The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in AnthropologyMurray, Margaret Alice
Religion
The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology
Murray, Margaret Alice
Ethnology; Witchcraft -- Great Britain
Danaeus, in his general survey of the cult in 1575, says: 'He apointeth
where they shall meete, and at what houre of the day, or of the night:
wherein they haue no surenes, nor certentie. For these meetinges are not
weekely, nor monthly, nor yeerely, but when and how often it shall seeme
good to this their maister. And many times himself warneth them to meete,
sometimes hee apoynteth others to warne them in his staede. But when he
doth it himself, he appeareth vnto them in likenesse of a man.'[449] De
Lancre says that in the Basses-Pyrénées 'le lieu où on le trouue
ordinairement s'appelle Lanne de bouc, & en Basque _Aquelarre de verros,
prado del Cabron_, & là les Sorciers le vont adorer trois nuicts durant,
celle du Lundy, du Mercredy, & du Vendredy.—Les iours ordinaires de la
conuocation du Sabbat, ou pour mieux dire les nuicts, sont celles du
Mercredy venant au Ieudy, & du Vendredy venant au Samedy.—Catherine de
Naguille de la paroisse d'Vstarits, aagee de onze ans, & sa compagne, nous
out asseuré qu'elles auoiẽt esté au Sabbat en plein midy.'[450] Jane
Bosdeau (1594) 'every Wednesday and Friday met a Rendezvous of aboue Sixty
Witches at Puy de dome'.[451] Boguet says that the day of the Sabbath was
variable, usually Thursday night;[452] while, according to Bodin, the most
frequent was 'entre la nuict du Lundi & Mardi'.[453] Boguet also goes on to
say, 'Le Sabbat ne se tient pas tousiours de nuict, ains que les Sorciers y
vont aussi quelquefois de iour, selon que firent Antoine Tornier, & Iaquema
Paget, & plusieurs autres de leur secte le confessent.'[454] The Lorraine
witches also had the same custom:
'Alle zugleich, so viel ihrer bisher in Lotharingen peinlich sind
verhöret worden, bekandten, dass solche Versammlung in keiner andern
Nacht, als welche zu nechst vor dem Donnerstag oder Sambstag hergehet,
gehalten werden.—Johannes a Villa und Agathina des Schneiders
Francisci weib, sagt, eine oder zwey Stunde vor Mitternacht, were die
bequemste Zeit darzu, und zwar nicht allein zu diesen Gespensten,
sondern auch sonsten zu allerhand Gespensten, Bollergeisten,
Irrgeisten, &c. Aber die Stunde nach Mitternacht diene nicht
darzu.'[455]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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