__NOTOC__ ''Satanism and Witchcraft'' is a book by

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and writer. He is best known for his multivolume work ''Histoire de France'' (History of France). Michelet was influenced by Giambattista Vico; he admired Vico's emphas ...

on the history of

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

. Originally published in Paris as ''La Sorcière'' in 1862, the first English translation appeared in London a year later. Michelet portrays the life of witches and trials held for witchcraft, and argues that medieval witchcraft was a righteous act of rebellion by the lower classes against

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

and the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Although his book is thought to be largely inaccurate, it is notable for being one of the first sympathetic histories of witchcraft.

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According to Michelet, medieval witchcraft was an act of popular rebellion against the oppression of

and the

. This rebellion took the form of a secret religion inspired by

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

and belief in

fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

, organized by a woman who became its leader. The participants in the religion met regularly at

Witches' Sabbath A Witches' Sabbath is a purported gathering of those believed to practice witchcraft and other rituals. The phrase became especially popular in the 20th century. Origin of the phrase The most infamous and influential work of witch-hunting lor ...

s and Black Masses. Michelet's account dwells on the suffering of

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

s and women in the Middle Ages, and writes that history should concentrate on ‘the people, and not only its leaders or its institutions’ put him ahead of his time as a writer of micro-history. Michelet was one of the first people to attempt to give a sociological explanation of the Witch Trials, and interprets the source material very literally. According to Michelet, in a note added to the end of the book:

Structure

The book is divided into two parts, each constituted by twelve chapters. The first and most famous part is an imaginative reconstruction of the experience of a series of medieval witches who led the religion from its original form of social protest into decadence. The second part is a series of episodes in the

European witch trials In the early modern period, from about 1400 to 1775, about 100,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and British America. Between 40,000 and 60,000 were executed, almost all in Europe. The witch-hunts were particularly severe in pa ...

, including the Louis Gaufridi affair, the trials of the possessed women of

Loudun Loudun (; ; Poitevin: ''Loudin'') is a commune in the Vienne department and the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, western France. It is located south of the town of Chinon and 25 km to the east of the town Thouars. The area south of Loudun ...

and

Louviers Louviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In th ...

, and the execution of Charlotte Cadière. Today, the book is regarded as being largely inaccurate, but still notable for being one of the first sympathetic histories of witchcraft, and as such it may have had an indirect influence on

Wicca Wicca (), also known as "The Craft", is a Modern paganism, modern pagan, syncretic, Earth religion, Earth-centred religion. Considered a new religious movement by Religious studies, scholars of religion, the path evolved from Western esote ...

. Michelet uses a mix of scholarly research and imaginative storytelling that makes the book more accessible to readers. The book often reads more like a novel or a tragedy than a typical historical treatise.

Media

In the early 1970s, ''La Sorcière'' became the basis for

Alain Robbe-Grillet Alain Robbe-Grillet (; 18 August 1922 – 18 February 2008) was a French writer and filmmaker. He was one of the figures most associated with the ''Nouveau Roman'' () trend of the 1960s, along with Nathalie Sarraute, Michel Butor and Claude Simo ...

's film ''

Glissements progressifs du plaisir ''Successive Slidings of Pleasure'' () is a 1974 French art film directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet. Plot The film delves into the surreal and demented psyche of a young woman following the murder of her partner Nora. She is incarcerated in a conve ...

'' (starring

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-World War II, war era. He starred in m ...

) and the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

film '' Kanashimi no Belladonna'', by

Mushi Production or Mushi Pro for short, is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Fujimidai, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. It previously had a headquarters elsewhere in Nerima. The studio was headed by manga artist Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka started it as a rivalry wi ...

References

External links

The full French text (various formats)

The full French text, with internal links and pictures (MS Word format)

Full text of "La Sorcière: The Witch in the Middle Ages" (1863 English translation)
* English translation

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Structure

Media

See also

References

External links

Further reading