Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on quantitative data drawn from a range of trials Kateryna Dysa first describes the ideological background of the tribunals based on works written by priests and theologians that reflect attitudes toward the devil and witches. The main focus of her work, however, is the process leading to witchcraft accusations. From the stories of participants of the trials she shows what led people to enunciate first suspicions then accusations of witchcraft. Finally, she presents a microhistory from one Volhynian village, comparing attitudes toward two “female crimes” in the Ukrainian courts.
The study is based on archival research including witch trials transcripts. Dysa approaches the trials as indications of belief and practice, attempting to understand the actors involved rather than dismiss or condemn them. She takes care to situate early modern Ukrainian witchcraft and its accompanying trials in a broader European context, with comparisons to some African cases as well.
Trade Review"Dysa’s book is a well-constructed and very inspirational elaboration on the Ukrainian witch trials. The number of discovered and examined sources is impressive (almost 120 as yet unpublished and mostly unknown manuscripts, not to mention the published sources), as are her close examinations of the discussed trials. Given that the Ukrainian Witchcraft Trials is the first vast elaboration of the issue published in English, it will certainly serve for a long time as the main reference to witch trials in the Orthodox world."
-- Łukasz Hajdrych * Acta Poloniae Historica *
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1. Constructing the Ukrainian Witchcraft Trial
Legal Foundations
The Queen of Evidence: The Use of Torture and the Figure of the Executioner
In the Realm of Gossip: The Role of Everyday Communication in the Legal Process
Actors of the Witchcraft Trials
Chapter 2. Ukrainian Orthodox Demonology: The Learned Elite and Perceptions of the Devil and Witches
Iconography of the Devil, Demons, and Witches
The Demonic in Ukrainian Orthodox Writings
Specificities of Demonic Possession and Exorcism
The Pact with the Devil
Demonization of Neighbors, Opponents, and Enemies
Chapter 3. Beyond the Trials, or the Anatomy of Witchcraft Accusations
“Peaceful” Coexistence
Family and Witchcraft
Inheritance of Witchcraft within the Family
Accusations within the Family
Family Support
Rivalry and Bewitchment
Dangerous Proximity: Master-Servant Relationships
Bewitching a Master: Trials about the Bewitchment of Social Superiors
Demonstration of Loyalty to a Master in Witchcraft Cases
Subtle Love Matters
Witchcraft and Medicine: Power to Take away and Restore Health
Bewitching Animals, Spoiling Harvests
Magic Practitioners and Actual Magic Practices
Local Magic Practitioners
Amateur Magic Practices
Chapter 4. A Case of Witchcraft and Infanticide in Szczurowczyky
Infanticide in Szczurowczyky: Iewka Stanorycha
A Witchcraft practitioner: Orzyszka Liczmanicha
Night Flights and Coven
Verdicts
Further Romanticization, Forgetting, and Resurrection of Ukrainian Witches: An Afterword
