APPENDIX II

THE ACTIVITIES OF SORCERERS

The Manual of the Inquisitor Bernard Gui (circa 1321) contains a model of the interrogation of sorcerers that gives a good glimpse of the actions attributed to them¹:

To the accused sorcerer, fortune-teller or invoker of demons, one will ask . . .

What does he know of enchantments or conjurations by means of incantations, fruits, plants, ropes, and so forth. . . .

What does he know of the healing of illnesses by means of conjurations or incantations.

What does he know of this way of harvesting plants, on his knees, facing the east, and while reciting the dominical orison, . . .

One should inquire about this practice that consists of baptizing images of wax or others; one will ask the way they are baptized, what use is made of them, and what advantages one draws from them.

One will interrogate the accused on the leaden images crafted by sorcerers.

The powers of sorcerers and witches was so feared, the Inquisition recommended to the judges of the ecclesiastical tribunals to wear “around the neck [colligates collo eius] consecrated salt and various other things, tied with the seven words of Christ on the cross written on a schedule. [The judge] should also wear, if this can be conveniently achieved on his naked body, a blessed candle the length of Christ’s body and surround himself with other holy things (Malleus maleficarum, 3.16, fol. 108v).

Jean-Baptiste Thiers points out this belief: “Pluck certain herbs on Saint John’s Day to prevent sorcerers from working evil” (Traité des superstitions [1777], 3:268).

An astounding text can be found in the works of Cyrano de Bergerac,² the Letter on Behalf of Sorcerers (1654), which lists everything sorcerers know how to do. This text throws a vivid light on the beliefs of an earlier age and explains the reason behind many prescriptions, It is a discourse by the magician Agrippa, that is to say, Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486–1535), the author of The Occult Philosophy. On reading this text, it is easy to grasp how people could feel threatened and have the desire to protect themselves:

It is through my charms, that are sent when it pleases me, sterility or abundance. I spark off wars by kindling them between the Spirits that govern the Kings. I teach shepherds the Paternoster of the wolf. I teacher diviners the way to turn the sieve and shears.^*29

I cause the Ardans [will-o’-the-wisps] to race over the Marshes and Rivers to drown Travelers. I excite the Fairies to dance in the Moonlight. I compel the Gamblers to hunt for the four-leaf Clover under the Gallows. At midnight, I send Spirits from the cemeteries, wrapped in a sheet, to ask their heirs to fulfill the oath they made to the dead. I order Demons to inhabit the abandoned Castles, to slit the throats of the passers-by finding lodging there, until one with resolve compels them to reveal the treasure. I help the wretched I seek to enrich find the Hands of Glory.^†30 I cause to burn for Thieves the Candles of Hanged Man fat, that keep the Homeowners sleeping while they perform their theft. I provide the flying Pistol that leaps back into the pocket after it has been used. I give to Lackeys those rings that allow them to go from Paris to Orleans and back again in one day. I cause everything to be turned topsy-turvy in a House by the Spirits, who will knock over the bottles, glassware, plates, although nothing breaks, nothing spills, and no one sees anyone.³ I reveal myself to the Old to heal fevers with words. I awaken the Villagers on St. John’s Eve to gather his herb while fasting and without talking. I teach sorcerers how to become Werewolves. I force them to eat children on the paths and then abandon them when some cavalier cuts off a paw^*31 4 [which proves to be a human hand] and they are recognized and put into the hands of Justice. I send to the woebegone a large black man that promises to make them rich, if they but give themselves to him. I blind those who take promissory notes, so that when they demand 30-year terms, I make them see the 3 before the 0, which I have put after. I twist the necks of those who read in the Grimoire without the knowledge to make me appear, and who give me nothing. I peacefully turn back with those who having called me give me only an old slipper, a hair, or a straw. I carry off from the Churches being consecrated any stones that have not been paid for. I let those about at night who encounter the Sorcerers going to Sabbat only see a troop of Cats, whose prince is Marcou.^†32 I send all the Confederez^‡33 to the offering, and present them to kiss the ass of the Goat, seated atop a stool. I treat them splendidly, but with meats without salt. I cause all to faint, if some Foreigner ignorant of the customs, makes the blessing; and I leave him in a wild place, in the middle of thorns, three hundred leagues from his Country. I cause the finding in the beds of the debauched, Incubi for Women and Succubi for Men. I send the Cochemard [nightmare] to sleep in the form of a long piece of marble with those who forgot to sign themselves before going to bed. I teach Nigromancers how to bring about the undoing of their enemies, making a waxen image of their enemy and sticking it or throwing it in the fire to make the original feel, what the copy is suffering.⁵ I remove on the Sorcerers the feeling in parts, or the Ram marks them with his Seal. I imprinted a secret virtue into Nollite fieri,^*34 when it is recited backward, which prevents butter from being made. I instructed the Peasants to place beneath the threshold of the Sheepfold whose ruin they sought, a tuft of hair, or a Toad, with three maudissions [curses], to cause the sheep passing over it to become emaciated and die. I showed Shepherd how to knot the breeches closed on the Wedding Day,⁶ when the Preacher says Conjungo eos.^†35 I give the money that later turns into Chestnut leaves. I lend to Magicians a Demon familiar,^‡36 who accompanies them and prevents them from undertaking anything without the leave of Master Martinet [Satan].

Turning the sieve and shears (top); Hand of glory (bottom).

I teach that to break the curse that has charmed someone, the triangular bread of Saint Wolf must be kneaded and given as alms to the first poor person you meet. I heal the patients of the Werewolf, striking them with a fork, right between their eyes. I make felt the blows dealt to sorcerers, provided they are beaten with a club of Elder. I unbind the Moine borru^7 §37 on the Christmas Advents, I command him to roll like a barrel, or at midnight drag chains through the streets, in order to wring the necks of those that stick their heads out the window. I teach the composition of Magical Notes, Curses, Charms, Sigils, Talismans, Magic Mirrors, and constellated Figures. I teach them to find the Mistletoe on New Year’s,^*38 the herb of misdirection,^†39 the magnetic poultice. I send the Goblin, the hobnailed mule,^‡40 the Filourdy,^8 §41 King Hugon,^||42 the Connestable, the Black Men, the White Ladies, the Lemurs, the Will-o’-the-Wisps, the Larva, the Lamia, the Shades, the Manes, the Specters, the Ghosts: finally, I am the Damned Far Devil, the Wandering Jew, and the Great Huntsman^9 #43 of the Forest of Fontainebleau.

In his comedy, Le Pedant joué [The Pedant Imitated] (1654), Cyrano adds to “the herb of misdirection” fern seed, virgin parchment, cameos, and caracteres.