I was extremely interested in this weeks topic and the affiliated primary sources. In reference to mentions of animals / familiars in Leland's "Gypsies, Toads, and Toad Lore", three quotes (which I'll just list in succession) stood out to me. “So we gypsies talked together in Romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. Then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross--you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. So the witchcraft was ended, and the lady gave us a good meal and ten shillings." (Leland, 2). “It is bad to have one's looks against one. The personal appearance of the toad is such as to have giver it a bad place in the mythology of all races.” (Leland, 3).“ But in the Tyrol it is believed that the toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance as Hoetschen or Hoppinen--as they are locally called--for deeds done in human form. Therefore, they are regarded with pity and sympathy by all good Christians.” (Leland, 4).In contrast to the ideas of Christian animism presented above, as furthered by Wallace’s article, Leland offers a different approach to animal based relationships. He criticizes Romany beliefs that animals, such as toads, could be seen as familiars and integral to their faith. This is counterintuitive to what we now know about Christianity and its earth centric roots in tying the highest being - God - with an animal spirit. Furthermore, the third quote is interesting in that it almost reflects ideas of reincarnation and rebirth as a result of behavior in one life. This represents more evidence of Christians turning from their once accepting and flexible ways of conceptualizing the faith.
Alternatively, King James discusses shapeshifting in his "Demonologie", citing that “For as to the formes, to some of the baser sorte of them he oblishes him selfe to appeare at their calling vpon him, by such a proper name which he shewes vnto them, either in likenes of a dog, a Catte, an Ape , or such like other beast; or else to answere by a voyce onlie.” (King James, 1). Unfortunately, as discussed in last semester's class and briefly this one, almost all of the negative effects of the witch hunts of the sixteenth century fell onto innocent women. Their torture and mistreatment under the false guise of 'knowledge’ and ‘piety’ represents the lengths that Christians around the Middle Ages would go to dispel what they believed to be demons, or simply women who acted with agency and who threatened the status quo. Unreasonable accusations such as shapeshifting were further ways of proving and justifying their immoral proceedings with the women they deemed to be ‘witches’. Of course, a layer of irony is further added when one considers the argument of Wallace’s essay wherein he explains that there are biblical passages referencing Jesus turning into a dove upon his baptism. Why is shapeshifting acceptable in this case, but so clearly blasphemous as to warrant the punishments in King James’ Demonologie?
I’ve always enjoyed the topic of shapeshifting since it is one of those fictional concepts often used or recreated in different cultures due to an individual culture’s values and ideas. When looking at shapeshifting in context to this week's readings, there is a constant notion that magic involving animals causes an erosion between the lines of man and beast. Parnish’s article states this perfectly: “Animals were kept for more functional reasons, undertaking physical labor in order to serve the needs of humans…the practice of keeping animals as companions…changed the position of animals in human society.”The shapeshifting, familiars, and bestiality all cause similar changes to animals' position in society by elevating their importance to more than a tool for labor or a resource. This change blatantly challenges the contemporary relationship between humans and animals and, by extension, nature. Within this period, texts like King James 1 Daemonologies demonstrate a viewpoint that represents nature and animals as harvestable resources. Because of this, the drastic change in the relationship between humans, animals, and nature is viewed with fear and superstition. I believe that a prejudice against animist practices is a result of this fear rather than a cause of it. A few of the werewolf stories I read in “A Lycanthropy Reader” were written before this fear animist practices and showed a decent number of the werewolves were sane creatures in unlucky situations. Many animist practices have been passed down through generations, and while I can not say for certain that fear of change causes hatred of these practices, I can be sure that these practices were not a new or shocking development to Europe.
“And there is a terrible tale told by R. H. Stoddard, in a poem, that one day a gentleman accidentally trod on a toad and killed it. Hearing a scream at that instant in the woods at a little distance, followed by an outcry, he went to see what was the matter, and found a gypsy camp where they were lamenting the sudden death of a child. On looking at the corpse he was horrified to observe that it presented every appearance of having been trampled to death, its wounds being the same as those he had inflicted on the toad.”
“The general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled.”
“Therefore the creature, in the Old World as well as in the New, appears as a being earnestly seeking the companionship of men.”
This primary source had a lot to do with connecting religion to the land. Through toads as animal familiars first being considered the devil or having demon like properties. It then goes on to discuss different types of stories that relate to toads and nature and toads and religion. This is exemplified when we read the story about the toads returning to being human after reaching their destinations that they had vowed to visit on a pilgrimage. This is a religious relationship between toads, magic, and the way that people’s vows stay connected with them over multiple planes of existence. We see a relationship between toads religion and the land in the story about the “being somewhat like a maid but more like a hideous toad” getting married and then washing away ugliness in the lake and returning to a beautiful and graceful human. With the acceptance of a religious ceremony (the wedding) the religion and the land (the lake) worked to return beauty to a toad-like creature, and the couple were able to live on happily. These are a couple ways that toads were connected to both religion and the land in this source.
Parish
“The presence of the familiar in the witch trials is an almost uniquely English phenomenon, but it is one that raises important questions about the nature and practitioners of witchcraft, the role of demons and the demonic in the actions of witches, and the challenge that witchcraft and familiars posed to traditional categorisations and assumptions around human and non-human interactions.”
“Rather, the relationship between witch and familiar, and the representation of that relationship, grew out of, and informed, the relationship between religion, magic, folk belief, and learned demonology in late medieval and early modern Europe.”
This article for the most part looks at the relationship between witches and familiars. It also talks a lot about human and animal interactions. Specifically the divination involving birds was mentioned in relation to death, augury, and divination. It is said that this is a ‘peculiarly English’ phenomenon in which . The familiars are active participants in witchcraft, and are the devil in the shape of an animal. There is an idea of turning animals into a vessel to be used in tandem with witchcraft and witches themselves. Other than the use of birds, familiars tended to be paltry vermin, cats, mice, toads, and weasels.
To many peoples, animals are not just an order of living things under humans, but an active part of the natural world, each with their own role to serve. Many cultures see the toad as such, either as a symbol or omen and a vessel for a human via witchcraft or a higher power. For the toad, it is seen by cultures around the world as a symbol of witchcraft, wickedness, and evil. Leland begins the chapter by describing the direct correlation between toads and evil in Romani, or “gypsy,” culture. He writes, “in most Romany dialects there is the same word for a toad or frog, and the devil” (1). It should be mentioned that Leland himself doesn’t believe in the correlation, but he presents the idea nonetheless, citing multiple examples of the toad’s significance in Romani culture. Nevertheless, Ii believe that the word for toad being the same as “devil” is an interesting statement about the prevalence of animals and nature to the Romani; a single animal has such prevalence in their culture that it is likened to an almighty force such as the devil. In the rest of the excerpt, Leland describes the role of the toad in a variety of other cultures, each of which harken back to those groups and their views on nature. In European Christian folklore, the toad is representative of sin, either appearing to sinners or with sinners being transformed into toads after their deaths; this is indicative of the Christian view of nature as something to be conquered, like sin. For the Algonquin Native Americans, the toad is, “made of the creature the mother of all the witches” (3). This is reminiscent of each animal being an active part of the natural world, for good or for evil. In the various cultures, though, they all share a similar idea that the toad is often a human in animal form. Overall, it was fascinating to see how multiple cultures viewed the toad, whether explicitly evil or a sign of bad luck and whether or not the toad was an active participant in the natural world.
Source 2:
While many other parts of the world had varying definitions of witchcraft and its methods, the English witch trials were particularly focused on its manipulation of nature and animals. In other trials, the source of a witch’s power is usually believed to be the witches’ “Sabbat.” However, in the English this belief is missing in exchange for that of the “familiar,” the devil in the shape of an animal (1-2). The article goes on to describe how the English believed that familiars were not victims of witchcraft, but rather active participants (2); they were the devil’s method of reaching humans. This goes back to the Christian idea presented by King James that nature is an entity susceptible to evil. Also, according to the English, witchcraft and the use of a familiar were a transgression on God’s creation, that being nature. Taking such an affront against God to heart, nature became the central focus of the English over other methods of power. This concern with natural methods of witchcraft is reflected through witch trial court records such as those of Alice Kyteler, and later others when the belief in familiars become much more widespread (3).
On page 11 and 12 of the given Daemonologie excerpt, the confession of Agnis Tompson, an accused witch, demonstrates the relationship between magic, religion, and nature. We learn that witches were believed to have the power to manipulate the natural world through animal rituals. Tompson describes a ritual where a cat is christened, bound with the parts of a dead man, and thrown into the sea by a group of witches. This summoned a powerful storm which destroyed a ship meant for the Queen, and endangered the ship carrying King James back home from Denmark. This illustrates a connection between animals and rituals. Could the spell have been done with any animal? Or, as we saw in the Parish reading, was this specific cat a demonic familiar who had tremendous power? Furthermore, through King James we see that Christian faith has the power to resist and protect against such magic. The narrative that God and Christianity could withstand and overcome witchcraft is shown. The use of magic to control nature, with only the power of God to stop this, illustrates the average person’s beliefs on the connection between nature, magic, and religion in late 16th century Scotland.
The quote: “... she being accompanied with the parties before specially named, tooke a Cat and christened it, and afterward bound to each parte of that Cat, the cheefest partes of a dead man, and seuerall ioynts of his bodie, and that in the night following the saide Cat was conueied into the midst of the sea by all these witches sayling in their riddles or Ciues as is aforesaid…. this doone, there did arise such a tempest in the Sea, as a greater hath not beene seene…. Againe it is confessed, that the said christened Cat was the cause that the Kinges Maiesties Ship at his comming foorth of Denmarke, had a contrary winde to the rest of his Ships…. and further the saide witche declared, that his Maiestie had neuer come safelye from the Sea, if his faith had not preuailed aboue their ententions.”
Source 2:
The Charles G. Leland excerpt presents a variety of stories from various cultures around the world, all highlighting the relationship between religion and nature through symbolism of toads. Across all of these cultures, toads are consistently associated with magic, though the role and exact significance does vary. In Romani folklore, toads are tied to witchcraft, where they are believed to carry curses that can be broken through rituals, as seen with the burning of the toad (who was believed to be a witch in disguise) using the cross made of shears. Spanish beliefs, similarly, describe toads as magical creatures that can grant their masters invisibility and the ability to shape shift. In Algonquin lore, the Great Toad sought to overthrow the god of Nature and shifted the appearance of the Algonquin people. Meanwhile, Tyrolese folklore presents a very different view, believing that toads are the people who died with their vows unfulfilled. Furthermore, there are several stories of these toads transforming into beautiful “creatures”: a white dove that flew to heaven, an angelic woman dressed in white, or a princess. Despite the differences in these narratives, the power of transformation and change is a common theme among them all. Whether through shapeshifting at will, altering physical appearances of a whole population, or transcending into a more ethereal form, toads symbolize that earthly connection to religion.
The quotes:
Romani - “....and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in….. So we Gypsies talked together in Romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. Then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross–you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. So the witchcraft was ended…”
Spanish - “...a mark like a toad was stamped on his eyelid, and that a real toad was given to him which had the power to make its master invisible, to transport him to distance places, and change him to the form of many kind of animals"
Algonquin - “Once the great toad had, as she thought, succeed in organizing a conspiracy by which glooskap, the Shamanic god of Nature, was to be destroyed. Then he passed his hand over her face and that of her fellow-conspirator the Porcupine; and from that time forth their noses were flat, to the great scorn of all honest well-beaked Indians”
Tyrolese - “The general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled.” “Once there was a toad who took seven years to go from Leifers to Weissenstein; and when the creature reached the church it suddenly changed to a resplendent white dove…flying up to heaven”
Quote (1). "For as to the formes, to some of the baser sorte of them he oblishes him selfe to appeare at their calling vpon him, by such a proper name which he shewes vnto them, either in likenes of a dog, a Catte, an Ape, or such-like other beast; or else to answere by a voyce onlie."
Quote (2). "And yet are all these thinges but deluding of the senses, and no waies true in substance, as were the false miracles wrought by King Pharaoes Magicians, for counterfeiting Moyses."
For this 16th century source, we see a deceptive nature of demonic pacts and illusions. There is an emphasis on how the Devil manipulates human perception through both physical manifestations and trickery. The first quote I pulled demonstrates a belief that demons appear in the form of animals, these familiars have an association between the natural work and long held belief of demonic practice. This reference of shapeshifting have these Europeans believing that supernatural forces come to our physical work in recognizable forms. The second quote mentions magicians. Suggesting that these manifestations are just illusions, deceptive and misleading. There is a clear distinction between divine miracles and the Devils work in this primary source. This source makes the argument that witchcraft and supernatural belief position nature itself as yet another playing field between divine truth and demonic deception in a very tumultuous time.
Source 2: GYPSIES, TOADS, AND TOAD-LORE
Quote (1). "One day we went to a farmhouse, and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in"
Quote (2). "The old Persians made the toad the symbol and pet of Ahriman, the foe of light, and declared that his Charfester, or attendant demons, took that from when they persecuted Ormuzd"
In this primary source, I found the toad to have a recurring role as a symbol of supernatural influence across these different cultures. The passage highlights the network between religious beliefs, the land, and animal familiars. The first quote we see a Romani belief that the toad is a witch/shapeshifter - believing toads to be much more than simple amphibians. We get the sense that toads are creatures that possess the ability to be active participants in both spiritual and mystical realms. The second quote, we see toads being associated with Ahriman, with some research, that is the Zoroastrian embodiment of evil. Once again reinforcing this notion that toads/certain animals in general are embedded in religious cosmology. In both cases we see that toads can be seen as a symbol of fear, transformation, or an unseen force of governance. Beliefs spanning from European folklore to ancient Persian religion suggest that these animals linked to the land are often perceived as conduits of supernatural magic.
This piece [Daemonologie] stoutly trapped in its time period, from the themes, and references, down to the very nuances of the language at this point in time, portrays a fear of the delicate balance between Christianity and the previously established religious beliefs of the lands. Beliefs that value the relationship between humans, spirituality, and most importantly, the land. In contrast to the Christian doctrine that sees the Bible and its teachings as an equivalent of a valued homeland. There is no equivalent to honoring the land such as the Pagans have, only honoring the Lord. The disparaging language and tone used for the Pagans in this passage equates them as people who do not know any better, with arrogance.
“Neuertheles to satisfie a number of honest mindes,
who are desirous to be enformed of the veritie and trueth of their confessions,
which for certaintie is more stranger then the common reporte runneth, and yet
with more trueth I haue undertaken to publish this short Treatise, which declareth the true discourse of all that hath hapned, & aswell what was pretended by those wicked and detestable Witches against the Kinges Maiestie, as also by what meanes they wrought the same”
Attention needs to be drawn to the phrasing in this next quote. To use the word Seducing portrays something sinister, unlike how Christianity is spoken of. Instead of Enlightening or illuminating or even something neutral as teaching, King James uses a tone to persuade the reader into further understanding anything non-Christian as straying from the righteous path.
“they studied and practised so long time, that in the end they had seduced by their sorcery a number of other to be as bad as themselues: dwelling in the boundes of Lowthian”
In GYPSIES, TOADS, AND TOAD-LORE, there were many stories about how toads are linked to evil and magic. The author starts in the first sentence immediately making a connection to toads and evil, “in most Romany dialects there is the same word for a toad or frog, and the devil”. He then goes on to say that “[Romany] and toads are ‘near allied and not that wide from one another’”. I think that with these two quotes, he is making an intentional connection between the Romany people and evil or the devil. Taking this and the few stories Leland tells into account, it is clear to me that he believes toads are some sort of familiar for the Romany people. This can be seen specifically in the story about the man who runs over a toad, then hears the screams of a Romany family whose child had wounds exactly like the toad he just killed. This physical link between a witch and their familiar is also explored in the secondary source from Helen Parish. She explains that a witches relationship with an animal familiar was the physical embodiment of a demonic pact and that toads were believed to be used by witches to inflict pain on not just individuals, but entire communities. Leland makes a connection between toads and religion when he describes the Tyrol belief, “toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance… for deeds done in human form”. Based on what we’ve talked about in class, it makes sense that if a human were to fail in some religious way during their life, they would take the form of a creature linked with illness, evil, and the devil in order to do their penance. One of the most interesting connections Leland makes in this Toad Lore is how the creatures are considered to be an emblem of “erotic passion” and “earnestly seeking the companionship of men”. In the last few weeks of class, we have discussed how lust, passion, or pleasure are seen as sinful in faiths like christianity. It makes sense to me that the creature that would embody such sinful acts in this story would be one that is largely considered ugly or disgusting. Yet, in the story Leland tells, a young man falls in love with a toad, despite her features, because she grants him wishes or wants. This man ends up marrying the toad and the creature turns into a human. Perhaps this is a cautionary tale about giving into sinful wants. Maybe the human woman at the end is either a witch or demon that was acting through the toad and this young man formed a pact with the devil through the marriage. This section really reminded me of our class discussions on lust and religion.
In the beginning of the King James source, there is immediate mention of what happens once someone opens a contract with the devil. “I speake first of that part, wherein the Deuill oblishes himselfe to them by formes, I meane in what shape or fashion he shall come vnto them, when they call vpon him. And by effectes, I vnderstand, in what special sort of seruices he bindes himselfe to be subject vnto them. The qualitie of these formes and effectes, is lesse or greater, according to the skil and art of the Magician.” Here, he is talking about how there are two parts of a devil relationship, the forms and effects. For the forms, he explains that if the magician does not posses great power or skill, the devil will come to them in a low form such as a dog, cat, ape or other animal. The effects will be the question the person has or the way the devil will act to help them. The author mentions once again that if the magician is of low skill or power, the effects will be to, something along the lines of curing disease, personal affairs, or other smaller tasks. This made me think of the secondary source form Parish. Though, in her article she mentions that an animal familiar is not completely of the devil or completely of the earth, but rather it is a being with its own agency who chooses to work with a witch, or in this case a magician. Another section of this reading that concerns animals is when Agnes Sampson is confessing to being a witch and the various evils she committed both with a cat and a toad. First, admits that she attempted to kill the king, “She confessed that she tooke a blacke Toade…”. Then, she admits to tying a cat to the body of a dead man and dropping it into the sea in order to create a violent storm that she used on King James' ship, which the king confirmed to be true. In these two sections, we see witches using animals, possible familiars or embodiments of the devil himself, to cast magic and commit evil. There is yet another connection between witches and animals with the story of Dr. Fian and his attempt to do a spell by collecting his loves hair, but being caught by another witch and tricked into using cow hair. All of these stories about witches or the devil and their relation to animals make me think of how witches are seen as less than human and more animalistic. In the Parish reading, she mentions that witches were believed to nurture their animal familiars like a mother would a baby, violating social norms of animals being useful only in their work for humans. This idea of animals being so far below humans reminds me of conversations we’ve had in class about a lack of reciprocity with the earth and other animals. The way we’ve either cast them aside as a nuisance or hunted them both for food and sport. Animals are seen as less-than. Perhaps in this context, animals cannot have a relationship with god and therefore they have one with the devil and witches instead It seems that in this period, animals play a large role in the persecution and fear of witches and magic.
“She (Agnis Tompson) confessed that she tooke a blacke Toade, and did hang the same vp by the heeles, three daies, and collected and gathered the venome as it dropped and fell from it in an Oister shell, and kept the same venome close couered…(1597), pg. 11)”.
The toad seems to remain a common familiar within witchcraft. In the previous reading, toads are associated with the devil in many cultures. The toad is significant in this because the attempted killing of the king was done by the venom from a toad (the devil). I think the significance of this story is the fact that Agnis is using the devils venom to attempt to kill the king (who is very against witchcraft obviously). Like the readings mention, witchcraft practices really love to include trickery and clever paradoxes. This proves that animism plays a critical role in much of witchcraft’s lore.
Source 2:
“...And he, being willing to do anything to be free of sin, was locked up in the chest with the toads; and lo! the next day when it was opened the creatures had eaten him up. Only his clean-picked bones remained (Leland, Pg.4)”.
In this quote, I thought it was interesting how the toad acts as an ally of god. The toad is used as something evil, but is performing the “punishment” that would be favored by god in this instance. I'm not sure if that was the intent of this story, but I thought that this was an important thing to note. The alliance of the toad with christian punishments shows that there is connection between religion and witchcraft. This could argue that witchcraft may allow for more obedient christian church followers.
The Primary source of King James, the 1st Daemonologie goes into detail about the accounts of both nature and how animal familiars were of the devil’s creation and have been reported in different parts of the known world. This article relates to our topic of religion and land, because of how these spirits came to be and the formation of knowledge along with it. “…the fall of Lucifer, some Spirites fell in the aire, some in the fire, some in the water, some in the lande: In which Elementes they still remaine. Whereupon they build, that such as fell in the fire, or in the aire, are truer then they, who fell in the water or in the land, whichis al but meare trattles, & forged by the author of al deceit” (James, 2). This use of demonology helps in the aspect of the religious side of the discussion, with the added piece of the devil being the one who takes the form in front of those practicing witchcraft. This is also a connection to the land part of our class in relation to the types of spirits involved and that grounded aspect to what they represent, whether it is fire, water, air, or land.
In the discussions of religion and the land, we can also show how toads in Romany history and dialects support their prominence in witchcraft and communion with the devil. However, using such claims was common when using the toad as an example of all European history, connecting them with ill tidings and the possibility of being bewitched as they are familiar. An example of this claim comes from a gypsy woman’s story of the Epping Forest that shared a story of such nature. “One day, we went to a farmhouse and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in” (Leland, 2). This is a prime example of such a case because it was common for most who claimed witchcraft to call out women for such practices and throw blame in that same direction with reason as to why they would perform such an action. This, coming from a poem, represents an end to witchcraft and this form of malevolent evil. Within this aspect, there is the connection of nature with the use of toads and their connection to the natural world and spiritual world, which is used as a symbol of witchcraft.
I found the readings for this week really interested in showing the relationship between Christianity and nature and how it manifests in beliefs and traditions.
“So we gypsies talked together in Romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. Then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross--you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. So the witchcraft was ended, and the lady gave us a good meal and ten shillings.”
This quote comes from the Charles Leland source and is a story that he was told from Romany. There was a sick woman who would see a toad come to her every day and her sickness would only get worse. Suspicious of witchcraft, a group of local people caught the toad, tied a cross to it, and threw it in a fire. The woman grew less ill. This quote supports the idea that animals often serve as intermediaries for witchcraft or the devil in Christian tradition. This shows the relationship that Chrisitanity has with the land. Nature and animals are linked to the devil and in order to reverse witchcraft, these intermediaries need to be killed.
“The Schoolemaister so soone as he had receiued them, thinking them indeede to bee the Maides haires, went straight and wrought his arte vpon them: But the Doctor had no sooner doone his intent to them, but presentlye the Hayfer or Cow whose haires they were indeed, came vnto the doore of the Church wherein the Schoolemaister was, into the which the Hayfer went, and made towards the Schoolemaister, leaping and dauncing vpon him, and following him foorth of the church and to what place so euer he went, to the great admiration of all the townes men of Saltpans, and many other who did beholde the same.”
In this quote, the source is talking about a sorcerer named Doctor Fien who was conspiring to kill the King of Scotland with witchcraft. Fien’s plot is revealed when he is trying to use magic to get this woman to come to him. The woman's mother switches her hair for cow hair, so when he does the magic, the cow comes to him instead of the woman. A cow is dancing around him with admiration and therefore reveals that he is engaging in witchcraft. Again, this source portrays animals as things that can be used by witches and therefore also susceptible to the devil. This alienation between nature and Christians is driven by this association with magic and the Devil.
Source 1: King James 1 Daemonologie Shapeshifting and The Tempest
Although hard to read, this source gives a deep insight into the practices of witches and how they were captured and imprisoned. One such practice mentioned was the passage talking about the bewitching of the cat and how it was used to influence bad luck over the king as said "she . . . tooke a Cat and christened it, and afterward bound to each parte of that Cat, the cheefest partes of a dead man, and seuerall ioynts of his bodie" (King James, pg. 11). The description of how this was done was gruesome but gave the reader the idea of how witches used their beliefs and rituals to affect the world and the land around them.
Source 2: Gypsy Sorcery And Fortune Telling
This primary source discussing toads and frogs gives a lot of information about the superstitions and beliefs about frogs and what they represent. "[O]ne day a gentleman accidentally trod on a toad and killed it. Hearing a scream at that instant in the woods at a little distance, followed by an outcry, he went to see what was the matter, and found a gypsy camp where they were lamenting the sudden death of a child. On looking at the corpse he was horrified to observe that it presented every appearance of having been trampled to death, its wounds being the same as those he had inflicted on the toad." (Leland, pg. 2). Many people of Romani background believe that toads are the vessels for witches and cast bad luck upon people. However others also believe that frogs were once people that were on a pilgrimage and failed, thus being turned into a frog: "he general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled." (Leland, pg. 4). Whether they are the tools of witches or people long forgotten, frogs are emblems of religion and represent magic in many different cultures and religions.
I find it fascinating how shapeshifting and the concept of shapeshifting has taken on many forms. The instance in which it is suggested within" Theodore De Bry['s engraving], the indigenous people of Florida wear deer skins to camouflage themselves as they hunt deer. But on the surface of the water they have become deer. Some sort of shape-shifting has occurred. This is an early modern anxiety." As you go on to say, the anxiety has to do with one's identity, and how the fear of losing one's identity can manifest in different ways. It is interesting to note how this modern anxiety of your identity being washed away in an environment where it is neither popular nor welcome is prevalent today, I think even more so than within De Bry's time. Looking around at the way in which our world is becoming increasingly global, the more interconnected we become the more we all seem to shape shift. Whether or not the anxiety of losing one's identity throughout this global exchange is present in any given person is dependent on their adaptability to this change, but I believe that themes of shapeshifting as portrayed in this engraving are seen today within the lens of globalization.
As per the instructions in class, I have pasted the two paragraphs I wrote for the discussion:
Daemonologie:
“… he obliges him self to appease at their calling… either in likeness of a dog, a cattle, an ape, or such-like other beast…” Page 1
“… the said christened cat was the cause that the Kinges Maiesties Ship at his coming forth of Denmark’s, had a contrary wined…” Page 11
“… they took a cate and christened it… left the aside cat right before the Towne of Lieth in Scotland…” Page 11
“… these ungodly creatures, no better than duels: who… entered into the detestable art of witchcraft…” Page 6
The power of the both natural forces and diabolism is controlled by and connected to the idea of the familiar, particularly the cat in this case. The cat was utilized in a myriad of ways, such as being utilized in ritual and being deployed as a magical force in the land. The act of Christening the cat is a call back to the idea of Christianity, which shows us one act of paganism at the time, which was reinterpreting other religious practices into their own, and even taking familiar animals and turning them into agents of what Christian’s would see as unholy power. The idea of taking animals and converting them into vessels of unholiness is suggested to be done by Satan as a way to corrupt the land, as the animals are closest to the land. The idea that the animal can be a middle ground between Paganism and Christianity provides a sense of dread for the Christian’s described here, as powers such as control over the land and weather are typically things they describe as powers of God.
Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling:
“The toad plays a prominent part in gypsy (as in other) witchcraft…” Page 242
“… the little witch children were set to play at being shepherds, their flocks being of toads.” Page 256
“… a real toad was given to him which had the power to make its master invisible, to transport him… and to change him to the form of many kinds of animals.” Page 257
“In the Church of Saint Michael… an immense toad comes crawling before the altar… weeping bitterly.” Page 258
“… the toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance…” Page 258
“… the toad suddenly turned to a maiden of angelic beauty… thanked the wagoner for his kindness… for she had once vowed a pilgrimage…” Page 259
In contrast to Daemonologie, where animals were clearly labeled and described as vessels for Satan, the toad described here is a complex figure that can take a myriad of forms. The toad is sometimes taken as a sinner in penance, sometimes a being here to provide support to witches, and even take the form of enchanted humans in some cases. This description of the toad ties the toad heavily to the land, in particular the sacred geography that the people believe in. Thus the toad becomes a living symbol of religious treachery and redemption that is utilized in Christianity, while also being tied to more animalistic view of the land that Christian’s typically dismiss. An example of this can be seen when describing the toad that transformed into a maiden when reaching a holy land, evoking the imagery of holiness and redemption to that of the toad.
I was extremely interested in this weeks topic and the affiliated primary sources. In reference to mentions of animals / familiars in Leland's "Gypsies, Toads, and Toad Lore", three quotes (which I'll just list in succession) stood out to me. “So we gypsies talked together in Romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. Then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross--you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. So the witchcraft was ended, and the lady gave us a good meal and ten shillings." (Leland, 2). “It is bad to have one's looks against one. The personal appearance of the toad is such as to have giver it a bad place in the mythology of all races.” (Leland, 3).“ But in the Tyrol it is believed that the toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance as Hoetschen or Hoppinen--as they are locally called--for deeds done in human form. Therefore, they are regarded with pity and sympathy by all good Christians.” (Leland, 4).In contrast to the ideas of Christian animism presented above, as furthered by Wallace’s article, Leland offers a different approach to animal based relationships. He criticizes Romany beliefs that animals, such as toads, could be seen as familiars and integral to their faith. This is counterintuitive to what we now know about Christianity and its earth centric roots in tying the highest being - God - with an animal spirit. Furthermore, the third quote is interesting in that it almost reflects ideas of reincarnation and rebirth as a result of behavior in one life. This represents more evidence of Christians turning from their once accepting and flexible ways of conceptualizing the faith.
Alternatively, King James discusses shapeshifting in his "Demonologie", citing that “For as to the formes, to some of the baser sorte of them he oblishes him selfe to appeare at their calling vpon him, by such a proper name which he shewes vnto them, either in likenes of a dog, a Catte, an Ape , or such like other beast; or else to answere by a voyce onlie.” (King James, 1). Unfortunately, as discussed in last semester's class and briefly this one, almost all of the negative effects of the witch hunts of the sixteenth century fell onto innocent women. Their torture and mistreatment under the false guise of 'knowledge’ and ‘piety’ represents the lengths that Christians around the Middle Ages would go to dispel what they believed to be demons, or simply women who acted with agency and who threatened the status quo. Unreasonable accusations such as shapeshifting were further ways of proving and justifying their immoral proceedings with the women they deemed to be ‘witches’. Of course, a layer of irony is further added when one considers the argument of Wallace’s essay wherein he explains that there are biblical passages referencing Jesus turning into a dove upon his baptism. Why is shapeshifting acceptable in this case, but so clearly blasphemous as to warrant the punishments in King James’ Demonologie?
Insightful!
I’ve always enjoyed the topic of shapeshifting since it is one of those fictional concepts often used or recreated in different cultures due to an individual culture’s values and ideas. When looking at shapeshifting in context to this week's readings, there is a constant notion that magic involving animals causes an erosion between the lines of man and beast. Parnish’s article states this perfectly: “Animals were kept for more functional reasons, undertaking physical labor in order to serve the needs of humans…the practice of keeping animals as companions…changed the position of animals in human society.”The shapeshifting, familiars, and bestiality all cause similar changes to animals' position in society by elevating their importance to more than a tool for labor or a resource. This change blatantly challenges the contemporary relationship between humans and animals and, by extension, nature. Within this period, texts like King James 1 Daemonologies demonstrate a viewpoint that represents nature and animals as harvestable resources. Because of this, the drastic change in the relationship between humans, animals, and nature is viewed with fear and superstition. I believe that a prejudice against animist practices is a result of this fear rather than a cause of it. A few of the werewolf stories I read in “A Lycanthropy Reader” were written before this fear animist practices and showed a decent number of the werewolves were sane creatures in unlucky situations. Many animist practices have been passed down through generations, and while I can not say for certain that fear of change causes hatred of these practices, I can be sure that these practices were not a new or shocking development to Europe.
Leland
“And there is a terrible tale told by R. H. Stoddard, in a poem, that one day a gentleman accidentally trod on a toad and killed it. Hearing a scream at that instant in the woods at a little distance, followed by an outcry, he went to see what was the matter, and found a gypsy camp where they were lamenting the sudden death of a child. On looking at the corpse he was horrified to observe that it presented every appearance of having been trampled to death, its wounds being the same as those he had inflicted on the toad.”
“The general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled.”
“Therefore the creature, in the Old World as well as in the New, appears as a being earnestly seeking the companionship of men.”
This primary source had a lot to do with connecting religion to the land. Through toads as animal familiars first being considered the devil or having demon like properties. It then goes on to discuss different types of stories that relate to toads and nature and toads and religion. This is exemplified when we read the story about the toads returning to being human after reaching their destinations that they had vowed to visit on a pilgrimage. This is a religious relationship between toads, magic, and the way that people’s vows stay connected with them over multiple planes of existence. We see a relationship between toads religion and the land in the story about the “being somewhat like a maid but more like a hideous toad” getting married and then washing away ugliness in the lake and returning to a beautiful and graceful human. With the acceptance of a religious ceremony (the wedding) the religion and the land (the lake) worked to return beauty to a toad-like creature, and the couple were able to live on happily. These are a couple ways that toads were connected to both religion and the land in this source.
Parish
“The presence of the familiar in the witch trials is an almost uniquely English phenomenon, but it is one that raises important questions about the nature and practitioners of witchcraft, the role of demons and the demonic in the actions of witches, and the challenge that witchcraft and familiars posed to traditional categorisations and assumptions around human and non-human interactions.”
“Rather, the relationship between witch and familiar, and the representation of that relationship, grew out of, and informed, the relationship between religion, magic, folk belief, and learned demonology in late medieval and early modern Europe.”
This article for the most part looks at the relationship between witches and familiars. It also talks a lot about human and animal interactions. Specifically the divination involving birds was mentioned in relation to death, augury, and divination. It is said that this is a ‘peculiarly English’ phenomenon in which . The familiars are active participants in witchcraft, and are the devil in the shape of an animal. There is an idea of turning animals into a vessel to be used in tandem with witchcraft and witches themselves. Other than the use of birds, familiars tended to be paltry vermin, cats, mice, toads, and weasels.
Source 1:
To many peoples, animals are not just an order of living things under humans, but an active part of the natural world, each with their own role to serve. Many cultures see the toad as such, either as a symbol or omen and a vessel for a human via witchcraft or a higher power. For the toad, it is seen by cultures around the world as a symbol of witchcraft, wickedness, and evil. Leland begins the chapter by describing the direct correlation between toads and evil in Romani, or “gypsy,” culture. He writes, “in most Romany dialects there is the same word for a toad or frog, and the devil” (1). It should be mentioned that Leland himself doesn’t believe in the correlation, but he presents the idea nonetheless, citing multiple examples of the toad’s significance in Romani culture. Nevertheless, Ii believe that the word for toad being the same as “devil” is an interesting statement about the prevalence of animals and nature to the Romani; a single animal has such prevalence in their culture that it is likened to an almighty force such as the devil. In the rest of the excerpt, Leland describes the role of the toad in a variety of other cultures, each of which harken back to those groups and their views on nature. In European Christian folklore, the toad is representative of sin, either appearing to sinners or with sinners being transformed into toads after their deaths; this is indicative of the Christian view of nature as something to be conquered, like sin. For the Algonquin Native Americans, the toad is, “made of the creature the mother of all the witches” (3). This is reminiscent of each animal being an active part of the natural world, for good or for evil. In the various cultures, though, they all share a similar idea that the toad is often a human in animal form. Overall, it was fascinating to see how multiple cultures viewed the toad, whether explicitly evil or a sign of bad luck and whether or not the toad was an active participant in the natural world.
Source 2:
While many other parts of the world had varying definitions of witchcraft and its methods, the English witch trials were particularly focused on its manipulation of nature and animals. In other trials, the source of a witch’s power is usually believed to be the witches’ “Sabbat.” However, in the English this belief is missing in exchange for that of the “familiar,” the devil in the shape of an animal (1-2). The article goes on to describe how the English believed that familiars were not victims of witchcraft, but rather active participants (2); they were the devil’s method of reaching humans. This goes back to the Christian idea presented by King James that nature is an entity susceptible to evil. Also, according to the English, witchcraft and the use of a familiar were a transgression on God’s creation, that being nature. Taking such an affront against God to heart, nature became the central focus of the English over other methods of power. This concern with natural methods of witchcraft is reflected through witch trial court records such as those of Alice Kyteler, and later others when the belief in familiars become much more widespread (3).
Source 1:
On page 11 and 12 of the given Daemonologie excerpt, the confession of Agnis Tompson, an accused witch, demonstrates the relationship between magic, religion, and nature. We learn that witches were believed to have the power to manipulate the natural world through animal rituals. Tompson describes a ritual where a cat is christened, bound with the parts of a dead man, and thrown into the sea by a group of witches. This summoned a powerful storm which destroyed a ship meant for the Queen, and endangered the ship carrying King James back home from Denmark. This illustrates a connection between animals and rituals. Could the spell have been done with any animal? Or, as we saw in the Parish reading, was this specific cat a demonic familiar who had tremendous power? Furthermore, through King James we see that Christian faith has the power to resist and protect against such magic. The narrative that God and Christianity could withstand and overcome witchcraft is shown. The use of magic to control nature, with only the power of God to stop this, illustrates the average person’s beliefs on the connection between nature, magic, and religion in late 16th century Scotland.
The quote: “... she being accompanied with the parties before specially named, tooke a Cat and christened it, and afterward bound to each parte of that Cat, the cheefest partes of a dead man, and seuerall ioynts of his bodie, and that in the night following the saide Cat was conueied into the midst of the sea by all these witches sayling in their riddles or Ciues as is aforesaid…. this doone, there did arise such a tempest in the Sea, as a greater hath not beene seene…. Againe it is confessed, that the said christened Cat was the cause that the Kinges Maiesties Ship at his comming foorth of Denmarke, had a contrary winde to the rest of his Ships…. and further the saide witche declared, that his Maiestie had neuer come safelye from the Sea, if his faith had not preuailed aboue their ententions.”
Source 2:
The Charles G. Leland excerpt presents a variety of stories from various cultures around the world, all highlighting the relationship between religion and nature through symbolism of toads. Across all of these cultures, toads are consistently associated with magic, though the role and exact significance does vary. In Romani folklore, toads are tied to witchcraft, where they are believed to carry curses that can be broken through rituals, as seen with the burning of the toad (who was believed to be a witch in disguise) using the cross made of shears. Spanish beliefs, similarly, describe toads as magical creatures that can grant their masters invisibility and the ability to shape shift. In Algonquin lore, the Great Toad sought to overthrow the god of Nature and shifted the appearance of the Algonquin people. Meanwhile, Tyrolese folklore presents a very different view, believing that toads are the people who died with their vows unfulfilled. Furthermore, there are several stories of these toads transforming into beautiful “creatures”: a white dove that flew to heaven, an angelic woman dressed in white, or a princess. Despite the differences in these narratives, the power of transformation and change is a common theme among them all. Whether through shapeshifting at will, altering physical appearances of a whole population, or transcending into a more ethereal form, toads symbolize that earthly connection to religion.
The quotes:
Romani - “....and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in….. So we Gypsies talked together in Romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. Then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross–you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. So the witchcraft was ended…”
Spanish - “...a mark like a toad was stamped on his eyelid, and that a real toad was given to him which had the power to make its master invisible, to transport him to distance places, and change him to the form of many kind of animals"
Algonquin - “Once the great toad had, as she thought, succeed in organizing a conspiracy by which glooskap, the Shamanic god of Nature, was to be destroyed. Then he passed his hand over her face and that of her fellow-conspirator the Porcupine; and from that time forth their noses were flat, to the great scorn of all honest well-beaked Indians”
Tyrolese - “The general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled.” “Once there was a toad who took seven years to go from Leifers to Weissenstein; and when the creature reached the church it suddenly changed to a resplendent white dove…flying up to heaven”
Source 1: Daemonologie
Quote (1). "For as to the formes, to some of the baser sorte of them he oblishes him selfe to appeare at their calling vpon him, by such a proper name which he shewes vnto them, either in likenes of a dog, a Catte, an Ape, or such-like other beast; or else to answere by a voyce onlie."
Quote (2). "And yet are all these thinges but deluding of the senses, and no waies true in substance, as were the false miracles wrought by King Pharaoes Magicians, for counterfeiting Moyses."
For this 16th century source, we see a deceptive nature of demonic pacts and illusions. There is an emphasis on how the Devil manipulates human perception through both physical manifestations and trickery. The first quote I pulled demonstrates a belief that demons appear in the form of animals, these familiars have an association between the natural work and long held belief of demonic practice. This reference of shapeshifting have these Europeans believing that supernatural forces come to our physical work in recognizable forms. The second quote mentions magicians. Suggesting that these manifestations are just illusions, deceptive and misleading. There is a clear distinction between divine miracles and the Devils work in this primary source. This source makes the argument that witchcraft and supernatural belief position nature itself as yet another playing field between divine truth and demonic deception in a very tumultuous time.
Source 2: GYPSIES, TOADS, AND TOAD-LORE
Quote (1). "One day we went to a farmhouse, and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in"
Quote (2). "The old Persians made the toad the symbol and pet of Ahriman, the foe of light, and declared that his Charfester, or attendant demons, took that from when they persecuted Ormuzd"
In this primary source, I found the toad to have a recurring role as a symbol of supernatural influence across these different cultures. The passage highlights the network between religious beliefs, the land, and animal familiars. The first quote we see a Romani belief that the toad is a witch/shapeshifter - believing toads to be much more than simple amphibians. We get the sense that toads are creatures that possess the ability to be active participants in both spiritual and mystical realms. The second quote, we see toads being associated with Ahriman, with some research, that is the Zoroastrian embodiment of evil. Once again reinforcing this notion that toads/certain animals in general are embedded in religious cosmology. In both cases we see that toads can be seen as a symbol of fear, transformation, or an unseen force of governance. Beliefs spanning from European folklore to ancient Persian religion suggest that these animals linked to the land are often perceived as conduits of supernatural magic.
This piece [Daemonologie] stoutly trapped in its time period, from the themes, and references, down to the very nuances of the language at this point in time, portrays a fear of the delicate balance between Christianity and the previously established religious beliefs of the lands. Beliefs that value the relationship between humans, spirituality, and most importantly, the land. In contrast to the Christian doctrine that sees the Bible and its teachings as an equivalent of a valued homeland. There is no equivalent to honoring the land such as the Pagans have, only honoring the Lord. The disparaging language and tone used for the Pagans in this passage equates them as people who do not know any better, with arrogance.
“Neuertheles to satisfie a number of honest mindes,
who are desirous to be enformed of the veritie and trueth of their confessions,
which for certaintie is more stranger then the common reporte runneth, and yet
with more trueth I haue undertaken to publish this short Treatise, which declareth the true discourse of all that hath hapned, & aswell what was pretended by those wicked and detestable Witches against the Kinges Maiestie, as also by what meanes they wrought the same”
Attention needs to be drawn to the phrasing in this next quote. To use the word Seducing portrays something sinister, unlike how Christianity is spoken of. Instead of Enlightening or illuminating or even something neutral as teaching, King James uses a tone to persuade the reader into further understanding anything non-Christian as straying from the righteous path.
“they studied and practised so long time, that in the end they had seduced by their sorcery a number of other to be as bad as themselues: dwelling in the boundes of Lowthian”
In GYPSIES, TOADS, AND TOAD-LORE, there were many stories about how toads are linked to evil and magic. The author starts in the first sentence immediately making a connection to toads and evil, “in most Romany dialects there is the same word for a toad or frog, and the devil”. He then goes on to say that “[Romany] and toads are ‘near allied and not that wide from one another’”. I think that with these two quotes, he is making an intentional connection between the Romany people and evil or the devil. Taking this and the few stories Leland tells into account, it is clear to me that he believes toads are some sort of familiar for the Romany people. This can be seen specifically in the story about the man who runs over a toad, then hears the screams of a Romany family whose child had wounds exactly like the toad he just killed. This physical link between a witch and their familiar is also explored in the secondary source from Helen Parish. She explains that a witches relationship with an animal familiar was the physical embodiment of a demonic pact and that toads were believed to be used by witches to inflict pain on not just individuals, but entire communities. Leland makes a connection between toads and religion when he describes the Tyrol belief, “toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance… for deeds done in human form”. Based on what we’ve talked about in class, it makes sense that if a human were to fail in some religious way during their life, they would take the form of a creature linked with illness, evil, and the devil in order to do their penance. One of the most interesting connections Leland makes in this Toad Lore is how the creatures are considered to be an emblem of “erotic passion” and “earnestly seeking the companionship of men”. In the last few weeks of class, we have discussed how lust, passion, or pleasure are seen as sinful in faiths like christianity. It makes sense to me that the creature that would embody such sinful acts in this story would be one that is largely considered ugly or disgusting. Yet, in the story Leland tells, a young man falls in love with a toad, despite her features, because she grants him wishes or wants. This man ends up marrying the toad and the creature turns into a human. Perhaps this is a cautionary tale about giving into sinful wants. Maybe the human woman at the end is either a witch or demon that was acting through the toad and this young man formed a pact with the devil through the marriage. This section really reminded me of our class discussions on lust and religion.
In the beginning of the King James source, there is immediate mention of what happens once someone opens a contract with the devil. “I speake first of that part, wherein the Deuill oblishes himselfe to them by formes, I meane in what shape or fashion he shall come vnto them, when they call vpon him. And by effectes, I vnderstand, in what special sort of seruices he bindes himselfe to be subject vnto them. The qualitie of these formes and effectes, is lesse or greater, according to the skil and art of the Magician.” Here, he is talking about how there are two parts of a devil relationship, the forms and effects. For the forms, he explains that if the magician does not posses great power or skill, the devil will come to them in a low form such as a dog, cat, ape or other animal. The effects will be the question the person has or the way the devil will act to help them. The author mentions once again that if the magician is of low skill or power, the effects will be to, something along the lines of curing disease, personal affairs, or other smaller tasks. This made me think of the secondary source form Parish. Though, in her article she mentions that an animal familiar is not completely of the devil or completely of the earth, but rather it is a being with its own agency who chooses to work with a witch, or in this case a magician. Another section of this reading that concerns animals is when Agnes Sampson is confessing to being a witch and the various evils she committed both with a cat and a toad. First, admits that she attempted to kill the king, “She confessed that she tooke a blacke Toade…”. Then, she admits to tying a cat to the body of a dead man and dropping it into the sea in order to create a violent storm that she used on King James' ship, which the king confirmed to be true. In these two sections, we see witches using animals, possible familiars or embodiments of the devil himself, to cast magic and commit evil. There is yet another connection between witches and animals with the story of Dr. Fian and his attempt to do a spell by collecting his loves hair, but being caught by another witch and tricked into using cow hair. All of these stories about witches or the devil and their relation to animals make me think of how witches are seen as less than human and more animalistic. In the Parish reading, she mentions that witches were believed to nurture their animal familiars like a mother would a baby, violating social norms of animals being useful only in their work for humans. This idea of animals being so far below humans reminds me of conversations we’ve had in class about a lack of reciprocity with the earth and other animals. The way we’ve either cast them aside as a nuisance or hunted them both for food and sport. Animals are seen as less-than. Perhaps in this context, animals cannot have a relationship with god and therefore they have one with the devil and witches instead It seems that in this period, animals play a large role in the persecution and fear of witches and magic.
Source 1:
“She (Agnis Tompson) confessed that she tooke a blacke Toade, and did hang the same vp by the heeles, three daies, and collected and gathered the venome as it dropped and fell from it in an Oister shell, and kept the same venome close couered…(1597), pg. 11)”.
The toad seems to remain a common familiar within witchcraft. In the previous reading, toads are associated with the devil in many cultures. The toad is significant in this because the attempted killing of the king was done by the venom from a toad (the devil). I think the significance of this story is the fact that Agnis is using the devils venom to attempt to kill the king (who is very against witchcraft obviously). Like the readings mention, witchcraft practices really love to include trickery and clever paradoxes. This proves that animism plays a critical role in much of witchcraft’s lore.
Source 2:
“...And he, being willing to do anything to be free of sin, was locked up in the chest with the toads; and lo! the next day when it was opened the creatures had eaten him up. Only his clean-picked bones remained (Leland, Pg.4)”.
In this quote, I thought it was interesting how the toad acts as an ally of god. The toad is used as something evil, but is performing the “punishment” that would be favored by god in this instance. I'm not sure if that was the intent of this story, but I thought that this was an important thing to note. The alliance of the toad with christian punishments shows that there is connection between religion and witchcraft. This could argue that witchcraft may allow for more obedient christian church followers.
The Primary source of King James, the 1st Daemonologie goes into detail about the accounts of both nature and how animal familiars were of the devil’s creation and have been reported in different parts of the known world. This article relates to our topic of religion and land, because of how these spirits came to be and the formation of knowledge along with it. “…the fall of Lucifer, some Spirites fell in the aire, some in the fire, some in the water, some in the lande: In which Elementes they still remaine. Whereupon they build, that such as fell in the fire, or in the aire, are truer then they, who fell in the water or in the land, whichis al but meare trattles, & forged by the author of al deceit” (James, 2). This use of demonology helps in the aspect of the religious side of the discussion, with the added piece of the devil being the one who takes the form in front of those practicing witchcraft. This is also a connection to the land part of our class in relation to the types of spirits involved and that grounded aspect to what they represent, whether it is fire, water, air, or land.
In the discussions of religion and the land, we can also show how toads in Romany history and dialects support their prominence in witchcraft and communion with the devil. However, using such claims was common when using the toad as an example of all European history, connecting them with ill tidings and the possibility of being bewitched as they are familiar. An example of this claim comes from a gypsy woman’s story of the Epping Forest that shared a story of such nature. “One day, we went to a farmhouse and found the wife almost dying because she thought she was bewitched by a woman who came every day in the form of a great toad to her door and looked in” (Leland, 2). This is a prime example of such a case because it was common for most who claimed witchcraft to call out women for such practices and throw blame in that same direction with reason as to why they would perform such an action. This, coming from a poem, represents an end to witchcraft and this form of malevolent evil. Within this aspect, there is the connection of nature with the use of toads and their connection to the natural world and spiritual world, which is used as a symbol of witchcraft.
I found the readings for this week really interested in showing the relationship between Christianity and nature and how it manifests in beliefs and traditions.
“So we gypsies talked together in Romany, and then said we could remove the spell if she would get us a pair of shears and a cup of salt. Then we caught the toad, and tied the shears so as to make a cross--you see!--and with it threw the toad into the fire, and poured the salt on it. So the witchcraft was ended, and the lady gave us a good meal and ten shillings.”
This quote comes from the Charles Leland source and is a story that he was told from Romany. There was a sick woman who would see a toad come to her every day and her sickness would only get worse. Suspicious of witchcraft, a group of local people caught the toad, tied a cross to it, and threw it in a fire. The woman grew less ill. This quote supports the idea that animals often serve as intermediaries for witchcraft or the devil in Christian tradition. This shows the relationship that Chrisitanity has with the land. Nature and animals are linked to the devil and in order to reverse witchcraft, these intermediaries need to be killed.
“The Schoolemaister so soone as he had receiued them, thinking them indeede to bee the Maides haires, went straight and wrought his arte vpon them: But the Doctor had no sooner doone his intent to them, but presentlye the Hayfer or Cow whose haires they were indeed, came vnto the doore of the Church wherein the Schoolemaister was, into the which the Hayfer went, and made towards the Schoolemaister, leaping and dauncing vpon him, and following him foorth of the church and to what place so euer he went, to the great admiration of all the townes men of Saltpans, and many other who did beholde the same.”
In this quote, the source is talking about a sorcerer named Doctor Fien who was conspiring to kill the King of Scotland with witchcraft. Fien’s plot is revealed when he is trying to use magic to get this woman to come to him. The woman's mother switches her hair for cow hair, so when he does the magic, the cow comes to him instead of the woman. A cow is dancing around him with admiration and therefore reveals that he is engaging in witchcraft. Again, this source portrays animals as things that can be used by witches and therefore also susceptible to the devil. This alienation between nature and Christians is driven by this association with magic and the Devil.
Source 1: King James 1 Daemonologie Shapeshifting and The Tempest
Although hard to read, this source gives a deep insight into the practices of witches and how they were captured and imprisoned. One such practice mentioned was the passage talking about the bewitching of the cat and how it was used to influence bad luck over the king as said "she . . . tooke a Cat and christened it, and afterward bound to each parte of that Cat, the cheefest partes of a dead man, and seuerall ioynts of his bodie" (King James, pg. 11). The description of how this was done was gruesome but gave the reader the idea of how witches used their beliefs and rituals to affect the world and the land around them.
Source 2: Gypsy Sorcery And Fortune Telling
This primary source discussing toads and frogs gives a lot of information about the superstitions and beliefs about frogs and what they represent. "[O]ne day a gentleman accidentally trod on a toad and killed it. Hearing a scream at that instant in the woods at a little distance, followed by an outcry, he went to see what was the matter, and found a gypsy camp where they were lamenting the sudden death of a child. On looking at the corpse he was horrified to observe that it presented every appearance of having been trampled to death, its wounds being the same as those he had inflicted on the toad." (Leland, pg. 2). Many people of Romani background believe that toads are the vessels for witches and cast bad luck upon people. However others also believe that frogs were once people that were on a pilgrimage and failed, thus being turned into a frog: "he general belief is that toads are for the most part people who made vows to go on pilgrimages, and died with the vows unfulfilled." (Leland, pg. 4). Whether they are the tools of witches or people long forgotten, frogs are emblems of religion and represent magic in many different cultures and religions.
I find it fascinating how shapeshifting and the concept of shapeshifting has taken on many forms. The instance in which it is suggested within" Theodore De Bry['s engraving], the indigenous people of Florida wear deer skins to camouflage themselves as they hunt deer. But on the surface of the water they have become deer. Some sort of shape-shifting has occurred. This is an early modern anxiety." As you go on to say, the anxiety has to do with one's identity, and how the fear of losing one's identity can manifest in different ways. It is interesting to note how this modern anxiety of your identity being washed away in an environment where it is neither popular nor welcome is prevalent today, I think even more so than within De Bry's time. Looking around at the way in which our world is becoming increasingly global, the more interconnected we become the more we all seem to shape shift. Whether or not the anxiety of losing one's identity throughout this global exchange is present in any given person is dependent on their adaptability to this change, but I believe that themes of shapeshifting as portrayed in this engraving are seen today within the lens of globalization.
As per the instructions in class, I have pasted the two paragraphs I wrote for the discussion:
Daemonologie:
“… he obliges him self to appease at their calling… either in likeness of a dog, a cattle, an ape, or such-like other beast…” Page 1
“… the said christened cat was the cause that the Kinges Maiesties Ship at his coming forth of Denmark’s, had a contrary wined…” Page 11
“… they took a cate and christened it… left the aside cat right before the Towne of Lieth in Scotland…” Page 11
“… these ungodly creatures, no better than duels: who… entered into the detestable art of witchcraft…” Page 6
The power of the both natural forces and diabolism is controlled by and connected to the idea of the familiar, particularly the cat in this case. The cat was utilized in a myriad of ways, such as being utilized in ritual and being deployed as a magical force in the land. The act of Christening the cat is a call back to the idea of Christianity, which shows us one act of paganism at the time, which was reinterpreting other religious practices into their own, and even taking familiar animals and turning them into agents of what Christian’s would see as unholy power. The idea of taking animals and converting them into vessels of unholiness is suggested to be done by Satan as a way to corrupt the land, as the animals are closest to the land. The idea that the animal can be a middle ground between Paganism and Christianity provides a sense of dread for the Christian’s described here, as powers such as control over the land and weather are typically things they describe as powers of God.
Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling:
“The toad plays a prominent part in gypsy (as in other) witchcraft…” Page 242
“… the little witch children were set to play at being shepherds, their flocks being of toads.” Page 256
“… a real toad was given to him which had the power to make its master invisible, to transport him… and to change him to the form of many kinds of animals.” Page 257
“In the Church of Saint Michael… an immense toad comes crawling before the altar… weeping bitterly.” Page 258
“… the toads are themselves poor sinners, undergoing penance…” Page 258
“… the toad suddenly turned to a maiden of angelic beauty… thanked the wagoner for his kindness… for she had once vowed a pilgrimage…” Page 259
In contrast to Daemonologie, where animals were clearly labeled and described as vessels for Satan, the toad described here is a complex figure that can take a myriad of forms. The toad is sometimes taken as a sinner in penance, sometimes a being here to provide support to witches, and even take the form of enchanted humans in some cases. This description of the toad ties the toad heavily to the land, in particular the sacred geography that the people believe in. Thus the toad becomes a living symbol of religious treachery and redemption that is utilized in Christianity, while also being tied to more animalistic view of the land that Christian’s typically dismiss. An example of this can be seen when describing the toad that transformed into a maiden when reaching a holy land, evoking the imagery of holiness and redemption to that of the toad.