heresy of witches

film still from the anime Belladonna of Sadness, 1973, directed by Eiichi Yamamoto, mushi production, a psychedelic interpretation of Jules Michelet’s La Sorcière, all rights reserved

essay

by JULES MICHELET

French historian and writer Jules Michelet (1798-1874) is famous for La Sorcière (1862), the first historical investigation into witchcraft. His romantic, powerful style rehabilitates the persecuted figure of the witch as a symbol of feminine power, fighting against male political and religious domination. Celebrated by the second wave of feminists, the way he essentialized women is problematic for feminists today. Nevertheless, the opening of his book, reproduced here, is a powerful celebration of them.

It was said by Sprenger, before the year 1500, “Heresy of witches, not of wizards, must we call it, for these latter are of very small account.” And by another, in the time of Louis XIII: “To one wizard, ten thousand…