gods like Ba’al-Melkart, a nature god. For Jezebel, another god could be found in her own pride and arrogance, as she behaved not as the Lord so prescribed, but as she ordained to be correct and proper.
Necromancy is the resurrecting of the dead through occult sources as portrayed in the story of Saul and the witch of Endor of 1Samuel 28; in contrast, the story of Elisha resurrecting the body of a young Shunammite is miraculous and in accord with many of the Old Testament’s paragons of good magic or divination. Elisha, a Holy man, gave Gehazi his staff to be laid on the boy’s face.
The instrument failed to revive the boy and it was the miracle of Elisha as he laid himself on top of the body which served to warm the child and to ultimately revive the young boy. The act was miraculous and divine because Elisha had solicited the power of God through prayer and God performed as He chose to perform. Elisha never coerced the power of God nor did he invoke insidious spirits for his task. This invocation of a divine source is echoed throughout the New Testament or Christian history.
The resurrection of Christ exceeds all other acts of the miraculous and certainly of the dead returning to affirm the will of God. There were eleven accounts or sightings of Christ upon his return with the last event some forty days after the crucifixion. The glorification of the resurrection served to redeem Christ’s people and to usher in the new kingdom freeing the Jews from bondage with the Romans. The Song of Zechariah speaks to the coming of the Lord and the redemption of the people and it addresses the King of Israel, David, of Abraham and of the new prophet “…of Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him…,” Luke 1:70. The resurrection was not a competition of powers as seen in events with Bar Jesus or Simon Magus, but an event which codified the very will of God through the teachings of both the New and Old Testaments.
Exhibitions of power were performed by the disciples of Christ as displays of their God’s omnipotence; the acts typically facilitated their efforts to rid the people of their practices in or worship of Satan or Beelzebub. Paul and Barnabus traveled into Cyprus appearing before the proconsul when Paul’s teachings were challenged by Bar-Jesus a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet. In Act 13:4, Paul said to Bar-Jesus “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery.” Paul then prophesied that Bar-Jesus would be blind and soon, he was blind. The mandate to banish the devil is essential to achieve the will of God, or chaos would ultimately ensue.
In Mark 3:15, Jesus confronted a man possessed by Beelzebub and Jesus explained that the house divided between God and Satan would surely fall. He continued that if the devil is worshipped or if God is blasphemed then men will not be forgiven. “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” Jesus was compelled to proclaim this punishment because it was rumored by the teachers of the law that his source of power was that of Satan, Mt. 12:31. The attitudes of the New Testament or of Christian history are similar to those of Jewish history with regards to the true source of power; God sustains the greatest source of power and all other idols like Satan must be destroyed. Practitioners of the occult will not be tolerated or forgiven.
SECTION C: “REVIVAL OF MAGIC/OCCULT” - RESEARCH FOR TEACHER-PREPARATION.
This section presents Valerie Flint’s argument that members of the Christian Church actively encouraged the continuation or revival of “magical/occult” ideas and practices during the early middle ages. This section also clarifies her particular arguments in terms of their strengths and weakness. Richard Keickhefer’s rebuttal to Flint’s work is summarized along with a clarification of his argument’s strengths and weaknesses.
Valerie Flint asserts in her text The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe that the Roman Catholic Church implemented an effective strategy of assimilation and the Church allowed the people to continue their pagan practices free of stern opposition; however, Flint’s position progresses into an indictment of the Church’s legitimization of a new Christian magic resulting in both a qualitative and quantitative rise in magic. The purpose of this new magic is one essentially of propaganda since its tolerance and proliferation will assure the people of a better life, one free of discomfort, invasion, hunger, or death.
Pope Gregory the Great initially provides credence to Ms. Flint’s assertion through his mandate for empathy towards the English in a letter to Abbot Millitus; “…the idol temples of that race should by no means be destroyed, but only the idols in them…When the people see that their shrines are not destroyed they will be able to banish error from their hearts and be more ready to come to the places they are familiar with, but now recognizing and worshipping the true God.” (Flint,76) The assimilation provides the people with a means of preserving practices and architecture psychologically meaningful to their culture and existence. Gregory the Great makes his vision plain for the Church and its new converts; as an evolutionary process, the people will transcend their state of pagan worship through the teachings of the Church and this gradual process will give rise to “inward rejoicings.” However, he does not concede to the tolerance of devil worship; indeed, they can retain the feast but the object of the devotion will be God, not the devil. These practices of assimilation as initiated by Pope Gregory, although empathetic and tolerant, did not give rise to more magic or to a legitimization of magic as the title of the text leads the audience to infer.
To the contrary, this attempt at assimilation did not exist without complexity. The magus by blood, for example, posed a particular problem because the church recognized the level of confidence generated among the people over the ruler’s inherent powers of divination. The strength of this political leader was fortified by the willingness of his people to follow and this loyalty was galvanized by their belief in his power to improve their lives. The Divine Right of the Kings assured the people the inherent role of the leader as a man above the common mass and as a man gifted with a supernatural ability to rule. This policy of adaptation did not perceive a wisdom in undermining the powers of the secular leaders. The complexity of the magus by blood did not generate a rise in magic because Pope Gregory reasserted the idea that power is found in the “worthiness” of the individual not in his skill of divination. “…graces were available to those who were worthy enough to wield them;…miraculous powers were useless in themselves.”(381) His teachings espoused the ideal that it is the person who is essential to the act and not the performance or miracle (or magic). Flint dismisses the impact of the writings by Gregory the Great upon both the Church and society when she promulgates the explicit rise of magic.
Simon Magus represents tales of treachery and humor but most importantly, the moral lesson is of the danger of arrogance and idolatrous pride. Flint says “…blasphemus impersonation of the redeemer, magic used against Christ’s apostles…disqualified Simon from a role in Christian society…not his magic as such.” (343) Her argument of a rise in magic is negated by Pope Gregory’s treatise on the worthiness of the man and not the act. The magic used and the act of impersonation were insignificant because the essence of Simon was corrupt. He was not a worthy character and should be looked upon as the antithesis of the good Christian. To assume the entertainment value of the Simon Magus tales give rise to magic is incorrect; unless, one ignores or is unfamiliar with the nature of the morality tale. To the contrary, the morality tale was a popular form of both written and oral literature of the Middle Ages as evidenced in the proliferation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
This failure to concede to Pope Gregory’s thesis is apparent in Flint’s treatment of the tale of Theophilus, the Christian leader who was passed-over for the office of Bishop because of his own arrogance. As a last resort, Theophilus sought a Jewish sorcerer who introduced him to the devil; as in Faust, the man made a pact with the devil which was to forswear both Christ and the Virgin Mary in exchange for the Bishop’s installation. The lesson to the tale is that upon sincerely recanting his renouncement of faith, the Virgin Mary interceded and destroyed the written bond between the devil and Theophilus; therefore, the worth of the character is found in his sincerity and in the forgiveness displayed by the Christian deity. The value of these stories is not in the demonstration of magic as suggested by Flint; “ The stories of Simon and Theophilus…allow to the New Testament church -indeed demand of it - wide-ranging magical powers.”(347) Flint’s omission of these testaments to the Christian faith in forgiveness and repentance becomes obvious after her discourse on the Pastoral Rule by Pope Gregory. This treatise states the role of the Christian priest is clearly one of guidance and any magic is limited to the sacramental rites.
Flint also fails, according to Richard Kieckhefer’s article “ The Specific Rationality of Medieval Magic,” to distinguish between miracle and magic as a result of a poorly constructed definition of magic. Magic is the preternatural control over nature, according to Flint. This definition denies room for the miraculous act and thereby insures Flint’s attempts to prove the institution’s proliferation of magic. Certainly, if the saints, apostles and Christian leaders were performers of magic equivalent to the magic of the demons, Satan or Simon Magus, then there would exist a rise in magic. “…she writes that religion “ at its best” requires “ reverence, an inclination to trust, to be open and to please, and be pleased by, powers superior in every way to humankind,” while magic “ may wish to subordinate and to command these powers.”(823) She does not perceive magic and miracle as did the medieval mind; in fact, what is perceived as assimilation is really a deliberate act to promote magic. “…the incorporation of pagan rites into the Christian culture of the early Middle Ages was not an accidental or grudging accommodation of the missionized populace but rather the result of conscious choice by…churchmen who ascribed a positive value to the magic…”(824) Flint fails to allow for the distinction the clergy or the layman of the Middle Ages made between miracle and magic; consequently, the reader has a difficult task of accepting the idea that the priest knew he was performing like any common magician when dispensing of the sacramental rites. She does not offer evidence on behalf of any clergy that they believed in practicing magic or that possibly Christ was a great magician.
This section is provided as extended research into the 15 th century prosecutorial atmosphere for witches. It also provides a profile of the woman most often accused of witchcraft and the social and economic conditions for such accusations.
Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A Regional and comparative Study was published in 1970 and reprinted in 1971 in Great Britain by Harper & Row Publishers. Alan MacFarlane renders an anthropological study on the causal relationship between economics, religion, population, politics, and the historically brutal times for witchcraft prosecution in Essex County, England. The very pressures found in village life during the 16 th and 17 th centuries combined with a rise in population and subsequent economic hardship culminated in 503 indictments between the years 1560 to 1680.
MacFarlane’s study focuses on a specific county with an emphasis on examining the lives of the citizens in hops of identifying the underlying causes or sources of tension resulting in witchcraft prosecution. Through a survey of church and court records as well as manuscripts, personal diaries, pamphlets on witchcraft confessions, and records from other borough archives, Mr. MacFarlane effectively depicts the complexity of life in this rural English village. To this end, MacFarlane states in Chapter One that Essex was chosen because of the “good series of all important court records.” (7) He regards the Elizabethan ecclesiastical court records as excellent along with the borough archives and credits its indexing system with its easy accessibility. The reader might infer that although Essex was extreme in its prosecutions when compared to other counties, its systems of recording and indexing rendered more worthwhile transcripts and records for accurate research. In addition, MacFarlane credits the research of the Assize indictments to C.L. Ewen who wrote Witch Hunting and Witch Trials (1929) along with four other anthropological sources also referenced in this text.
Support for MacFarlane’s anthropological approach is offered by E.E. Pritchard, the author who drafted the introduction to the text as well as a list of anthropological studies listed in the bibliography. This aspect of the bibliography is perhaps essential to MacFarlane’s exploration into the social phenomena of the accused. For example, MacFarlane explains that only five court cases existed among the 503 cases recorded in Essex County where the accuser and the accused lived more than five miles apart. He cites Reginald Scott’s argument that the power of the witch was limited to local parameters and to relationships among neighbors. Although there were few cases in Essex of husband accusing wife, there was one case where the husband traveled to the homes of the neighbors in hopes of cultivating accusations against his own wife. (169) Tensions within a community are often stimulated by economic strife.
According to MacFarlane’s research, an aspect of the economic tension is found in the text entitled The Rise of the “New Draperies” in Essex by J.E. Pilgrim. An important element to the economic change during this time period in Essex county is attributed to the growth of jobs within the clothing industry throughout the region and its connection to new levels of employment for the laborers. Some eighty percent of the husbands of those accused were farmers while sixty percent of the accusers were from loftier levels of employment or jobs such as those created with the clothing industry. Mr. MacFarlane elaborates on this point; “It was usually the moderately poor, like the woman who felt she ought to get poor relief, but was denied it, who were accused.” (151) The economic stratification led to social tensions among neighbors and a decline in tolerance for the infirm or needy.
The accused witches were typically old, wives, and widows. The economic tensions created between the generations of young and old had a bearing on the values placed on neighbors causing changes in methods of charity. “Thus witchcraft prosecutions, to a certain extent, may be seen as a response to changes in the age-structure of the population, and the methods of dealing with the aging process.”(164) In Essex, the likeliest age for the witch was between fifty and seventy while their accusers were the parent of small children who were allegedly bewitched. The burdens of the old on the immediate family and at times of the village created greater pressures on the economic resources resulting in guilty feelings because people were not completely charitable towards the infirm.
The motives behind the witchcraft accusations stemmed from the neighborly acts perceived as either too solicitous or too nasty. For example, three women in 1582 were found malicious when blessing a child; “here is a iolie and likely childe God bless it,”(172) but the child soon grew ill and allegedly died of witchcraft. Mr. MacFarlane catalogues the alleged motives of the witches tried in 1582. Most of these motives are derived from conflicts or tensions existing among neighbors. Acts, once perceived as charitable, among neighbors led to motives for bewitchment. Mild, cheese, mutton, curdes, and apiece of pork were asked or begged for by the neighbor in desperate need, but denied. The uncharitable response proved the catalyst for revenge.
Where charity once existed among neighbors, tensions developed over time, even over generations. Likewise, disputes over property, real estate, money and children were the impetus for prosecution in Essex County from 1564-1589 (refer to table 18,175). Mr. MacFarlane bespeaks the collapse of neighborly relations and obligations; the societal pressures are discharged through the accusations of diabolical wrongdoing. Accusations of witchcraft stem from the daily, trivial, dull and ultimately unkindly relations among the villagers of Essex County. “From a certain viewpoint,…prosecutions may be seen as a means of effecting a deep social change; a change from a ‘neighborly,’ highly integrated and mutually interdependent village society, to a more individualistic one.”(197) The witchcraft prosecutions were not the only means or method for contending with conflict between neighbors and the consequences of a changing economy and society. Prior to the decline of the Catholic Church, the people practiced rituals designed to release the tensions found in daily hardships.
With the decline of the Catholic church and the rise of Puritanism, there appears a connection with the increase in witchcraft prosecutions in Essex County. The Catholic Church provided daily ritual which dramatized the “expulsion of evil and communal propitiation of God.”(195) The prayers and ritual provided a counter-action to societal-economic tensions. Mr. MacFarlane notes that after the Reformation, the religious ritual and framework for tolerance and forbearance was destroyed.
However, there does not exist an explicit connection of Puritanism and the rise of the witchcraft accusation in the history of Essex County. The villagers’ accusations were not premised on religious outrage or self-righteous piety; instead, these disputes were of a civil-nature and property-based. In Essex, there did not exist a presumption of a Devilish pact, or of the loss of an accused person’s soul. To the contrary, there was no mention at all of the Devil in the majority of manuscripts. Nor was there any mention of a compact between a soul and a diabolic power. In contrast, their concerns were focused on the general conflict and injury.
Mr. MacFarlane postulates on the causes for the rise and fall of the witchcraft prosecutions in Essex County. The severest period (1570-1600), may be attributed to the institutionalization of punishment, but this in itself would not explain the spread of beliefs throughout the county. Another cause for the rise might be attributed to the belief that harm or injury can be derived from a non-physical means. “Witchcraft beliefs, in fact, presuppose a world in which the thoughts and words of one person are believed to have the power to damage another.”(201) Eventually, the people settled far enough apart as more and more newcomers arrived and people grew less familiar and afraid of the idea of non-physical retribution; thus, accusations of vengeful acts as acts of bewitchment declines. The combination of social mobility and a growing separation among people lessened the fear of malice among neighbors. Finally, anxieties may have lessened as the individual’s obligations to his neighbor were lessened; it ceased to be a person’s obligation to be routinely charitable. Priorities were not limited to the needs of the neighbors or the elderly. Villagers were no longer feeling guilty for the misfortunes of the neighbors or the elderly because workhouses were created. The job of caring fell into the hands of the municipal government, not the religious community, as it once did.
The text continues with a comparative look at various cultures with regards
to witchcraft. One aspect is the motive attributed to the act of bewitchment. The
accused among the Lovedu, A-Zande and Gisu, like the villagers of Essex, acted
with cause. They all received some injury form the accuser. Another aspect of
the survey is the counter-action against witchcraft. Like the activities in Essex,
regions in Africa experience similar attempts to protect the victims of
bewitchments. These attempts are found in complex charms, rituals, spells, and
prayers. Among the Navaho, confessions by the alleged witch serve as final proof
to the individual’s role as witch. Also, the methods for securing these confessions
are similar to those practiced in Essex. Other similarities among cultures and
regions are found in the age of the witch, typically middle aged or elderly, and the
character of the witch, the outcast, eccentric or those awarded reputations of add
behavior. Depending on the social power or standing of the sex, the gender of the
witch may vary throughout the communities.
This text proves valuable in its construction and analysis of a social
microcosm. It certainly parallels this curriculum unit in its perceptions on the
village and the changing roles of its citizens. The role of the religious authorities
is de-emphasized and a less inflated role of the witch is conjured. The text does
not dwell in hyperbole or the outrageous acts rumored of the witches’ Sabbath,
nor of sexual relations between the witch and the Devil, not of extraordinary
blood sacrifices. It is in its banal portrayal of the village and its prosecutions that
the common man’s struggles are best understood. Its contribution to the study of
witchcraft resides in its comprehensive approach to a single community.
1. Students will be able to state the Judeo-Christian attitudes toward evil.
2. Students will be able to state the Judeo-Christian attitudes toward magic.
D.H. Lawrence's albatross in the poem "The Snake."
Suggested Activities. The activities for assigned readings require reading check surveys in order to determine the student's level of comprehension prior to entertaining an exercise for developing a particular theme like recognizing the presence of evil in the world.
Barry, Jonathon, Marian Hester and Gareth Roberts. Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe: Studies in Culture and Belief. Cambridge a University Press: New York,
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1996. This text contains a survey of witchcraft issues during 17 century England. A chapter of special interest and new information is entitled ‘Saints and Sorcerers’: Quakerism, demonology and the decline of witchcraft, by Peter Elmer. “The Descendants of Circe: Witches and Renaissance Fictions,” by Gareth Roberts, is also of special interest. Mr. MacFarlane’s text as a micro-study leaves the reader restless for a more artistic approach to witchcraft. For entertainment’s sake, the examinations portray the witch and her role with the Devil in various works like The Odyssey.
Bostridge, Ian. Witchcraft and its Transformations, c.1650-c.1750. Clarendon Press: New York, 1997. A survey of witch crazes in England as a result of particular political stresses or distorted social conditions is compiled in this text. This author examines periods of the persecutorial zeal and argues that eras of endemic prosecutions always follow. Unique information is found in his analysis of Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan and its reference to witchcraft; he examines the tension found in the rational belief in witchcraft and Empirical procedures. This analysis of tension parallels the work by Mr. MacFarlane and provides new sources for constructing an anthropological approach to the larger community.
Clark, Stuart. Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1997. This text provides a broader scope to the tensions existing in European society. A section of special interest is in the comparison of Protestant witchcraft and Catholic witchcraft and this was an important aspect of Mr. MacFarlane’s look at the tensions within the English village. Clark warns the reader to not place blame primarily on the churches. He agrees with Mr. MacFarlane in that he also examines the socio-economic tensions; however, Clark examines the larger society. In addition, he proclaims a spectrum in Calvinist and Catholic Europe impacted the degree of severity in the witchcraft prosecution campaigns.
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Geis, Gilbert. A Trial of Witches: A 17 Century Witchcraft Prosecution. Routledge: London and New York, 1997. This is a case study focused on the witchcraft trial of two women in 1662 in Lowestoft, England. As MacFarlane’s text provided descriptions of alleged witches and their accusers, this text provides its own descriptions for the purpose of gaining insight into the sources of tension. In MacFarlane’s text, the professional witch-finders, Harold and Stearne, were essential to the climactic rise in the 1645 prosecutions. This text also provides a close look at the methods institutionalized in the witchcraft prosecutions.
Holmes, Richard. Witchcraft in British History. Muller: London,1974. This is a survey on the earliest magic to the 20 th century. Particularly helpful in
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considering the 16 and 17 centuries is Chapter 4 on Henry VIII and his role as catalyst in the rise of Protestantism. Upon the death of his son, Henry demanded a closer examination in the common practice of physic and surgery. The Medical Statute was created as a result to the findings of popular witchcraft and magic. Henry felt too many of the “ignorant” were practicing medicine too similar to magic. .
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Levack, Brian P. The Witch-Hunt in Early-Modern Europe, 2 Edition. Longman: New York, 1995. This historical text comprehensively surveys witchcraft in Early-Modern Europe: legal foundations, intellectual foundations, social context, witch-hunting and its decline and its survival. Of special interest, “ The Impact of the Reformation” profiles the increased awareness of the Devil’s presence and the Protestant war waged against the Devil. The impact of the Reformation on the person’s perspective on Evil was not an issue within MacFarlane’s text. As a matter of fact, he briefly addressed the belief systems intact in the Essex County with regards to the Devil and his role in men’s lives except as a non-physical source for harm. Interestingly, this gap is filled-in by Levack’s text.
Levack, Brian P., ed. Articles on Witchcraft, Magic and Demonology: A Twelve Volume Collection of Scholarly Articles. Garland Publishing: New York, 1992. These are anthropological studies on witchcraft, magic and religion from the Ancient period to the Early-Modern period in Europe. Volume one provides articles, both primary and secondary, A-Zandi, beliefs in Central Africa, comparative studies of the Trobriand 6:51 PMand Zandi rituals and spells. Of special interest, volume two, by H.A. Kelly (1974), looks at the role of the
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15 century English monarchs and their fear of sorcery.
Parrinder, Edward Geoffrey. Witchcraft: Europe and Africa. Faber and Faber: London, 1963. This text parallels the comparative anthropological framework presented in Mr. Farlane’s text, except it is for a larger community and with greater depth. Various tribes and regions are considered for a view of witchcraft, the victims, and the accusers.
Sharpe, Jones, A. Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in England (1550-1570). Hamish Hamilton: London, 1996. This author attributes the intellectual
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maelstrom of the Scientific Revolution of the 17 century as a contributing factor in the decline in witchcraft beliefs. “This mental world leaves little room for angels, demons and supernatural forces.” This text certainly reinforces Mac Farlane’s research on the impact of the clothing industry on the once agrarian county, Essex.
Willis, Deborah. Malevolent Native: Witch-hating and Maternal Power in Early Modern England. Cornell University Press: Ithaca, New York, 1995. Contrary to Mr. Mac Farlane’s text and argument, Ms. Willis views his idea on neighborliness as too simple and that a reasonably effective anthropological study would include a psychoanalytical approach for the full picture. The old woman is perceived as quasi-maternal and there exists an intra-psychic conflict aroused by the quarrels. This comparative study is beneficial in reaching a proper account of the social pressures on the individual; although, there exists a degree of difficulty for quick comprehension by the layperson.
FILMS.