Module 2 Flashcards
Tatian, ca. 120-180 AD.
Christian theologian of the second century
Important works: Oratio ad Graecos.
Rebukes all sorts of magic as being controlled and given by demons. Designed to enslave mankind and turn people away from God.
John Chrysostom, ca. 347-407 AD.
Preached against women resorting to magic to save their dying children instead of using Christian means.
Tertullian, ca. 160-225 AD.
Claimed women were more inclined to magical practices, and that demons taught them the power of herbs. Herbs have power, but women needed demons to learn about them.
Augustine of Hippo, ca. 354-430 AD.
Important works: Civitas Dei, written as response to the idea that the Roman Empire fell because of Christianity. He wrote that Roman religion was to blame because all magic is worked by demons.
Synod in Elvira, Spain: 306 AD.
Pronounced that people who had killed others via maleficium could not receive communion, even on their deathbeds.
Pre-Christian Roman Empire (thru. ~312 AD)
Only punished harmful magic. Latin was widely used and Greek influence was heavy.
Post-Christianity Roman Empire (from ~312 AD)
Punished all types of magic, including natural magic, with death. Greek fell out of use and Latin became the privilege of the clerical elite.
Introduced Theodosian Code in 439 and the code of Justinian in 529.
Penitentials (early Christianized Roman Empire)
Sort of manual for confessors; prescribed varying lengths of penance, but denied that magic could affect nature or people’s minds which were the domains of God. Penance was mainly for actions rather than thoughts.
Only harmful magic punished
Through 312 AD, ended with conversion to Christianity in Roman Empire
All magic punished - thought to be demonic, sentence was penance or death depending on infraction
From ~312 through 12th century: introduction of Christianity through rise of natural magic like alchemy and astrology
Isidore of Seville (ca. 560-636)
(Following roman scholar Varro)
Listed paths of magic as geomancy, hydromancy, aeromancy, pyromancy, and divinatorial observation of birds, entrails, stars and planets, enchantments, etc.
13th century
Some authors started to differentiate natural magic from demonic magic. William of Auvergne, Albert the Great, &co. New kind of knowledge emerged including scientific astrology and alchemy.
Instituted new secular and ecclesiastical laws against demonic magic but had little effect in the actual decline of magic overall. 1230s established the Inquisition to persecute heretics, which did.
William of Auvergne (ca. 1180-1249)
Bishop of Paris. Differentiated between natural and demonic magic.
Albert the Great (ca. 1200-1280)
Patron saint of experimental sciences. Differentiated between natural and demonic magic. Supported natural sciences.
New scientific & theological knowledge (12th-13th century)
Included natural sciences like astrology and alchemy. Rise of universities, importation of Arabic learning (including Aristotelian philosophy science). Still hella controversial.
Thomas Aquinas (ca. 1225-1274)
Important works: Summa Against the Gentiles.
Claimed most types of magic had to do with demons in the end. Very influential. Resulted in all types of magic being heavily punished by the end of the Middle Ages for being related to demons - “superstitio”
Remnants of pagan customs that became seen as natural magic (rituals related to wells and springs, offerings, curses, medicinal herbs) immediately fell under suspicion.
Inquisitors
Persecuted heretics: people seen as straying from the Christian path dictated by dogma and the Pope. Ex officio allowed them to act on rumors. No public trials, the accused had no right to appeal, witnesses did not have to be reliable. Some inquisitors argued that all magic was inherently heresy since it was all demonic in nature.
Pope Alexander IV (~1260s)
Stated that unless magic was unmistakably related to heresy, the church should leave it to the secular authorities.
Pope John XXII (early 14th century)
Instructed Inquisitors to persecute necromancers and other sorcerers.
Bernardino of Siena (ca. 1380-1444)
Began the persecution on a bigger scale, laid foundation for the Inquisition, etc.
