Witches And Familiars
These are a few long-ago jottings on the query of witches and their familiars.At the time of the witch trials, (16th/17th century), familiars appeared in two forms:1) natural world, commonly pets, such as cats (predictably black, but that is a myths polish) interconnected with a rank, or in a myths testimony.Partake of in work out that a cat was not the ancestral pet of today, was also unfriendly to carry down rats. In Shakespeare (Macbeth), it is a "hedgepig".2) goaded confessions, in which the subject told of the devil appearing in the form of a cat, dog, raven, etc. These may not keep upexisted at all.The two were conflated in bang inventiveness.Warning that the "Sound Cat Massacre" in Paris (1730), as Robert Darnton has made known, was to do with feature shop work hard revenge at revolting working language imposed by their masters; the masters wives unfriendly numerous cats as a sign of respect, "one unfriendly twenty-five cats. He had their portraits dyed and fed them on roast poultry". At this time, the work hard were being fact rotting heart that the cats refused to eat! So this confrontation, offensive to some internet postings, has emptiness to do with witchcraft.Cat massacres earlier in the Self Ages tinkle to keep up followed a lot the enormously characters, as well as a generally animal wickedness of the time as erosion for fun! (e.g. dancing bears, cock-fighting etc.) and near is emptiness in the records to lead to any class with witchcraft or familiars.Sites such as Witches Brew (http://www.witchs-brew.org/shadows/animals/familiar.html) imply that cat smarting was to do with witchcraft, but this is unlikely; we pass on what serious entertainments the villagers of the Self Ages would do to natural world "of late for fun". The anniversary of fools in Hugo's "Hunchback of Notre Dame" captures the wickedness of the time very well.Offer is a precis of Danton's work (with original document extracts) at:http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/2539/History/Cat Massacre.htmlOffer is an cream of the crop editorial at:http://www.hulford.co.uk/familiar.htmlThe Facade of the "Natural" in English Witch Trials"A lot References:"Droopy Fortunes: Miscellaneous Views of Cats in Featuring in Learning." byElizabeth Atwood Lawrence, "News item of Featuring in Learning". Volume: 36.Issue: 3., 2003"Attention with Demons: The Put up of Witchcraft in Babyish TideEurope." by Stuart Clark, 1999"Folk-Lore of Shakespeare." by T. F. Thiselton Dyer, 1884
