Familiar Spirits--Matthew Hopkins, the ‘Witch-finder’--Prince Rupert’s
dog Boy--Unguents used for transporting Witches from Place to
Place--Their Festivities at the Sabbat.
In order to enable the witch to carry out her benevolent intentions, the
Devil supplied her with one or more familiar spirits, of which we shall
hear much in the accounts of cases of witchcraft, and in this old English
illustration we see the Devil presenting one to a young witch. They were
of all kinds of shapes--perhaps the commonest was a cat or dog; but
sometimes they took strange forms.
[Illustration]
These familiars could talk and hold conversations with their mistresses,
as witness the following story told by Giffard. A witch had confessed she
had killed a man. ‘And upon the ladder she seemed very penitent, desiring
all the world to forgive her. She sayd she had a spirit in the likeness of
a yellow dun Cat. This Cat came unto her, as she sayd, as she sat by her
fire, when she was fallen out with a neighbour of hers, and wished that
the vengeance of God might light upon him and his. The Cat bad her not be
afraid, she would do her no harme, she had served a dame five yeares in
Kent, that was now dead, and if she would, she would be her servant. And
whereas, sayd the Cat, such a man hath misused thee, if thou wilt I will
plague him in his cattell. She sent the Cat, she killed three hogs and one
Cow. The man, suspecting, burnt a pig alive, and, as she sayd, her Cat
would never go thither any more. Afterward, she fell out with that Man;
she sent her Cat, who told her, that she had given him that, which he
should never recover; and, indeed, the man died.’[32]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
In ‘The Lawes against Witches and Coniuration,’ etc., the attention of
justices of the peace is thus directed to these familiar spirits:
‘1. These Witches have ordinarily a familiar, or spirit, which appeareth
to them; sometimes in one shape, sometimes in another, as in the shape of
a Man, Woman, Boy, Dogge, Cat, Foale, Fowle, Hare, Rat, Toad, etc. And to
these their spirits they give names, and they meet together to christen
them.
‘2. Their said Familiar hath some big or little teat upon their body,
where he sucketh them; and besides their sucking, the Devil leaveth other
marks upon their bodies, sometimes like a Blew-spot, or Red-spot, like a
flea-biting, sometimes the flesh sunk in and hollow, all which, for a
time, may be covered, yea, taken away, but will come againe to their old
forme; and these the Devil’s markes be insensible, and being pricked will
not bleed; and be often in their secret parts, and therefore require
diligent and carefull search....
‘So likewise, if the suspected be proved to have been heard to call upon
their Spirit, or to talk to them, or of them, or have offered them to
others.
‘So, if they have been seen with their Spirits, or seen to feed something
secretly, these are proofes that they have a familiar, &c.’
Matthew Hopkins (of whom more anon) was a past master in the matter of
familiars, and thus relates his experience of some of them.[33] He is
supposed to be asked where he had gained his experience.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
‘The Discoverer never travelled far for it, but in _March 1644_, he had
some seven or eight of that horrible sect of Witches living in the Towne
where he lived, a Towne in _Essex_ called _Maningtree_, with divers other
adjacent Witches of other towns, who every six weeks, in the night (being
alwayes on the Friday night) had their meeting close by his house, and had
their severall solemne sacrifices there offered to the _Devill_, one of
which this discoverer heard speaking to her _Imps_ one night, and bid them
goe to another Witch, who was thereupon apprehended, and searched by
women, who for many yeares had knowne the Devill’s marks, and found to
have three teats about her, which honest women have not; so upon command
from the _Justice_, they were to keep her from sleep, two or three nights,
expecting in that time to see her familiars, which the fourth night she
called in by their severall names, and told them what shapes, a quarter of
an houre before they came in, there being ten of us in the roome; the
first she called was:
[Illustration]
‘1. _Holt_, who came like a white kitling.
‘2. _Jarmara_, who came in like a fat Spaniel, without any legs at all;
she said she kept him fat, for she clapt her hand on her belly, and said
he suckt good blood from her body.
‘3. _Vinegar Tom_, who was like a long-legg’d Greyhound, with an head like
an Oxe, with a long taile and broad eyes, who, when the discoverer spoke
to, and bade him goe to the place provided for him and his Angels,
immediately transformed himselfe into the shape of a child of foure yeeres
old, without a head, and gave halfe a dozen turnes about the house, and
vanished at the doore.
‘4. _Sack and Sugar_, like a black Rabbet.
‘5. _Newes_, like a Polcat. All these vanished away in a little time.
Immediately after, this Witch confessed several other Witches, from whom
she had her _Imps_, and named to divers women where their markes were, the
number of their _Marks_, and _Imps_, and _Imps’_ names, as _Elemanzer_,
_Pyewacket_, _Peck in the Crown_, _Grizzel Greedigut_, &c., which no
mortall could invent.’
Witches, however, were not the sole proprietors of familiar spirits, for
the Roundheads declared that Prince Rupert had one, in the shape of a
large white poodle dog, a present from Lord Arundel, whose name was Boy.
Boy accompanied his master in many an engagement, but seemed to bear a
charmed life, even having the credit given him of catching bullets and
bringing them to his master. This evidently must be a dog of no common
breed, and it was not thought so, as we read in one of the Commonwealth
tracts, which was a reputed dialogue between Tobie’s and Prince Rupert’s
dogs:
‘TOBIE’S DOG. ... I heare you are Prince _Rupert’s_ White Boy.
P. RUP. DOG. I am none of his White Boy, my name is _Puddle_.
TOB. DOG. A dirty name, indeed, you are not pure enough for my
company; besides, I hear on both sides of my eares that you are a
Laplander, or Fin Land Dog, or, truly, no better than a Witch in the
shape of a white Dogge.
* * * * *
P. RUP. DOG. No, Sirrah, I am of high Germain breed.
TOB. DOG. Thou art a Reprobate and a lying Curre; you were either
whelpt in Lapland, or in Finland; where there is none but divells and
Sorcerers live.’
Poor Boy met his fate at Marston Moor, by a silver bullet fired ‘by a
valliant Souldier, who had skill in Necromancy.’ Judging by the hail of
bullets by which he is surrounded, he must indeed have borne a charmed
life, the loss of which an old witch deplores.
[Illustration]
One of the duties of the familiar was to acquaint the witch with the next
meeting between the witches and the Devil. This always (although
authorities differ) took place on Fridays, after midnight, and was called
the Sabbath or Sabbat. But Scot, quoting Danæus, says: ‘The Divell
oftentimes, in the likenes of a sumner, meeteth them at markets and
Faires, and warneth them to appeare in their assemblies, at a certaine
houre in the night, that he may understand whom they have slaine, and how
they have profited.’
[Illustration]
But these meetings might be many miles distant, and, consequently, the
witches had to be provided with means of conveyance; which was effected
with the aid of an unguent, as to the composition of which authorities
vary. This was rubbed over the body, or upon a broomstick or dungfork, and
hey, presto! they were in mid-air. But they must not make their exit by
the door, only by such illegitimate ways as the chimney or the keyhole.
Or, as we see, a wizard might mount his cat, or a witch a sheep; or, if a
great favourite, the Devil himself would carry her, taking the form of a
he-goat, in which shape he frequently presided at the Sabbat.
The broomstick was the orthodox old English style of aërial courses; but,
as I have before said, an unguent was necessary. In ‘The Witch,’ before
quoted, Heccat says:
‘Here take this unbaptized brat:
Boile it well; preserve the fat;
You know ’tis pretious to transfer
Our ’noynted flesh into the ayre,
In moonelyght nights, on steeple topps,
Mountains, and pine trees, that like pricks or stopps,
Seeme to our height, high towres, and roofes of princes
Like wrinckles in the earth.’
[Illustration]
Scot, on the authority of John Bapt. Neap, gives the following recipes for
ointments, which are singularly like those in ‘The Witch’:
‘℞. The fat of yoong children, and seeth it with water in a brasen
vessell, reseruing the thickest of that which remaineth boiled in the
bottome, which they laie up and keepe, untill occasion serueth to use it.
They put hereunto _Eleoselinum_, _Aconitum_, _Frondes populeas_, and
Soote.’
Another receipt to the same purpose.
‘℞. _Sium_, _acarum vulgare_, _pentaphyllon_, the blood of a flitter
mouse, _solanum somniferum_ and _oleum_. They stampe all these togither,
and then they rubbe all parts of their bodies exceedinglie, till they
looke red, and be verie hot, so as the pores may be opened, and their
flesh soluble and loose. They ioine herewithall either fat, or oil in
steed thereof, that the force of the ointment maie the rather pearse
inwardly, and so be more effectuall. By this means (saith he) in a
moonlight night they seeme to be carried in the aire.’
[Illustration]
Thus, then, their means of conveyance being assured, they all meet
together, at some appointed place, it may be hundreds of miles away--in a
social congress of a very mixed character, Continental writers giving a
fuller and more detailed report of their transactions than do the English.
One Henri Boguet, a French _Grand Juge_, in his ‘Discours des Sorciers,’
Lyons, 1608, is particularly lucid on this subject.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
He says that at this assembly the first thing the witches do is to adore
Satan, who appears in the form, either of a huge black man or as a
he-goat, and by way of doing homage to him they offer him candles which
burn with a blue flame, and kiss his back, some kissing his shoulders.
Sometimes he holds a black image which the witches kiss, at the same time
offering a candle or burning brand which they light at a candle, which the
Devil carries between his horns. They next proceed to dance a curious
circular dance, in which they are placed back to back, whilst the lame
witches incite them to leap and dance. The music of the hautboy is not
wanting, someone always being found who will thus oblige the company,
besides which Satan himself sometimes plays the flute; but if no orchestra
is forthcoming, the witches and devils sing each their own song, making a
sort of ‘Dutch medley.’ Sometimes they dance two and two, at other times
they perform _pas seuls_, but always in confusion, and they dance back to
back, so that they may not be recognised; indeed, it is for that reason
that they hold their assemblies at night.
[Illustration]
After the dance they break into couples, and indescribable orgies take
place.
The next part of the programme is a banquet, composed of different kinds
of viands, according to the place of meeting and the quality of the
guests; but, according to the illustrations, the _pièce de résistance_ was
a dead child. The table was covered with butter, cheese, and meat, and
according to some authorities a large copper was provided, from which each
witch could take her meat. They drank wine out of wooden goblets, but the
chief drink was water. But at these feasts there was never any salt,
because it is an emblem of immortality, which the Devil hates more than
anything. Besides, it is put in holy-water, and the Apostles were called
the ‘salt of the earth’--sufficient reasons to disgust any Devil.
[Illustration]
Before commencing the meal, and on finishing it, the witches say
grace--not exactly as we do, but paraphrasing the benediction, filling it
with blasphemies, and making Satan author and preserver of all things. And
it is a curious thing that all authorities agree that the viands served at
these feasts have no flavour or taste, and the meat is only horseflesh;
also when the witches rise from table they are as hungry as when they sat
down.
This highly unsatisfactory repast being finished, the witches tell Satan
what they have done since their last meeting, and those are most welcome
who have caused the greatest number of deaths among human beings and
cattle, or the most illness, or spoilt most corn; in short, those who have
committed the most wickednesses and abominations. The others, who have
behaved rather more humanely, are hissed at and mocked by all; they are
set on one side, and are often beaten and ill-treated by their master.
They then renew their renunciation of God and the Sacraments of the
Church, as also their oath never to speak of God, of the Virgin Mary, or
the Saints, unless in mockery and derision; they give up all hope of
heaven, and swear that they will always hold him to be their master, and
be faithful to him. He then exhorts them to all evil deeds, such as
harming their neighbours, making them ill, killing their cattle, and
revenging themselves on their enemies, and even uses these words, _Revenge
yourselves, or you shall die_. Moreover, he promises them to lay waste and
spoil the fruits of the earth, and gives them powders and ointments for
that purpose; at least, he makes them believe so. He also makes them swear
solemnly that they should accuse each other, and never reveal anything
which had passed between them.
The witches then cause a hailstorm, in order to spoil the crops and the
fruit.
But they also celebrate a parody of the Mass, the celebrant being vested
in a black chasuble, without a cross on it; and after having put water in
the chalice, he turns his back on the altar, and then elevates a slice of
black radish instead of the Host, and all the witches cry with a loud
voice, ‘_Master, help us!_’ The Devil at the same time makes sham
holy-water, with which he who celebrates the Mass sprinkles the
congregation, using a black _asperge_.
Finally, the Devil, after having taken the form of a he-goat, is consumed
by fire, and reduced to ashes, which the witches collect and hide, in
order that they may assist them in their diabolical designs.
Of the English _Sabbat_ we shall hear enough when we come to the various
cases of witchcraft. Scot quotes Bodin, the great French exponent of
witchcraft, ‘who saith, at these magical assemblies the witches never fail
to danse, and in their danse they sing these words: _Har, har, diuell,
diuell, danse here, danse here, plaie here, plaie here, Sabbath, Sabbath_.
And whiles they sing and danse, euerie one hath a broome in hir hand, and
holdeth it up aloft. Item he saith that these night-walking, or rather,
night-dansing witches, brought out of _Italie_ into _France_ that danse
which is called _La Volta_.’
He also says that, according to Danæus, if the witches ‘be lame, the
diuell deliuereth them a staffe, to conueie them thither inuisiblie
through the aire; and that then they fall a dansing and singing of foule
songs, wherein he leadeth the danse himselfe; which danse, and other
conferences being ended, he supplieth their wants of powders and roots to
intoxicate withall; and giueth to euerie nouice a marke, either with his
teeth, or with his clawes, and so they kisse the diuell’s bare buttocks,
and depart; not forgetting euery daie afterwards to offer to him, dogs,
cats, hens, or bloud of their owne.’
[Illustration]
In ‘A Pleasant Treatise of Witches,’ London, 1673, we have the following
account of the _Sabbat_: ‘They [witches] are likewise reported to have
each of them a Spirit or Imp attending on, and assigned to them, which
never leave those to whom they are subject, but assist and render them all
the service they command. These give the witches notice to be ready on all
solemn appointments and meetings, which are ordinarily on _Tuesday_ or
_Wednesday_ night, and then they strive to separate themselves from the
company of all other creatures, not to be seen by any; and, night being
come, they strip themselves naked, and anoint themselves with their
Oyntments. Then they are carryed out of the house, either by the Window,
Door, or Chimney, mounted on their Imps in the form of a Goat, Sheep, or
Dragon, till they arrive at their meeting-place, whither all the other
Wizards and Witches, each one upon his Imp, are also brought. Thus brought
to the designed place, which is sometimes many hundred miles from their
dwellings, they find a great number of others arrived there by the same
means; who, before _Lucifer_ takes his place on his Throne, as King, do
make their accustomed homage, adoring and proclaiming him their Lord, and
rendring him all Honour.
[Illustration]
‘This solemnity being finished they sit to Table, where no delicate meats
are wanting to gratifie their appetites, all dainties being brought in the
twinkling of an eye, by those spirits that attend the assembly. This done,
at the sound of many pleasant instruments (for we must expect no Grace in
the company of Devils,) the table is taken away, and the pleasing consort
invites them to a _Ball_; but the dance is strange and wonderful, as well
as diabolical, for, turning themselves back to back, they take one
another by the arms and raise each other from the ground, then shake their
heads to and fro like Anticks, and turn themselves as if they were mad.
Then, at last, after this Banquet, Musick, and Ball, the lights were put
out....
‘At last, before _Aurora_ brings back the day, each one mounts on his
Spirit, and so returns to his respective dwelling place, with that
lightness and quickness, that, in little space, they find themselves to be
carryed many hundred miles; but are charged by their spirit on the way,
not to call in any wise on the name of God, or to bless themselves with
the sign of the Cross, upon pain of falling, with peril of their lives,
and being grievously punished by their Demon.
‘Sometimes, at their solemn assemblies, the Devil commands that each tell
what wickedness he hath committed, and, according to the hainousness and
detestableness of it he is honoured and respected with a general applause.
Those, on the contrary, who have done no evill, are beaten and punished.
At last, when the assembly is ready to break up, and the Devil to despatch
them, he publisheth this law with a loud voice, _Revenge yourselves, or
else you shall dye_: then each one, kissing the posteriors of the Devil,
returns upon their aiery Vehicles to their habitations.’