Christian Magic in the Middle Ages

[Three Witches] To make a woman submit to you,
write your name upon your door with blood drawn from your hand.
Then write your name on paper
with blood drawn from your finger.
Then say the following prayer:
I conjure you strong spirits in the name of
God, IH, IHVH, IHVH.
Truly this is the Sword of Moses
with which he accompanied his miracles and mighty deeds,
may the Sword be effectual and may the
Lord of it approach to serve me.

--19th century grimoire: The Lost Books of Moses

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.

The Saints

The blending of religion and magic may be best seen through the example of saints and miracles. Since magic was disallowed by the Church, a saint with her or his rituals could accomplish for Christians what magic used to.

A saint is a person whose good works through life, chastity, piety, and general behaviour vastly outweighs their sins. Each saint has a vocation: to intercede between God and Christians. A saint will beg your case before God. Christ is the greatest of universal saints, then Mary, and then the twelve apostles.

The local beliefs in saint-veneration differed. In Germany, it was believed that gifts should be awarded to still-living saints. That way, the saint would reward the gift-giver from heaven. If that saint did not reward the gift-giver after death, that saint was obviously not a very good one.

Just as there could be sub-par saints, there were faulty relics (a saint's body, body part, or sacred memento). The way to make these disobedient relics work was to humiliate them. For example, someone might have sworn at St. Jerome's tooth.

The collection of relics reached a fever pitch in the 1200s. It was believed that if a person owned a relic, that person held a special bond over that saint. Theoretically, the newly dead saint was to be buried, the church would perform an investigation, and then the body would be exhumed. The corpse would then be brought out on holy days.

In 1204 A.D., Byzantine fell to the crusaders and was pillaged for its relics. These relics were then taken west. Nevertheless, it was much easier to obtain the body parts of local saints. At the death of each saint, local parishioners would ravage the corpse for relics. Sometimes, however, they would not wait for the saint to be completely dead before they began their scavenging.

Holidays and the Switch to Christian Magic

With enforced Christianity came a switch-over from traditional hedge-magic to Parish Christianity. The difference between the two is negligible. For example, only a minor variance between a magical amulet and a saint's medallion exists. The dividing line is often confusing. For example, only the Church could perform magic. If a priest performed it, it was a miracle; if a layperson performed it, it was maleficia, or evil magic.

By the end of the fifteenth century, the two types of magic had melded seamlessly with the European ritual cycles. Ritual cycles were very important in invoking divine aid and in performing miracles. The calendar was broken up into the great feasts of the Church: Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, and Carnival/Lent.

On the eve of Lent, there was Carnival, a celebration of inversion. This was perhaps the most popular of holidays. Morality was turned upsidedown. The least popular youth was made mock pope. In Germany, a procession of whores marched during Carnival. Carnival was allowed as a satirical means of removing desires, as a way for the common folk to let off steam.

Innumerable other holidays existed. There were very few days that were not a celebration of one saint or another. Here are a few of these celebratory days:

  • January 20th. The Feast of Fabian and Sebastian. After this date, no trees could be cut down.
  • January 21st. St. Agnes' Day. This day involved the ceremonial blessing of a lamb.
  • January 22nd. St. Vincent's Day. No vines could be cut on this date.
  • February 2nd. The Feast For Fertility. This celebration was necessary to turn winter into spring forty days after Christmas.
  • February 2nd. Feast of Purification. This feast-date was also known as Candlemas.
  • February 5th. St. Agatha's Day. Agathabrot was distributed for health on this day.
  • February 14th. St. Valentine's Day. One of the few on-going holidays, this date was used to celebrate mating and new light.

These many holidays and feast-days supplied frequent opportunities for magic and miracles to mix. pre-Christian holidays were assimilated.

Sacramentals as Magic

Based on the disposition of users, the sacramentals were yet another opportunity for miracles to become enmeshed with magic. Local villagers reinterpreted the sacraments. Mass was seen as a magic ritual, and sacramentals were used as talismans, although this was unapproved by the Church. Candles were blessed, taken home, and used to protect the home and its inhabitants from evil. Waxed tapers were used to keep harm from newborns. Holy water was also much sought after as a ward against evil. Blessed palm fronds were used as wards against evil. These fronds saved crops from fire, storm, and lightning. Communion bread was served to conjure against harm, to recover lost objects, and to make the user invisible. The sacred host could be used to put out fires.

However, these official sacramentals were somewhat difficult to obtain for the layperson. More immediately accessible sacramentals like prayers and the sign of the cross were used to equally good effect. They brought power and help to those who needed it. Another thing Christian-magically-minded people would do was place objects under the altar during Mass. These objects would obtain magical/miraculous healing properties. Simply touching the altar cloth would cure epilepsy.

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Christian Magic in the Middle Ages is copyrighted 1996-1998 to Shantell Powell.

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