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| Witchery | |
|---|---|
| Name | Witchery |
| Main subject | Witchcraft |
| Regions | Global |
| Period | Antiquity–Present |
Witchery is a broad term referring to practices, beliefs, and cultural phenomena associated with witchcraft, sorcery, and the supernatural across diverse societies. It encompasses ritual techniques, cosmologies, accused practitioners, and representations in literature, art, and media. Scholarship on witchery draws on history, anthropology, religious studies, folklore, and law to examine episodes such as witch trials, syncretic traditions, and contemporary neopagan movements.
The English term derives from Old English roots examined alongside comparative studies of Proto-Germanic languages, Old Norse, Middle English lexicons, and philological work by scholars of Jacob Grimm, James Murray (lexicographer), and the Oxford English Dictionary. Definitions have varied in glossaries produced by institutions like the British Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and the Folklore Society, and in monographs by researchers such as Margaret Murray, Keith Thomas, and Carlo Ginzburg. Legal codes from the Kingdom of England, Holy Roman Empire, and Tsardom of Russia influenced vernacular definitions, while comparative religious studies referencing Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam mapped divergent semantic fields for terms like thaumaturgy, maleficium, and sorcery.
Ancient Mediterranean practices recorded in sources such as the Greek Magical Papyri, writings of Hippocrates, and histories by Herodotus document charms, curses, and ritual specialists. Early medieval accounts from Bede, Gregory of Tours, and annals of the Carolingian Empire show continuity and transformation alongside folklore collected by collectors like Jacob Grimm and Sir James Frazer. Witchcraft-like phenomena appear in indigenous traditions studied in ethnographies from the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Pacific Islands; fieldwork by Bronislaw Malinowski, Ruth Benedict, and Franz Boas documented sorcery accusations, healing rites, and divination. In premodern East Asia, texts from the Tang dynasty, Ming dynasty, and scholars like Liu Xie illustrate ritual specialists, while Mesoamerican codices and colonial chronicles by Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Diego Durán describe priest-magicians.
Canonical disputes appear in theological treatises by St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and polemics during the Reformation by figures such as Martin Luther and John Calvin. Folk belief studies by E. E. Evans-Pritchard and Mircea Eliade analyze witchcraft in the contexts of Aztec religion, Yoruba religion, Shinto, and Candomblé. Folklorists like Alice B. Cunningham and collections such as the Kalevala and One Thousand and One Nights include narratives of witches, familiars, and shape-shifting. Ritual specialists are also referenced in ethnographies of the Himalayas, studies of Mayan religion, and accounts of the Zuni and Navajo.
Early legal responses are recorded in codices like the Code of Hammurabi, medieval canon law compiled at Lateran Council sessions, and statutory law such as the Witchcraft Act 1542 and Malleus Maleficarum which influenced prosecutions across the Holy Roman Empire and Iberian Peninsula. Famous trials and witch-hunts include events at Salem witch trials, the Basel witch trials, the Pendle witch trials, and the Trier witch trials. Historians such as Brian P. Levack, Anne Barstow, and Carole Levin analyze legal archives from courts in Scotland, Sweden, Poland, and colonial administrations in New England. Responses by institutions—Roman Curia, Geneva Consistory, and secular courts—varied, with penitential manuals, inquisitorial records, and royal decrees shaping outcomes.
Literary representations range from medieval romances recorded in the Arthurian legend corpus to early modern plays by William Shakespeare, echoing witches in tragedies and comedies. Visual arts portrayals appear in works by Francisco Goya, Albrecht Dürer, and Gustave Doré, while film and television explore witch themes in productions by studios like Universal Pictures, BBC, and directors such as Ingmar Bergman and Roman Polanski. Popular novels by J. K. Rowling, Mikhail Bulgakov, Terry Pratchett, and Salman Rushdie have renewed interest, alongside graphic narratives from publishers like Vertigo Comics and Dark Horse Comics. Music and performance art referencing witchcraft involve composers like Modest Mussorgsky and contemporary artists who stage works at venues such as the Edinburgh Festival.
Contemporary movements include traditions founded or codified by figures such as Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, and Aleister Crowley, with institutions like the Feri Tradition and organizations such as the Church of Wicca and Federation of Witchcraft—alongside eclectic currents manifesting in communities on platforms developed by 1980s counterculture networks. Scholarship on modern paganism by Ronald Hutton, Sabina Magliocco, and Chas S. Clifton traces ritual revival, public advocacy, and legal recognition in jurisdictions including the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Contemporary controversies intersect with debates in human rights forums like Amnesty International and court cases in regional tribunals.
Anthropologists including Evans-Pritchard, Max Gluckman, and Edward Sapir analyzed witchcraft as a social mechanism addressing misfortune, conflict, and social control in societies studied across Azande, Nuer, and Pacific island communities. Sociologists such as Émile Durkheim and scholars in the tradition of Mary Douglas and Clifford Geertz explored the symbolic functions of witchcraft accusations, ritual efficacy, and boundary maintenance in communities from Rural England to Urban Brazil. Quantitative studies drawing on census data and surveys by institutions like the Pew Research Center map demographic trends, while interdisciplinary work connects witchcraft discourse to gender studies informed by theorists such as Judith Butler and Simone de Beauvoir.
Category:Witchcraft