Brujería - History Lab https://historylab.es Thu, 19 May 2022 14:58:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://historylab.es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-icono-historylab-32x32.jpg Brujería - History Lab https://historylab.es 32 32 Description of the Warlock Sabbath https://historylab.es/description-of-the-warlock-sabbath/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=description-of-the-warlock-sabbath Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:25 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/descripcion-del-sabbat-de-los-brujos/ The image represents a "sabbat" or meeting of witches and witches where all the myths related to witchcraft practices are collected, such as the worship of the devil or "billy goat", the sacrifice of children or the elaboration of poison.

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]]> This image is an engraving made by the draughtsman Jan Ziarnko in 1612 for the work Tableau de l’inconstance des mauvais anges et démons, où il est amplement traicté des sorciers et de la sorcellerie, written by the inquisitor Pierre de Lancre (Pierre de L’Ancre) in 1609, following his actions and visits in Lapurdi, one of the historical territories that make up the natural region of Lower Navarre and which are located in the French Basque Country. The phenomenon of witchcraft and witch-hunting, which responds to a complex social, economic, political and cultural causality, flourished in the Spanish context from the first decades of the 16th century until the beginning of the 17th century, with the regions most affected by witch-hunting being those located in the north of the peninsula and, especially, close to the border with France, such as Navarre, the Basque Country, Catalonia and Aragon. Both civil and ecclesiastical courts acted in these trials, with the Inquisition being the main institution responsible for prosecuting these practices after the Junta of Granada in 1526. In addition to civil and ecclesiastical justice, there was also a “popular justice”, exercised by the locals themselves, who in addition to carrying out most of the accusations, were responsible for marginalising and even subjecting those accused of witchcraft to public humiliation. The selected image represents a convent or “sabbat”, as the meetings or town councils of witches and warlocks were usually called. It shows some of the most common stereotypes that were assimilated to witchcraft practices, such as making poison with toads and other magical powders (bottom centre of the image), feeding on children (bottom right), transforming themselves into animals or magical beings with an animal appearance (bottom right), dancing and dancing to the sound of music (bottom right), dancing and dancing to music, flying in order to travel to the Sabbaths – usually on a broomstick – (middle of the picture) or the presence of the devil as a goat, seated on an altar, to whom children are offered (top right) to be sacrificed. The phenomenon of witch-hunting, which had a relative impact on the peninsular territories of the Spanish Monarchy compared to other regions such as France, Poland or the Holy Roman Empire (now Germany), began to disappear in the second half of the 17th century.

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]]> Margaret Finch, Queen of the Norwood Gypsies https://historylab.es/margaret-finch-queen-of-the-norwood-gypsies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=margaret-finch-queen-of-the-norwood-gypsies Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:28 +0000 https://historylab.es/2022/02/19/margaret-finch-reina-de-los-gitanos-de-norwood/ Gypsies in England

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]]> Gypsies arrived in the British Isles between 1430 and 1440, in the first wave to invade Europe, and almost immediately they were vigorously harassed through legislation, threats and punishment. However, their situation changed around the 17th century and since then the Gypsies have lived in relative tranquillity in various clans. Although it is not common to find Gypsies with their own name, in England in the middle years of the 18th century, one Gypsy, Margaret Finch, was very well known. There are engravings of her with a legend at the bottom where she is called “Queen of the Norwood Gypsies” and is said to be 108 years old. She wears a turban, a blanket and has her legs folded across her chest, a position so common for her that at the end of her life she was unable to stand up. She smokes a long pipe, receives the company and affection of two dogs and has at her feet a cup intended to receive alms or payment for her predictions. It was in itself a spectacle in which people could contemplate, present and conceptualised, one of the existing images of the gypsy imaginary: that of the deformed and ungraceful old gypsy witch.

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