In Bantam's Elizabethan Star Wars: Superstition and Supernatural, Bantam analyzes the extent to which superstitions influenced people's lives in Elizabethan England. Superstitions substituted rationalization with unexplainable myths that society would abide by and deem infallible; the underlying cause of superstitions derives from its use as moral mitigation and a way to recompense for malice without confronting their own errors. Every aspect of their life was tainted with magic- the spilt milk on the ground showed signs of fairies, ostracized people from society were cursing witches, and any act that happened suspiciously was fated in the stars. These ordinary occurrences parallel the macroscopic picture of magic influencing religious beliefs,
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Young women prayed to saints’ shrines for the blessing of blonde hair (Saint Urbane) or a baby boy (Saint Felicitas) in the same manner that sorcerers employed spells. A common belief was that if churchgoers left the Eucharist in their mouths until they left the church premises, they would have magical powers. Church attendees also believed in the practicality of touching priest’s robes and ringing consecrated bells during thunderstorms to create fortunate circumstances. Pages of scripture and protective amulets were worn as protective devices against the devil. A farmer even tried to cure his sick livestock with scripture passages. The correlation between religion and superstition caused people to question the morality of their practices and consider whether their practices were worship or wickedness; the Protestant Reformation mirrored their views. To Protestants- the saints, shrines, church bells, repetition of prayers, holy relics, and special amulets of the Catholic Church constituted religious blasphemy and necromancy. Elizabethans did not discuss theological debates- the world was divided into good and evil; in the eyes of the church, witchcraft epitomized Satanism. However, the hidden evil of humanity lurked behind every claim of supernatural …show more content…
In order to understand the purpose of life in Elizabethan times, one should delve into the concept of death. People believed that ghosts, souls of the dead embodied in revitalized corps, returned to earth for specific purposes such as to enact vengeance, ask for proper burial rights, or warn the living of imminent danger. Ghost visitations often cast the living into a state of spiritual confusion since obeying a demonic spirit would cast them into hell, but ignoring a real ghost would have equally dire consequences. Ghosts reflected society’s fear of the unknown and the afterlife; people who believed in these supernatural occurrences demonstrated irrational fears of the future. Similar to ghosts’ perpetuation of unfounded fear, witchcraft accusations reflected society’s misogynistic perceptions of women and distrust in the marginalized. Disheveled, ugly, poverty-stricken, diseased, old, and typically female members of society were accused of witchcraft based on their appearance and social status as outcasts. The fear of black magic's prevalence within society caused hundreds of defenseless people to be accused of illegitimate crimes such a causing adultery, miscarriages, and stillbirths by muttering incantations, creating voodoo dolls, and concocting horrible mixtures. Foolproof methods for
Young women prayed to saints’ shrines for the blessing of blonde hair (Saint Urbane) or a baby boy (Saint Felicitas) in the same manner that sorcerers employed spells. A common belief was that if churchgoers left the Eucharist in their mouths until they left the church premises, they would have magical powers. Church attendees also believed in the practicality of touching priest’s robes and ringing consecrated bells during thunderstorms to create fortunate circumstances. Pages of scripture and protective amulets were worn as protective devices against the devil. A farmer even tried to cure his sick livestock with scripture passages. The correlation between religion and superstition caused people to question the morality of their practices and consider whether their practices were worship or wickedness; the Protestant Reformation mirrored their views. To Protestants- the saints, shrines, church bells, repetition of prayers, holy relics, and special amulets of the Catholic Church constituted religious blasphemy and necromancy. Elizabethans did not discuss theological debates- the world was divided into good and evil; in the eyes of the church, witchcraft epitomized Satanism. However, the hidden evil of humanity lurked behind every claim of supernatural …show more content…
In order to understand the purpose of life in Elizabethan times, one should delve into the concept of death. People believed that ghosts, souls of the dead embodied in revitalized corps, returned to earth for specific purposes such as to enact vengeance, ask for proper burial rights, or warn the living of imminent danger. Ghost visitations often cast the living into a state of spiritual confusion since obeying a demonic spirit would cast them into hell, but ignoring a real ghost would have equally dire consequences. Ghosts reflected society’s fear of the unknown and the afterlife; people who believed in these supernatural occurrences demonstrated irrational fears of the future. Similar to ghosts’ perpetuation of unfounded fear, witchcraft accusations reflected society’s misogynistic perceptions of women and distrust in the marginalized. Disheveled, ugly, poverty-stricken, diseased, old, and typically female members of society were accused of witchcraft based on their appearance and social status as outcasts. The fear of black magic's prevalence within society caused hundreds of defenseless people to be accused of illegitimate crimes such a causing adultery, miscarriages, and stillbirths by muttering incantations, creating voodoo dolls, and concocting horrible mixtures. Foolproof methods for