The Witch-cult in Western Europe | Page 6

there was
strong feeling against the woman for other reasons, the mere fact of her
floating did not rouse the populace against her, and she merely returned
home; Widow Coman, for instance, was 'ducked' on three separate
occasions at her own request.
The theologians of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were greatly
exercised by the conclusive evidence which proved that people known
to be devout and professing Christians had been present at the Sabbath,
joined in the ceremonies, and worshipped the witches' god. The
Inquisitors recognized the fact, and devote many pages of their books
to the discussion of the course to be followed in the case of Christian
priests, coming finally to the conclusion that if a priest merely went to
the Sabbath but was not in any way in an official position there his
sacred character preserved him from evil. The theologians of the

Reformed Churches, who could not accept the sanctity of the
priesthood with the same ease and were also desirous of finding some
means of accounting for the presence of the devout laity, boldly
evolved the theory that the Devil could for his own purposes assume
the shape of good Christians in order to mislead the witches. By this
plea the accused often succeeded in escaping when the examiners were
religious ministers, but it was of no value to them when the trial was in
a court of law, and the fact of their presence at an illegal assembly was
proved. Lord Coke's definition of a witch summed up the law on the
subject: 'A witch is a person who hath conference with the Devil, to
consult with him or to do some act', and any person proved to have had
such conference was thus convicted of a capital offence and sentenced
accordingly. This accounts for the fact, commented on by all students
of witch-trials, that a witch was often condemned even though she had
invariably used her skill for good and not for evil; for healing the sick,
not for casting sickness. If it were proved that she had obtained her
knowledge from the 'Devil' she had broken the law and must die.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Journal of Hellenic Studies, 1894, p. 160. The italics are in
the original.]
[Footnote 2: See James Crossley's Introduction to Potts's Discoverie of
Witchcraft, Chetham Society, pp. v-xii.]

I. CONTINUITY OF THE RELIGION
Of the ancient religion of pre-Christian Britain there are few written
records, but it is contrary to all experience that a cult should die out and
leave no trace immediately on the introduction of a new religion. The
so-called conversion of Britain meant the conversion of the rulers only;
the mass of the people continued to follow their ancient customs and
beliefs with a veneer of Christian rites. The centuries brought a
deepening of Christianity which, introduced from above, gradually
penetrated downwards through one class after another. During this

process the laws against the practice of certain heathen rites became
more strict as Christianity grew in power, the Church tried her strength
against 'witches' in high places and was victorious, and in the fifteenth
century open war was declared against the last remains of heathenism
in the famous Bull of Innocent VIII.
This heathenism was practised only in certain places and among certain
classes of the community. In other places the ancient ritual was either
adopted into, or tolerated by, the Church; and the Maypole dances and
other rustic festivities remained as survivals of the rites of the early
cult.
Whether the religion which survived as the witch cult was the same as
the religion of the Druids, or whether it belonged to a still earlier
stratum, is not clear. Though the descriptions of classical authors are
rather too vague and scanty to settle such a point, sufficient remains to
show that a fertility cult did once exist in these islands, akin to similar
cults in the ancient world. Such rites would not be suppressed by the
tribes who entered Great Britain after the withdrawal of the Romans; a
continuance of the cult may therefore be expected among the people
whom the Christian missionaries laboured to convert.
As the early historical records of these islands were made by Christian
ecclesiastics, allowance must be made for the religious bias of the
writers, which caused them to make Christianity appear as the only
religion existing at the time. But though the historical records are silent
on the subject the laws and enactments of the different communities,
whether lay or ecclesiastical, retain very definite evidence of the
continuance of the ancient cults.
In this connexion the dates of the conversion of England are instructive.
The following table gives the principal dates:
597-604. Augustine's mission. London still heathen. Conversion of
Æthelbert, King of Kent. After Æthelbert's death Christianity suffered a