The Female Spell-caster in Middle English Romances: Heretical Outsider or Political Insider
Historically, the relationship between heresy and spell-casting is difficult to define.1 For example, H. A. Kelly points out that sorcery and heresy were not formally linked in England.2 They were regarded as separate crimes, although burning (especially after the 1401 Statute passed by Parliament) could be the punishment for both crimes. Certainly, English romances from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries do not explicitly relate sorcery and heresy.
Popular attitudes, though, often would link the two in the late Middle Ages, and this coupling could be accompanied by the issue of gender. As Kramer and Sprenger, two Jesuit inquisitors, wrote in 1486:
since [women] are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should come more under the spell of witchcraft. For as regards intellect, or the understanding of spiritual beings, they seem of a different nature from men ....3
Yet, as Malcolm Lambert explains, heresy stems not just from deviation from orthodox religious belief but also from deliberate actions against ecclesiastical authority and refusal to recant when ordered to do so.4 Exploring the links among sorcery, heresy, and gender in popular literature, such as Middle English metrical romances, can demonstrate how the individual and collective perceptions of these issues changed from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century.5 Thus three questions arise about spell-casting women in Middle English romances: have the heretical implications of these women's actions been ignored? Considering no authority intervenes to inform them that they are defying religious doctrines, can these politically powerful women even be viewed as heretics? And finally, how do the political and religious circumstances of the historical community impact these fictional women and their potentially heretical actions?
For the purposes of this paper, discussion will be limited to the female spell-casters found in metrical romances which contain imposed physical transformations and which were composed in England from the fourteenth century to the sixteenth century. Shape-shifting (i.e. voluntarily changing one's own form) and changing into an inanimate object such as a stone or tree are not included. The following romances contain imposed-changed body forms and are listed in general chronological order:
TIME PERIODS AND TEXTS (GENDER) SPELL-CASTER
I. Early to mid fourteenth century
Lybeaus Desconus(M) 2 magicians
Cheuelere Assigne(F) hero's grandmother
William of Palerne(F) transformee's stepmother
Witchcraft was relentlessly thought as the work of the devil with only sinful and immoral intentions. Julio Caro Baroja explains in his book on Basque witchcraft that women who were out casted from society and unable to fulfill their womanly duties became witches as a way to compensate for her failed life. They were thought to be a threat to society as they dwindled in evil magic. This misunderstanding may have originated from the literary works of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, in their published book, “Malleus Maleficarum”. Accusations of being adulterous, liars and dealing with the devil materialized because of the...
Would you be able to tell what human nature is right here on the spot? Not a couple of minutes from now, but right at this moment? Would you believe me if I said that William Golding was able to do so in a whole book known as Lord of the Flies? Well, William Golding was able to take human nature and put into a story about a group of English boys and explain how harmful and harsh human beings can be. Golding was part of World War II where he joined the Navy and took part in sinking, Bismarck, a German battleship (“William”). While fighting in World War II, Golding saw just how destructive human nature made us. Not only that, but Golding was able to watch how normal people could go from being so civilized to being complete savages. In Lord of
In the beginning of Holy Feast and Holy Fast, Bynum provides background information on the history of women in religion during the Middle Ages, highlighting the different statuses of men and women in society during that time. It is important to understand the culture of the Middle Ages and the stereotypes surrounding men and women to appreciate Bynum’s connection between status, accessibility, and piety. As an example, Bynum mentions that there appear to be basic differences between even the lives of holy women and the lives of holy men, which was because “women lacked control over their wealth and marital status” (Bynum p. 25). Men are clearly construed here as having more power in their daily lives than women—this is a simple, but major, distinction between the two genders which provides reasoning towards their divergence in practices. Women’s s...
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
The witch-hunt that blazed a trail across Europe (and indeed the world) over the 15th to 18th centuries stripped women of much of the power they had historically held. Not 100% of all accused Witches were female but 75% to 90% of accused witches in Europe were in fact women (Levack, 1987, p.124).
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been founded within agreement there remains interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries: A Sociologist’s Perspective,” share various opinions while developing their own theories. The comparison of these observations will focus upon why the witch trials occurred when they did, why did they stop when they did, why did the witch trials occur when they did, and who was persecuted and who was responsible for the identification and punishing of witches.
William Golding takes a unique and interesting viewpoint on the topic of “why concepts are working on paper, but not when tested.” All human minds are created diverse, so perceptibly we don’t all think logically in the same way. Golding acknowledges this fact and uses it throughout his novel. Society and governments can never be perfect and function correctly in the judgment of everybody, considering it is nearly impossible for all to come to an understanding on the same subject. The closest we will ever get to a perfected government must be based on the ethics of human nature. The government has a duty to keep our morals and values in mind too. Golding’s quote also suggests a solution to fix current factual glitches.
Most likely, it is there to signify that the fish in its mouth is a salmon, as bears are one of the most well known predators of salmon. Because most of the disciples were fishermen, fish generally symbolize Christianity. However, for the Celtic people, “Fish, salmon in particular, are associated with knowledge.” https://diigo.com/03gvks (Noodén) Therefore, this again gives the impression that Christianity sustains, but it also means that Christianity brings wisdom. Maybe the bear stands for men. It could also be referring to the disciples or Mathew 13, where Jesus tells a parable where He compares the kingdom of heaven to a fisherman who sorts between fish to eat and fish to through out (Mathew
During the early modern period Europe experienced a phase of vicious prosecution of the people accused of the crime of ‘Witchcraft.’ There has been an estimated death toll of up to 50,000 people during these Witch-hunt crazes, although the exact figures are unknown. What is known is that overall 75-80% of those accused were woman although this varies in different states. In this essay I will discuss the role of gender in witchcraft and why the majority of people executed as Witches were women.
Greene continues with his explanations of the special theory of relativity.Chapter 3: Of Warps and Ripples Green begins the chapter by describing "Newton's View of Gravity" and continues by discussing the incompatibility of Newtonian Gravity and Special Relativity. The author also talks about how Einstein discovered the link between acceleration and the warping of space and time. Greene also discuses the basic aspects of General Relativity. He later points out how the two theories of relativity effect black holes, the big bang, and the expansion of space.Chapter 4: Microscopic Weirdness This chapter describes, in detail, the workings of quantum mechanics.
Traditional female characteristics and female unrest are underscored in literary works of the Middle Ages. Although patriarchal views were firmly established back then, traces of female contempt for such beliefs could be found in several popular literary works. Female characters’ opposition to societal norms serves to create humor and wish- fulfillment for female and male audiences to enjoy. “Lanval” by Marie De France and “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer both show subversion of patriarchal attitudes by displaying the women in the text as superior or equal to the men. However, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” also incorporates conventional societal ideas by including degradation of women and mistreatment of a wife by her husband.
Witchcraft persecution peaked in intensity between 1560 and 1630 however the large scale witch hysteria began in the 14th century, at the end of the Middle Ages and were most intense during the Renaissance and continued until the 18th century, an era often referred to as the Enlightenment or Age of Reason. Representation of witches, nay, representation in general is a political issue. Without the power ot define the female voice and participate in decisions that affect women -similar to other marginalised groups in society- will be subject to the definitions and decisions of those in power. In this context, the power base lay with men. It can be said that the oppression of women may not have been deliberate, it is merely a common sense approach to the natural order of things: women have babies, women are weak, women are dispensable. However the natural order of things, the social constructs reflect the enduring success of patriarchal ideology. As such, ideology is a powerful source of inequality as well as a rationalisation of it. This essay will examine the nature of witchcraft and why it was threatening to Christianity.
Miller, A. (1975) Albert Einstein and Max Wertheimer: a Gestalt psychologist's view of the genesis of special relativity theory. History of science; an Annual Review of Literature, Research and Teaching 13 (2): 75–103.
The theory of Special Relativity, written by Albert Einstein in 1905, describes the laws of motion at velocities close to and at the speed of light. It was written to make the laws of motion consistent with the laws of electromagnetism. Special relativity makes two postulates: the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers and the speed of light in a vacuum is constant, regardless of motion. One of the consequences of these postulates is that clocks run slower to an observer in motion, or time slows down. Special relativity also states that objects at high speeds always appear shorter in the direction of motion than they do at rest. However, length measurements transverse to the direction of motion are unaffected. Velocity addition is different for special relativity than for classical mechanics because according to special relativity, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Also, in order to retain the conservation of momentum as a general law consistent with Einstein's first postulate, a new definition of momentum must be used at relativistic velocities. The twin paradox is the famous example that uses time dilation and length contraction. Special relativity is not contradictory with classical mechanics because at low speeds, all of the laws of special relativity reduce to the laws of classical mechanics.
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