A Witch's Garden: Corn

Disclaimer

This is NOT a page about Wiccans or neo-pagans, and I do not advocate the belief that Wiccans are Satan-worshippers and/or baby-killers. I am well aware that they are not. This is a starting point for historical research into the great witch craze of 1100-1700 AD. And please, don't ask me for spells.

Corn

Corn was not brought into Europe from the Americas until the 16th century. Up to that point, the word corn meant 'small seed' or 'cereal grain' (Ayto 137).

According to the Malleus Maleficarum, corn and oats were used by witches to feed stolen penises. Cornstalks were also ridden as the same manner as brooms. In Ireland, tales were told of cornstalks which "turn into horses the moment you bestride them" (Thiselton-Dyer 61).

Lost?

A Witch's Garden is copyright 1997-1998 to Shantell Powell.
The preceding botanic illustration is from The Virtual Garden Search Engine, part of the Time Life Electronic Encyclopedia.