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Witch-Hunts in Catalonia

> The Invention of Witchcraft

> Persecution

> Victims


dimarts, 6 de febrer de 2007
The Catalonia History Museum (MHC) is running an exhibition that focuses on a tragic and shameful period of history that affected many parts of Europe between 1450 and 1750: witch-hunts. The exhibition, which runs until 27 May, is called 'Per bruixa i metzinera. La cacera de bruixes a Catalunya' ('After Witches and Poisoners: Witch-Hunts in Catalonia'). The aim of the exhibition is to inform visitors about a phenomenon that is little understood, including amongst those who are knowledgeable about Catalan history.

More specifically, 'After Witches and Poisoners' gives visitors an informative and clear picture of the persecution of 'witches' on the European continent or, more specifically, in Catalonia with a particular emphasis on the ensuing witch-hunts that took place between 1616 and 1622. The exhibition also points out the causes of a phenomenon marked by intolerance and misogyny.

The exhibition covers 1,000 m² and is divided into five areas: 'Magic in The Middle Ages', 'The Invention of Witchcraft', 'Witches as Seen by Their Persecutors', 'The Big Witch-Hunt' and 'Witches in Popular Tradition'. Before entering the first area, visitors are greeted with an impressive show of engravings by the painter Francisco Goya related to the theme of witchcraft and popular superstition.

Finally, the exhibition sets the record straight as regards the involvement of the Inquisition courts (and, more generally, of the Church), in witch-hunts in Catalonia. According to what's presented in the exhibition, the repression of 'witches' began in local communities at the hand of municipal authorities.

The Invention of Witchcraft


+ Sorcerers were accused of holding meetings with the devil.
Medieval society believed in magic and in the power of certain individuals to make certain things happen, be they favourable or unfavourable, by the use of natural substances and spells. In fact, there were a large number of people practicing magic at the time, when the distinction between magic, science and religion was by no means clear. Sorcerers and alchemists, for example, were considered to be holders of traditional wisdom, with benevolent or malevolent power over the lives of people. During the middle of the 13th century people started to view sorcerers in a different light, a change that was underlined by a series of books written by inquisitors and theologians who accused sorcerers of being part of a sect controlled by the devil.

Persecution


+ There were no fewer than 60,000 executions on the European continent.
The publication of 'Malleus Maleficarum' ('The Witch Hammer') in 1486 by two Dominican friars encouraged repression against witches who were accused of holding meetings with the devil and of causing all manner of wickedness. According to the MHC exhibition, there were some 110,000 cases of people accused of being witches with no fewer than 60,000 executions (with more than 400 in Catalonia). The repression reached its height during the last 25 years of the 16th century and the first decades of the 17th century, during times of economic crisis, social conflict, religious intolerance and adverse meteorological phenomena.

Victims


+ 'Volaverunt'. Engraving by Francisco Goya.
Although some men were also accused of witchcraft, most cases, no fewer than 90%, were brought against women. Typically victims were poor and illiterate old women living alone. Some of those who were accused of being witches had physical deformities and behaved in eccentric ways or lived outside social conventions. In Catalonia, most victims were women who had emigrated from Occitania.

MATERIALS

QUE HO SABIES?

  • The great witch-hunt in Catalonia, between 1616 and 1622, affected for the most part central and western regions and the areas of Roselló and Cerdanya.
  • In Catalonia a number of places are linked to legends or supposed witches gatherings: the mountain at Pedraforca, the Canigó massif, the Àneu Valley, the Madres and Llena mountain ranges, the towns of Altafulla, Bagà, Cadaqués, Centelles, Guimerà, Llers, Molins de Rei, Rupit, Solivella, and Vimbodí, amongst others.
  • During the Middle Ages, amulets and talismans were used to ward off harm. It was considered, for example, that agates quenched one's thirst, that emeralds helped the art of divination and that sapphires had rejuvenating properties and stopped one from making mistakes.

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> La febre de les bruixes: la cacera de bruixes a Catalunya.
> Un altre apunt sobre aquest tràgic episodi històric.
> Indrets de casa nostra amb llegendes de bruixeria.
> Uns quants gravats de la sèrie 'Caprichos', de Goya, alguns dels quals integren l'exposició 'Per bruixa i metzinera'.
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