Elf Arrows and Witchcraft

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.

Elf Arrows

Elf arrows are Stone Age arrowhead-shaped flints found throughout Europe, the British Isles, and northern Africa. Medieval witches were thought to have used these as weapons against people and animals. As a common target of witches, cattle are killed by elf arrows. The term elf-shot is still applied to sick animals in some Celtic areas. However, stricken cattle can be saved if:

1. They are touched with the arrow
2. The arrow is dipped in water
3. The water is given to the cattle to drink.

If a person was shot with an elf arrow, she or he would come down with fatal and mysterious supernatural sicknesses. In 1560 Scotland, accusations of witchcraft were brought against

Catherine Ross, Lady Fowllis, and her son-in-law, Hector Munro. The two were part of a group of witches who conspired to kill Ross's husband and Marjory Campbell, Lady Balnagowan, so that Ross and Lord Balnagowan could marry. The witches were charged with "the making of two clay pictures, one for the destruction of the young Lady Balnagowan, and getting them enchanted, and shooting of elf-arrow heads at the said persons." Apparently the witches' plot was uncovered before the victims were killed (Guiley 1989 112-113).

Lost?

Elf Arrows and Witchcraft is copyright 1997-1998 to Shantell Powell.