The Growing Association of Witchcraft with Heresy
The Growing Association of Witchcraft with Heresy
During the Middle Ages the concept of the witch was developing. During ancient times, there had existed an image of the sorcery, but the traditional typology of the witch did not exist. The development of this typology dealt with many aspects of the witch. There was the growing association between witchcraft and heresy. The practices that came to be viewed as witchcraft had their foundation in ancient practices. Those ancient practices were not seen as heretical but as folk practices. However, by the 15th century the image of the witch had been vilified. This vilification can bee seen in the conception of the witches sabbath.
Early writers did not believe in witchcraft. When Augustine writes of witchcraft in his On Christian Teachings, he talks about witchcraft in terms of superstitions. He counsels Christians to reject and avoid “the specialist in this kind of futile and harmless superstition.” Augustines