WITCHCRAFT IN ITALY

15th C.: Franciscan preaching campaigns, San Bernardino of Siena in Rome-
               enemies of society: Jews, homosexuals, witches

Why is there no Italian witch panic?
      Argument from "backwardness" of 16-17th C. Italy
            lack of rapid social change = less tension?
      Institutional structure: central control

      Roman Inquisition (1540-1790's): types of trials
            1540-1560's Protestant heresy: "Lutherans"
            1560-1650's "superstition": magical beliefs and practices
            1650-1780's  heretical blasphemy

      Procedures: centralized control from Rome
            Regulation of torture: limited, permission required
            Supervision of trial procedures
                        1620 "Instructions on forming trials against
                        witches and sorcerers": urges moderation

      Supersition as a category:
       Etymology from Latin superstare: to stand outside or beyond
      Definition from Catholic Council of Malines, Belgium 1607:
            "It is superstitious to expect any effect from anything when such an effect cannot be
            produced by natural causes, by divine institution,* or by the ordinance and approval of
            the Church.**
      * "divine institution" = sacraments, transubstantiation
      ** ordinance and approval of the Chruch - "sacramentals" such as blessings, exorcisms

      Trials for "superstition" and magical beliefs
          Context of general "reform of popular culture"
          Types of offenses (statistics from Modena, Italy):
            magical healing 70%; love magic (prostitutes) 15%
            divination 8%; miscellaneous protective magic 7%

          Healers as witches: trial of Maria Mariani, 1579 (Modena)
                     "Who knows how to heal, knows how to harm."
          Ambiguous position of local clergy and exorcists:
                     1599 trial of Fra Azzolini of Modena

EXORCISM as "ecclesiastical medicine"

      GIROLAMO MENGHI, Franciscan exorcist and theorist
            1598: Flagellum Daemonum (Whip of Demons)

      Inquisition trials for superstitious exorcism:    
            popular recourse to exorcists against maleficium
      Implications for Keith Thomas'argument on remedies:
            did available remedies prevent Italian witch panic?

BENANDANTI ("those who walk well"): trials 1575-1650
see Carlo Ginzburg, The Night Battles

      Agrarian fertility cult: Friuli (N.E. Italy); Slavic
           Counter-witches, protect crops
           Selection: born with caul, organized dreaming
           Implications for : a) Margaret Murray's theory?
              b) origins of witch beliefs in demonization of remedial magic?

      Inquisition tries benandanti as witches:
           1575 Paolo Gasparutto denies he is a witch
           by 1650's some benandanti confess to witchcraft
                     loss of self image