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Hunting for Witches

Hunting for Witches. Medieval women and men. Reality is always more complex than texts Many examples of male-female friendships Esp. confessor/spiritual director and holy woman Men defended their female friends, supported cause for canonization, etc. Yet, lots of misogyny in the air

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Hunting for Witches

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  1. Hunting for Witches

  2. Medieval women and men • Reality is always more complex than texts • Many examples of male-female friendships • Esp. confessor/spiritual director and holy woman • Men defended their female friends, supported cause for canonization, etc. • Yet, lots of misogyny in the air • Theory: projection, fear of sexuality • Aristotle: the female is a defective male • Bible: women cannot teach men, women brought sin in to world

  3. Woman considered in theology • Could Christ have been born as a woman? • Yes, but… • Bad idea I: biology (Aristotle) • Bad idea II: teaching and authority (Bible) • Why did God create woman? • Male is best at friendship • Therefore, not for companionship (vs. Genesis) • Therefore, for babies

  4. Theology, cont. • Yet, Christianity has always had a liberating and empowering side, too • Promotes male-female communities • Baptism: in Christ there is neither male nor female • Human dignity is grounded in being created in image of God • Applies to both men and women (Gen 1:27) • Women have been received as teachers and spiritual leaders • Like Catherine of Siena and Julian of Norwich

  5. Witch hunts • Roughly 13th century to 18th century • Highpoint: late 1400s to mid 1600s • Concentrated esp. in Germany • Est. 50,000 people executed over 500 yrs, in Europe and N. America • Ratio of women to men ranged from 2:1 to 100:1 • Why? • Power of fear, directed against “the other” • Not unlike suspicions of Jews for deaths, the Great Plague • Fueled by printing press (1450); books and pamphlets against witches had wide distribution • Most charges baseless • Suspicion of folk (gynecological) medicine • Usually practiced by older women • Suspected of making a pact with devil

  6. Malleus Maleficarum (“Hammer of evil-doing women”) • Written by two Dominican priests (inquisitors) • Pope had urged people to wipe out perceived witchcraft • Very popular: second to Bible until 1678 (John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress) • Not unique: other books like it existed • Yet, the most misogynistic thing I have read in the history of Christianity • Do we really take it seriously? • As image of the worst, most exaggerated perceptions of women (and men)

  7. Perceptions • Weak intellect (like children) and memories • Resist discipline • Carnal and lustful (?) • Witches have sex with devil • Defectively created • Weak in faith • Make marriage unhappy (cf. “purgatorial marriages”) • Vengeful • Dangerous • More powerful than male wizards

  8. Response: Christine de Pizan • Elite, well-educated • A widow, had to earn a living by writing • “The complete opposite of what those men claim seems to be the case” • Scripture disproves it • Courageous, chaste, faithful women like Susanna • Jesus welcomes women, does not speak against them • History disproves it • Saints include virtuous women • Apostles worked with women • Mary is queen of the city of ladies: defender, protector, and guard of it • She is the teacher • Head of female sex; symbol of female virtue • Not at all anti-male; just anti-misogyny claimed by some men

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