by L A Vocelle
The craze of witchcraft affected all of Europe. In a small Swedish village in 1699, over 300 children from the ages of 6-16 were believed to have been taken over by the devil, who gave them each a cat whose job it was to steal cheese, milk and bacon as offerings to their demon king. The children willingly confessed and fifteen of them were executed. Thirty-six were beaten every Sunday in front of the church doors, and the others were given varying punishments (Repplier, 1901 p. 46).
Jane Wenham was convicted and sentenced to death on the testimony of James Burville and Ann Thorn, who both claimed to have seen a cat with Jane’s face. However, Jane confessed to having heard cats speaking to her and was also convicted for speaking to the devil. Neighbors noticed that cats surrounded her house, and those inside the house could hear scratching and screaming that resembled children’s cries coming from outside (Bragge, 1712).
Incidents of witchcraft not only plagued Europe, but also spread to the New England colonies as well. In 1619, Dalton’s Country Justice was published and included instructions on how to deal with witchcraft (Taylor, 1908) (figure 5.28). On the morning of December 8, 1679, a man claimed that while his wife was making their bed, she had been accosted by a flying cat, and that a cane had danced around the room (Burr, 1914). The Salem witch trials took place between 1692 -1693 and more than 20 were executed. In one case, two girls had fits and illnesses believed to have been caused by the devil. Elizabeth, the daughter of Reverend Samuel Parris aged 9, and his niece Abigail aged 11, blamed 3 women, two of whom, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, were elderly and lived on charity. The third was Parris’s slave, Tituba, who confessed that she had been controlled by the devil and had even seen his familiars, one of which was a red cat. Tituba managed to escape execution, and Sarah Osborne died before her trial. However, Sarah Good was eventually executed by the Reverend Nicholas Noyes. Upon the gallows Sarah continued to proclaim her innocence even though Noyes still insisted that she was a witch. Sarah cursed him, “You are a lyre; I am no more a witch than you are a Wizard, and if you take away my life God will give you Blood to drink” (Calef, 1700, p. 209). Legend has it that Noyes suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died choking on his own blood.
As late as 1718 a Scottish man, William Montgomerie, claimed that he could no longer live in his house, as it was filled with cats that spoke to each other. Losing his temper one night, he went out and killed two and wounded a third. Days later a witch, Helen Andrew, had died and another had committed suicide and a third woman, Margaret Nin-Gilbert, had lost her leg. She and the others were immediately thought to have taken the form of the cats that had entered Montgomerie’s house. Nin-Gilbert was imprisoned and eventually confessed. She died there most probably from complications associated with her leg (Oldfield, 2003).
The stubborn fear of witchcraft hung on, and even though the church had abolished all witchcraft laws in 1736, in 1749 a German nun was beheaded for talking to her three cats that were of course considered demons (Aftandilian & Scofield, 2007) (figure 5.29).
Paranoia and injustice continued in the Western world, with sporadic cases of witchcraft still appearing in the 18th, 19th and even into the 20th century. Even though some courts began to refuse to hear witchcraft cases in the 1700’s†, in Britain a woman was accused of witchcraft as late as 1944. In the United States the threat of witches continued, and in an 1867 trial, a woman was accused of practicing witchcraft by using the blood of a black cat to cure a child with the croup. Amazingly, witnesses agreed that the cure had been successful (Gage, 1893). And even in early 20th century Baltimore two women of impeccable behavior were said to have gone out at night and changed into cats. They were cured only by rubbing salt on their skin (Cross, 1919).
MAGIC
No description of the cat and its involvement with witchcraft is complete without the accompanying examples of it as an essential ingredient in magic. It was commonly believed that the blood of a black cat when mixed with certain herbs was extremely powerful for incantations and to also ward off disease. Only three drops of the cat’s blood were needed, and these were gotten by making a small cut on its tail. In addition, the ashes of a black cat were very potent to magicians. By killing a very black cat without any white on it, and taking only its heart and mixing it with swallows and burning them together, one could produce a very strong magical brew (Thompson, 1908/2003). Another belief was that if a black cat were killed and a bean placed in its heart before it was buried, beans sprouting from that seed would contain amazing magical powers. If a man placed one in his mouth, he would become invisible and be able to go anywhere without being seen (Speranza Wilde, 1887). Yet another spell for invisibility was made by gathering the following ingredients: a black cat, a new pot, a mirror, a piece of flint, an agate, charcoal, dry wood, and water drawn from a fountain at midnight. After lighting a fire, the cat would be put in the pot making sure that the cover was held down firmly with the left hand without moving or looking behind. After the cat had boiled for 24 hours, the contents were put into another dish. The cat carcass then would be thrown over the left shoulder while repeating these words, Accipe quod tibi do et nihil amplius. Then by chewing the bones of the cat while looking into a mirror and walking backward, the spell would be complete (Van Vechten, 1921 pp. 101-2). In the states of Georgia and South Carolina, witches were believed to be able to receive power from particular bones from a black cat. A concoction to see what others cannot was to mix the bile of a male cat and the fat of an entirely white hen and anoint the eyes with it (Kieckhefer, 2000). Another measure used to gain unusual power was to pet a cat, and by so doing it was believed that it could help a woman find a husband. Likewise, eating a cat would cause a girl to become pregnant. In 1929, it was reported in a Pennsylvania newspaper that the whole county of York had been taken over by witchcraft, evidenced by a lack of black cats which had been boiled alive in order to procure a special bone to use as a protective amulet against Satan (Oldfield, 2003).
Figure 5.29. Witches with a Cat, Jacob de Gheyn II, 1600’s, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
In summary, during both the Dark and Middle Ages, weak corrupt woman and the maligned misunderstood cat had fallen into the nether world of men’s fears. Cat and woman, whose fates had been intertwined from the very beginning of history, fell from graced goddesses to vilified symbols of the devil, witchcraft and magic. Their degradation and persecution would be complete, but once these fears began to wane, over time both cat and woman would slowly rise from this reviled abyss. But yet, they would never again be regarded as the powerful goddesses they had once been.
CHAPTER SIX
THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD
The Early Modern Period (1500-1700), was an era marked by global exploration, the rebirth of classical thought and religious reformation. Christopher Columbus’ ships were the first to sail across the world in 1492, probably carrying cats to kill mice and rats, much as the ancient Phoenician vessels did centuries before on their first voyages around the Mediterranean. And just as the cat spread its domain through Phoenician trade, cats aboard Columbus’ ships most likely stayed on land to become the first to colonize the Americas. If not, records indicate our seafaring feline certainly accompanied the Jamestown settlers in 1607, but undoubtedly met a grim fate during the period of starvation when the settlers ate whatever they could. Pocahontas, who saved the life of John Smith, was given a domesticated cat, and cats accompanied the Pilgrims on the Mayflower in 1620. Upon landing in the New World, at least one adventurous feline must have scurried over Plymouth Rock.
THE RENAISSANCE AND THE CAT IN ART
As the Renaissance brought forth new ideas based on the merging of classical philosophy, mythology and Christianity, the Early Modern Period also became a time for enlightened thinkers to excel at art and literature. Moving away from the vacuousness of the Dark and Middle Ages meant the beginning of a rebirth for the cat as well. However, as with all movements forward, there were sporadic lapses which hung heavy upon progress. As people’
s fears and superstitions continued, the cat was still to carry its unjustified burden of being a representative of the devil far into this era, evidenced by unrelenting witch trials that lasted into the 1700’s. The Reformation, too, produced many instances of cruelty to cats as did other episodes of religious and social unrest. Even so, the cat, an enduring emblem of the ability to overcome torture and suffering, continued to survive, and one by one progressive thinkers of this era came to respect our domestic feline for its untamed and inscrutable nature.
The Renaissance, which ushered in a rebirth of classical thought, first started in Italy and then spread to the whole of Europe. Renaissance artists such as Bosch, Dürer, Ghirlandaio, DaVinci and many others produced exquisite paintings that included the cat as a symbol of domesticity, fertility-lust, treachery and evil. Most often cats found their place in religious paintings, but towards the end of the century they also became the pampered companions of women in portraits and necessary additions to realistic domestic scenes.
Figure 6.1. The Garden of Earthly Delights (Detail), Hieronymus Bosch, 1480, Museo del Prado, Madrid
In Hieronymous Bosch’s (1450-1516) The Garden of Earthly Delights (figure 6.1), a cat carries off a rat in its mouth at the bottom of the triptych’s left panel, which depicts heaven. In the right wing panel of the triptych, The Temptation of St. Anthony, the saint, a hermit that was said to be constantly harassed by demons, is in meditation; a cat, while trying to grab a fish, hisses at a nearby naked woman in a bush (figure 6.2). Women’s licentious†, evil nature is symbolized by the clawed feet, horns and the snake shaped train of her dress. St. Anthony’s, and perhaps our only salvation, is Christ directing our attention to his own crucifixion (Grössinger, 1997, p. 1).
Figure 6.2. The Temptation of St. Anthony (Detail), Hieronymus Bosch, 1480, Museo del Prado, Madrid
Relying heavily upon classical Greek models, the 1504 engraving, Adam and Eve by the German, Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) (figure 6.3), captures Eve right at the moment she accepts the apple of knowledge from the serpent. Surrounding both Adam and Eve are a variety of animals that symbolize differing human temperaments. The cat represents the trait of easily angered or irritated; the rabbit as hopeful; the ox as calm; and the elk as melancholy. However, since this picture portrays the instant of original sin, the cat and mouse are also symbols of men and women’s sexual lust, while the parrot represents love. The cat’s tail touches the back of Eve’s heel, associating it with feminine fertility and temptation, while Adam seems to be almost stepping on the mouse’s tail in a sort of cat and mouse yin and yang.
In a much later version, a voluptuous Adam and Eve happily involved in the sensualities of life, and totally unconcerned with the consequences of their actions, highlight Hendrik Goltzius’, The Fall of Man (1616) (figure 6.4). Much like Albrecht Dürer’s sterner faced Adam and Eve, each animal in the painting holds symbolic significance, and the cat once again takes center stage to prominently represent lust and desire.
Figure 6.3. Adam and Eve, Albrecht Dürer, 1504, J.P. Morgan Library, New York
Domenico Ghirlandaio specifically painted the Last Supper (1480) (figure 6.5), for Dominican Monks that must not be forgotten for their part as inquisition judges, who undoubtedly caused the deaths of many so-called witches and their loving cats. The fresco, located in San Marco, Florence, shows Christ and the apostles sitting on one side of a long banquet table. While Judas, separated from all that is good, sits opposite Christ on a three legged stool, perhaps representative of the trinity. A lone cat, symbolic of Judas’s treason and the influence of evil, intently watches nearby.
The greatest of the Renaissance artists, Leonardo da Vinci, found the cat an intriguing subject that he captured in many sketches and paintings. For example, a cat is present in the 1478 sketch, Study of the Madonna and Child with Cat (figure 6.6), and even more prominent in his 1513 sketch of twenty cats in various poses (figure 6.7). From da Vinci’s many depictions of cats, and a quote attributed to him which states, “Even the smallest feline is a masterpiece,” we can assume that the great Renaissance man both respected and liked cats very much. Da Vinci, a known vegetarian, wrote in his notebook that humanity is not “king of the animals” but only “king of the beasts”. The visionary also wrote, “The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”
Figure 6.4. The Fall of Man, Hendrik Goltzius, 1616, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Figure 6.5. The Last Supper, Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1480, Fresco, Monastery San Marco, Florence
Figure 6.6. Study of the Madonna with Child and Cat, Leonardo da Vinci, 1478, The British Museum, London
Figure 6.7. Study Sheet with Cats, Leonardo da Vinci, 1513-1515, Royal Library, Windsor
Reminiscent of the cats seen on ancient Egyptian tomb walls sitting under women’s chairs, a whitish grey cat sits underneath Mary’s chair as a symbol of fertility and motherhood, and perhaps as a reference to Isis, in Bernardino Butinone’s (1436-1507) Adoration of the Magi.
Figure 6.8. Adoration of the Magi, Bernardino Butinone, 1485-1495, Bequest of Helen Babbott Sanders, Brooklyn Museum, New York
THE CAT IN MANNERIST PAINTINGS
Hans Baldung Grien (1484-1545), a student of Albrecht Dürer, usually known for his renditions of profane witches, in a later allegorical Mannerist work entitled, Music (1529) (figure 6.9), a harmless white cat sits next to an elongated figure of a young woman with a book in her left hand, leaning on a musical instrument with her right. Grien probably based this painting on the symbolism of Isis/Bast and her sistrum.
Figure 6.9. Mut Music, Hans Baldung Grien, 1529, Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Paintings in the Mannerist style, an artistic movement which blossomed from the Renaissance, focused less on naturalistic portrayals. In Jan de Beer’s 1520 Annunciation (figure 6.10), a white cat with the face of a lamb sits peacefully as an angel flies by. In sharp contrast to de Beer’s Annunciation, in Lorenzo Lotto's Venetian version, (figure 6.11) painted seven years later, the angel Gabriel inspires fear and hesitancy as Mary, seen with her hands up, turns away from him as he appears to her in her bedroom. Outside the window on a cloud, God points a demanding finger at her, insinuating that Mary is the chosen one. In back of her, a small brown cat jumps away from the angel in seeming fright, sympathetically mirroring Mary’s own feelings. The message is that Mary must accept her fate, and accept the role she has been given by God.
Figure 6.10. Annunciation, Jan de Beer, 1520, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Figure 6.11. Annunciation, Lorenzo Lotto, 1534, Museo Civico, Recanati, Italy
Ten years later in 1585, Barocci’s pen and ink drawing of the Annunciation (figure 6.12) is much different. Here the angel seems kind, and Mary, with a halo over her head, is pleased to be in his presence. The situation is so peaceful that a cat, positioned in the left hand side foreground, contentedly takes a nap; very different from the frightened cat seen in Lotto’s Annunciation. The symbolic merging of Isis/Bast into Mary is obvious in many of the paintings of the Assumption where Mary, with a crescent moon often painted below her feet, is associated with the sun, stars and moon (Oldfield, 2003).
Figure 6.12. The Annunciation, Federico Barocci, 1585, The Art Institute of Chicago
Cats appear in many of the paintings of the Supper at Emmaus, produced in the early to mid-1500’s. Painters such as Pontormo, Titian, Tintoretto and Bassano imparted the domesticity of a scene by adding a cat and/or dog usually at odds over some sort of food, and sometimes just an empty bowl (figures 6.13, 6.14).
Figure 6.13. Supper at Emmaus, Titian, 1530-1533, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Figure 6.14. Supper at Emmaus, Francesco Bassano, 1570, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
Francesco Bacchiacca’s Portrait of a Young Woman Holding a Cat, 1525 (figure 6.15), reflects the woman’s wild unpredictable animal nature that matches her companion’s. The woman’s feral eyes tempt us; the colors of her hair
and the cat’s are similar; and her dress matches its spots. As she tenderly embraces the cat, she peers out at us in a captivating, feline manner. In another portrait of a woman holding a cat, Bacchiacca interestingly has the woman caressing the cat with two fingers extended; the others folded under, a distinct reference to the sign of the cross (figure 6.16).
Figure 6.15. Portrait of a Young Woman Holding a Cat, Francesco Bacchiacca, 1525-1530, Private Collection
Figure 6.16. Woman with a Cat, Francesco Bacchiacca, 1540, Staatliche Museen Berlin
In a much different style from Bacchiacca’s, Hans Asper’s 1538 portrait of Cleophea Holtzhalb (figure 6.17), shows her holding a cat in her left arm and patting a dog with her right hand. The dog bares its teeth antagonistically, while the cat glares menacingly as it stretches out its claws. Cat and dog represent opposites: male devotion and female deceit.
Figure 6.17. Portrait of Cleophea Holzhalb, Hans Asper, 1538, Kunsthaus, Zurich
The 1563 Wedding at Cana by Paolo Veronese (figure 6.18), originally commissioned by the Benedictine Monastery of San Giorgio of Maggiore in Venice, highlights both the sacred and profane. On the right side of the painting, a brown and white cat lies on its side, playfully grabbing a face on a large urn with almost human like hands, oblivious to the potential danger of a lithe greyhound, in the middle of the picture, that has spotted it.
