Poor Kermit would have had an even worse time of it had he lived in the Middle Ages. Frogs and toads were, frankly, considered to be the worst: they were associated with the devil and thought to be a favourite form of familiar for a witch. Indeed, in North Cambridgeshire, an old word for “bewitching” … Continue reading It’s Not Easy Being Green
magic
Nobody Expects the English Inquisition
As I’ve mentioned on a few occasions now, a couple of years ago I finished an MA dissertation looking at Medieval magic trials in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (intro here). A lot of people who weren’t face-first in this period of history like me expected to hear me talk about witch hunts and the … Continue reading Nobody Expects the English Inquisition
How To Be A Skandilizatrix
Bored? Want to piss off members of your local community – but with style? Take a leaf out of Elena Dalok’s book. Elena Dalok lived in St Mary Abchurch in the City of London and was had up before an ecclesiastical court in 1493 for practice of sorcery and being a slanderer. We don’t know … Continue reading How To Be A Skandilizatrix
The Pythonissa: A Slippery Soothsayer
Here’s a new insult for you. Margery Ryvel was excommunicated by the church in April 1348 for practising divination, superstition and illusion. Whichever clerk wrote the Latin report that survives in the Register of John de Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter, clearly did not like her or her activities. The report reads as a barely-concealed rant … Continue reading The Pythonissa: A Slippery Soothsayer
Medieval Magic, Folklore and Superstition: the Dissertation Stirs…
I've been rather quiet recently because I've been a busy bee working on my masters degree. All the teaching is out of the way now, so it's time to get my teeth into some proper research. Like my very good friend over at Grendel's Handbag (who you should go and check out RIGHT NOW, especially … Continue reading Medieval Magic, Folklore and Superstition: the Dissertation Stirs…
Scranshums 