HSTEU305 FIRST SHORT PAPER O’Neil 2009
Topic: Analysis of documents concerning early medieval
witch beliefs.
Further discussion of the issues will occur in Section for Week II and
in lectures.
Due
Date: Wednesday July 8 (3rd week)
Late
penalty: -.1 per day late
Length: 2-3 pages, typed, double spaced; reasonable font and margins
Purpose: Exercise in close reading of primary documents
or texts.
Historical analysis is based on reading and interpretation of original
historical texts from
a
specific time period. These are called “primary documents.” In analyzing a
document you
need to figure out: 1) what a specific text is saying, and 2) whose
point of view it represents.
The
first paper will focus on this kind of basic explanation and analysis of early
witchcraft texts.
Primary Sources:
The central document under consideration will be the Canon Episcopi,
included in
Kors and Peters anthology, pp. 60-63 along with Burchard's Corrector
of Rustics.
Related documents will be included on Handout in Week Two, and will be discussed in class.
Secondary Source:
Norman Cohn,
Chap 9, “Nightwitch" in Popular Imagination,”
pp. 162-180
Cohn
discusses the background of early medieval witch documents.
Be sure to read this before starting your paper.
Question: Choose one of the following ( note that these topics are variations on the same issues).
1) Analyze
the text of the Canon Episcopi, explaining what position this document
takes
on the beliefs it describes. What do the authors believe about witchcraft
and what do
they reject in the popular beliefs held by ordinary people of their time?
2) Burchard's
Corrector of Rustics (paragraph #170) presents the Church's approach to
dealing
with popular belief in the striga. (see K&P, p. 67)
How does Burchard's s attitude compare
with those expressed in the earlier barbarian legal codes? What kind
of people believe in the
striga, andhow do the legal aapproaches of the church and
of secular rulers (Salic Law,
Lombard Code etc.) agree or differ?
3) Compare
the images of the witch reflected in these sources:
the documents discussed by Cohn (Chapter 9)
those included on the Handout on Early Witchcraft Legislation (Week
2)
the Canon Episcopi (in Kors &
Peters, pp. 60-63)
What are the differences in the kinds of witch image in
these documents?
What kinds of changes are there in witch beliefs
in the early medieval ages?
Points to consider:
What kind of document is the Canon Episcopi? What is a “canon”? [This will be discussed in lecture.]
Whose point of view does the document represent, and to whom is it addressed?
What exactly is the popular belief being discussed? Who believes these things?
What is the official interpretation of this belief, and what action is recommended?
What attitude does the document take towards the people whose beliefs it describes?
Assistance
with papers is available from Professor. O'Neil -- come see me!