Benandanti

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.

Benandanti

Benandanti, a term roughly translated into "good walkers," were

participants in the lingering remnants of an ancient agrarian cult in northern Italy, which came to the attention of inquisitors in the late 16^th century because of the cult's nocturnal battles with witches and warlocks over the fertility of the crops and livestock.

In the Friuli region of Italy, Slavic, Germanic, and Italian traditions combined to form the benandanti cult. Women and men born with a caul ("inner fetal membrane still covering the body, especially the head") were believed to have mysterious healing powers and the ability to see witches. Cauls were sometimes saved by these benandanti and worn about their necks as amulets (Guiley 1989 24).

The benandanti were thought to have the ability to contact the world of the dead and to exercise control over the powers of nature for the benefit of society. In their role as protectors of agricultural fertility, they entered into catatonic states, during which they envisioned themselves armed with fennel stalks and astride cats, goats, and horses, engaging in fierce nocturnal forays with witches. Victory over the witches during these dream-state battles assured a good harvest, whereas defeat meant crop failure.

The "doers of good" retained their anti-witchcraft stance until around the year 1610. Shortly afterward, they came under persecution by the Inquisition, and were identified as witches. As a result the local beliefs underwent a profound transformation, at by 1640 the benandanti themselves were acknowleging that they were in fact "witches" (Sidky 59, 60).

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Benandanti is copyrighted 1997-1998 to Shantell Powell.