The Witch

by Ronald Hutton

  magic: in witchcraft and religion, (i), (ii); and causing harm, (i), (ii); in inter-community feuds, (i); forms of, (i); positive and destructive, (i); absolute belief in, (i); in ancient Egypt, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); in Mesopotamia, (i), (ii), (iii); counters to, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); and ancient Hebrews, (i); ancient Greek animosity to, (i), (ii); and religion in ancient Greece, (i); condemned in ancient Rome, (i); Sámi, (i), (ii); ceremonial, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); benevolent, (i); medieval, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); history of uses, (i); Jewish, (i); distribution, (i); handbooks, (i); and Christian Church, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); fear of, (i); Roman repression of, (i), (ii); practioners punished in medieval Europe, (i); defined, (i); Scandinavian, (i); books forbidden by Danish law, (i); practised by men, (i); as Irish literary motif, (i), (ii); and animal familiars, (i); in different cultures and belief systems, (i); and folklore tradition, (i)

  Magical Treatise of Solomon, (i), (ii)

  magicians: defined, (i); fairy, (i), (ii); see also service magicians

  magos (magus): as word, (i), (ii); role and practices, (i), (ii)

  Magyars (people), (i), (ii), (iii)

  Maine, count of, (i)

  Malawi, (i), (ii)

  Maldo district, north-east India, (i)

  maleficium, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  malifica (word), (i)

  Malleus maleficarum, (i), (ii)

  Malta, (i)

  Maltman, Stein (Steven), (i)

  Mamprusi (people), Ghana, (i), (ii)

  Mamris, Pierre, (i)

  Man, Andrew, (i), (ii)

  Man, Isle of: witches and fairies in, (i), (ii), (iii); few witch trials, (i), (ii), (iii); curses in, (i); scarcity of medieval records, (i)

  Mandari (people), Sudan, (i)

  mantis (Greek seer), (i), (ii)

  Manuelito, Navaho chief, (i)

  Maori (people), New Zealand: killing by destroying bodily waste, (i)

  Map, Walter, (i)

  Marrone, Steven, (i), (ii)

  Martin, Martin, (i)

  Martin V, Pope, (i)

  Mary Queen of Scots, (i)

  masca (Roman/Lombard figure), (i)

  Matres (or Matronae), the, (i)

  Maximus, (i)

  Maya (people), Yucatan, Mexico, (i), (ii)

  Mayer, Philip, (i)

  Mbuti (people), Congo basin, (i)

  Medea (mythological figure), (i), (ii)

  medicine men, (i)

  mekhashepa (Hebrew female magical practitioner), (i)

  Melanesia, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)

  Menominee (people), North America, (i)

  Mesopotamia: culture, (i), (ii); belief in demons, (i), (ii), (iii); propitiation of evil spirits, (i); counter-magic, (i); women in, (i); good and bad rites, (i); witch-hunts, (i); demons and ghosts, (i), (ii), (iii); astrology, (i), (ii); lists of lesser spirits, (i); sophisticated magic system, (i), (ii); exorcism, (i); and compass points, (i)

  Mexico: homicide rate and witchcraft, (i)

  Middle Ages (medieval period): and witch-hunts, (i), (ii), (iii); ceremonial magic, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); and witch figure, (i); law codes, (i); in Ireland, (i); popular cultures, (i); Christianity established, (i); material and moral progress in, (i)

  Midleton, Christopher: Chinon of England, (i)

  Mijikenda (people), Kenya, (i)

  Milan: witch trials (1384 and 1390), (i), (ii)

  milk: supposedly stolen by women, (i)

  Milton, John, (i)

  Mirror for Magistrates, (i)

  Mishnah law code, (i)

  missionaries: in Africa, (i); discourage traditional beliefs, (i)

  ‘Mistress of the Animals, the’, (i)

  Mithras Liturgy, (i)

  Modena, Italy, (i), (ii)

  Mohave (people), south-west USA, (i)

  Moldavia: popular magicians and trances, (i)

  monotheism, (i)

  Montgomerie, Alexander, (i), (ii)

  Montolmo, Antonio da, (i)

  Moray Firth, (i), (ii)

  Mordvin (people), Russia, (i)

  Moses the lawgiver, (i)

  Moses (Zambian prophet), (i)

  Muircertach mac Erca (Irish king), (i)

  Mukunguna movement, Congo basin, (i)

  Munkukusa movement, Congo basin, (i)

  Munster, Ireland, (i)

  Murray, Margaret: thesis on witches, (i)

  Murshili II, Hittite king, (i)

  Mysore, India, (i)

  Nalumin (people), New Guinea, (i), (ii)

  Nandi (people), Kenya, (i)

  Nathan of Gaza, (i)

  National Traditional Healers’ Association, Zimbabwe, (i)

  Navaho (people), south-west USA, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Navarre, (i)

  Ndembu (people), Zambia, (i), (ii)

  Needham, Rodney, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Neoplatonism, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Nephereieri (hidden name of Aphrodite), (i)

  Netherlands: witches cause impotence, (i)

  New Guinea: tribal fear of witchraft, (i); woman burned alive, (i); destructive magic from physical waste, (i); animals and witches, (i)

  Nez Perce (people), North America, (i)

  Ngoni (people), Malawi, (i)

  Nicholas of Cusa, bishop of Brixen, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Nider, Johannes, (i), (ii); Formicarius (Ant Hill), (i), (ii)

  Nigeria: belief in witches, (i); witch-hunting in south, (i)

  night: fear of, (i); and wandering dead, (i)

  night-demoness, (i), (ii), (iii)

  night-flying and night-roaming, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xv), (xvi); see also Lady, the

  noaidis (Sámi divinators), (i), (ii)

  Norse region (Scandinavia and Finland): shamanism, (i), (ii); converts to Christianity, (i); witch trials, (i), (ii); magic in, (i), (ii); absence of witch figure, (i); night-riding women, (i), (ii); nature spirits, (i), (ii); paganism, (i); possession of magic books forbidden by law, (i); and witches’ theft of dairy produce, (i); see also Sámi

  Northamptonshire: witchcraft case, (i)

  Northern Paiute (people), western USA, (i)

  Northern Province (now Limpopo Province), South Africa, (i), (ii)

  Norway: witch trials, (i), (ii); shamanic practices, (i); women change to animal form, (i)

  Novara, Piedmont, (i)

  nudity: among witches, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Nupe (people), northern Nigeria, (i)

  Nyakyusa (people), Tanzania, (i), (ii)

  Nyambua cult, Nigeria, (i)

  Nyoro (people), Uganda, (i), (ii)

  Oberon see Auberon

  Oberstdorf, shaman of, (i), (ii), (iii)

  occult knowledge: terms for, (i)

  Odin (Wotan; Norse god), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Odysseus, (i)

  On the Sacred Disease (Greek tract), (i)

  On the Virtues of Herbs, Stones and Animals, (i)

  ordeal, trial by, (i), (ii)

  Orderic Vitalis, (i)

  Origen, (i), (ii)

  Orkney Islands, (i)

  Orléans, France, (i)

  Orpheus and Eurydice, (i), (ii)

  Orphic Hymn, (i)

  Ovid, (i), (ii)

  owls: association with witches, (i)

  Pagan religion: witch in, (i), (ii), (iii); and Wild Hunt, (i); as natural or secular, (i), (ii); Christian attitude to, (i); survival in popular cultures, (i)

  Palestine: attitude to magic, (i), (ii)

  Paris, University of: on ceremonial magic, (i)

  Parish, Mary, (i)

  Paston family, (i)

  Patrick, St, (i)

  Paul the Apostle, (i)

  Pays de Vaud, (i)

  Pearson, Alison, (i)

  pentagram, (i)

  Pentecostal churches, (i)

  Perchte, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)

  Peredur fab Efrawg (‘Nine witches of Gl
oucester’; Welsh romance), (i)

  Persians (Iranians): attitude to magic and witchcraft in antiquity, (i), (ii), (iii); war with Greeks, (i); cosmic dualism, (i)

  Peter I (the Great), Tsar of Russia, (i)

  ‘Peter, Judge’ (of Berne), (i)

  Petronilla of Meath, (i)

  Petronius, (i)

  Pharaildis, St, (i)

  pharmaka (potion), (i), (ii)

  pharmakeis (and pharmakides; Greek potion dispensers), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Philadelphia, Asia Minor, (i)

  Philip IV (the Fair), King of France, (i)

  Philippines: on spirit possession, (i); witches hang upside down, (i)

  Pico della Mirandola, Gianfrancesco: Strix, (i), (ii)

  Pingree, David, (i)

  Plato, (i)

  Pliny the elder, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Plotinus, (i)

  Plutarch, (i)

  Pluto, (i), (ii)

  Pócs, Éva, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)

  Pogoro (people), Tanzania, (i)

  poison: as ordeal test, (i)

  Poitiers, (i)

  Poland: witch-hunting and trials, (i), (ii), (iii); folk tradition of playful Devil, (i); animal forms adopted, (i)

  polygamy: animosities between wives, (i)

  Polynesia: individual witches, (i)

  Porphyry: Letter to Anebo, (i)

  Portugal, (i), (ii)

  Presbyterian church, (i)

  Price, Neil, (i), (ii)

  Proclus, (i)

  Propertius, (i)

  prophets, (i)

  Proserpine, (i), (ii)

  Protestant United mission, Rhodesia, (i)

  Protestants: conflict with Catholics, (i), (ii), (iii); and fairy mythology, (i), (ii)

  Prüm, abbot of, (i)

  puck, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Pueblo (people), New Mexico, (i)

  Purkiss, Diane, (i)

  Pythagoras, (i)

  Qhiché (people), Guatemala, (i)

  Ralph of Coggeshall, (i)

  Ralushai Commission, South Africa: Report (1966), (i)

  Rameses III, King of Egypt, (i)

  Ranavalona, Malagasy queen, (i), (ii)

  Ratherius, bishop of Verona, (i)

  Reformation: and ceremonial magic, (i); and witchcraft executions, (i); in Scotland and England, (i), (ii)

  Reid, Tom, (i)

  religion: defined, (i); and belief in magic, (i); see also Christianity

  Remy, Nicholas, (i), (ii)

  Renaissance: magicians’ handbooks, (i); ceremonial magic in, (i)

  Reoch, Elspeth, (i)

  Revelation, Book of, (i)

  rhizotomoi (Greek magic herbalists), (i)

  Richard II, King of England, (i)

  Rio, Martin del: Disquisitiones magicae, (i)

  Robert of Gloucester: Metrical Chronicle, (i)

  Robin Goodfellow (legendary figure), (i), (ii), (iii)

  Roman Catholicism: converts to, (i); magicians, (i); Inquisition and offensive against magic, (i), (ii), (iii); and heresy, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); Great Schism, (i), (ii); conflict with Protestants, (i), (ii); Counter-Reformation, (i); and image of demonic witch, (i); see also Christianity

  Roman de la Rose, Le, (i), (ii)

  Romania, (i)

  Rome (ancient): magic and religion in, (i), (ii); citizenship, (i); law, (i), (ii), (iii); epidemic (331 BC), (i), (ii); witch-hunts, (i); and women evil practitioners, (i); feminine licence and luxury, (i); untimely death and restribution, (i); association of owl with witches, (i), (ii); rule in Egypt, (i), (ii); mystery cults incorporated in Egyptian magic, (i); antagonism to magic, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii); persecutes Christians, (i); adopts Christianity as religion, (i); on witch as total evil, (i)

  Rome (modern): satanic witches in, (i); witch-hunt, (i); establishes central tribunal to oversee Italian inquisitions and witch trials, (i)

  Roper, Lyndal, (i)

  Rosamund, Fair see Clifford, Rosamund

  Rothar, Lombard king, (i)

  Rottenburg, (i)

  runes, (i)

  Russia: medieval killings for crop failures, (i); witch trials, (i)

  Russian Primary Chronicle, (i)

  Safwa (people), Tanzania, (i)

  saga (Roman female magician), (i)

  Saga of Erik the Red, (i)

  Saga of Gunnlaug, (i)

  Saga of Howard the Halt, (i)

  Saga of the Sworn Brothers, (i), (ii)

  Sakha (people), Siberia, (i)

  Salazar y Frias, Alonso de, (i), (ii)

  Salvation Army: missionary movement in Congo, (i)

  Salzburg, Austria, (i)

  Sámi (Lapps; people), northern Europe, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)

  Sanders, Andrew, (i), (ii)

  Sappho, (i)

  Satan and Satanism: and Lele people of Zambia, (i); power, (i), (ii); in western world, (i); secret worship of, (i), (ii), (iii); uses humans to kill and terrorize, (i); pacts with, (i); as cult, (i); as repulsive creature, (i); in animal form, (i); and religion, (i); see also Devil

  Saudi Arabia: executions for witchcraft, (i)

  Saul, Israelite king, (i)

  Savoy, (i), (ii)

  Saxons: converted to Christianity, (i)

  Scandinavia see Norse region

  science: and magical view of world, (i)

  Scot, Reginald, (i)

  Scotland: fairies, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii); witch trials, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); women shamanistic magical practitioners, (i); communicating with spirits, (i); Reformation, (i); rites and objects against magic, (i); lacks fear of witchcraft, (i); demonic animals, (i)

  ‘Seal of God’, (i)

  ‘seely wights’ (Scotland), (i), (ii), (iii)

  seers, (i), (ii)

  seidr (Norse shamanic practice), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Sekani Indians, Canada, (i)

  Selby, Yorkshire, (i)

  Selden, John, (i)

  Seneca, (i)

  Seneca (people), New York State, (i)

  Sepher ha-Razim (‘Book of the Mysteries’), (i)

  Seram, Molucca archipelago, (i)

  Serbs, (i), (ii)

  service magicians: functions, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix); in Trobriand Islands, (i); in Cameroons, (i); in Zambia, (i); in Hebrew Bible, (i); Plato on, (i); female in ancient Greece, (i); healing, (i); Hungarian, (i), (ii); Siberian, (i); ancient Roman, (i); women, (i); in Todi, (i); benandanti, (i); rarely accused of destructive acts, (i); Slav, (i); claim to be werewolves, (i), (ii); claim to adopt other shapes, (i); receive power from ‘earth trolls’, (i); and Oberstorf shaman, (i); gain knowledge from ‘ladies’ and spirit world, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); accused of witchcraft, (i); and ceremonial magic, (i)

  Seventh Day Adventists, (i)

  Shaka, Zulu king, (i)

  Shakespeare, William: on witches, (i); and Herne the Hunter, (i); on fairies, (i), (ii); Macbeth, (i); The Merry Wives of Windsor, (i); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, (i)

  shamanism: term and definition, (i), (ii), (iii); in Siberia, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); trances and soul leaving body, (i); communication with spirits, (i), (ii), (iii); in ancient Europe, (i); assistants and spirit helpers, (i); costumes and equipment, (i); women practise, (i); European distribution, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); specialists, (i); individual features, (i); among Sámi, (i), (ii); association with witchcraft, (i); and witches’ experiences, (i); avoids taking animal forms, (i)

  Shan (Buddhist tribe), Thailand/China, (i)

  Sharpe, James, Archbishop of St Andrews, (i)

  Sharpe, James (witchcraft scholar), (i)

  Shawnee (people), Ohio Valley, (i)

  Shetland Islands, (i)

  Shona (people), Rhodesia, (i), (ii)

  Siberia: witch-free, (i); belief in misfortunes caused by magicians, (i); shamans and shamanism, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)

  Sicily: ‘ladies from outside’, (i), (ii), (
iii), (iv), (v); no recorded executions, (i); woman claims to ride on goats, (i)

  Siikala, Anna-Leena, (i)

  Simeon ben Shetah, rabbi, (i)

  Simmen Valley, near Berne, (i)

  Simon Magus, (i)

  Sinclair, Isobel, (i)

  ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ (poem), (i)

  Sir Orfeo (romance), (i), (ii)

  sithean (Gaelic fairies), (i), (ii), (iii)

  Slav region, (i), (ii)

  Slave Indians, Canada, (i)

  Slovenia, (i)

  Smith, Henry, (i)

  Sneddon, Andrew, (i), (ii)

  Söderköping, Sweden, (i)

  Solomon Islands, Melanesia, (i), (ii)

  sorcery, (i), (ii), (iii); condemned in France, (i)

  sortiligium (or sortilegium), (i)

  South Africa: body parts used in evil magic, (i); see also Ralushai Commission

  South England Legendary, (i)

  Southwark, (i)

  Soweto, Johanneburg: witchcraft in, (i), (ii), (iii); murders, (i); magical healers, (i)

  Spain: bruxas as term for witches, (i), (ii); witch trials and punishments, (i); moderates punishment of witches, (i); popular beliefs, (i); service magicians, (i)

  spells and curses, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Spenser, Edmund: Faerie Queene, (i); Shepheardes Calendar, (i)

  spirits: defined, (i); propitiated, (i); shamanic communication with, (i), (ii), (iii); common belief in, (i); in European experience, (i); nature, (i); and animal familiars, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); augment magicians’ powers, (i); nocturnal, (i)

  staff: in shamanic practice, (i); magicians ride on, (i)

  Stephen of Bourbon, (i)

  Stewart, John, (i)

  Stockholm, (i)

  Strachan, Isobel, (i)

  Stratton, Kimberley, (i)

  stria (Germanic figure), (i)

  strix (pl. striga; Roman mythological creature), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)

  Styria, (i)

  Suggett, Richard, (i)

  Sukuma (people), Tanzania, (i)

  Sulawesi (island), Indonesia, (i)

  Sumer: culture, (i); belief in witches, (i); and compass points, (i)

  suwagenu (Sierra Leone witches), (i)

  Swapper, Susan, (i)

  Swazis (people), southern Africa, (i)

  Sweden: witch trials, (i); magic, (i); nature spirits, (i); witches’ mode of travel, (i)

  Swift, Jonathan, (i)

  Switzerland, (i)

  Sworn Book of Honorius, (i), (ii)

  Tacitus, (i), (ii)

  Tale of Thorstein, (i)

  talismans, (i)

  Tallensi (people), northern Ghana, (i)

  Tallis, Lisa, (i)

  Talmud, (i), (ii)

  táltos (Hungary), (i), (ii), (iii)