History of the Council of Basel (1431-49):
Although the Council of Basel was often considered chiefly in terms of the vast constitutional and diplomatic issues. It was originally called in 1431 by Pope Martin V mainly to reunite the church from the Great Schism. However, the council struggles from doing both due to the papal opposition from Eugenius IV, who was both recognized and deposed by the council. While struggling to find simple political survival against the papal opposition, in 1438 the council declared Eugenius IV to be deposed by the council and elected Duke Amadeus VIII, of Savoy as the new pope. Ironically, since the act of deposing Eugenius IV reintroduced papal schism to the church, it lost most of its support among the clerical and secular leaders of Europe. [1]
Concept of a witch VS Actual witches on trial:
During the fifteenth century, the idea of witches emerged and caused a phenomenal event called the witch-craze. According to official theory of witchcraft, there are four components of a witch: 1) causing harm through supernatural means; 2) flying through the air at night to desolate places for evil purposes; 3) participating in a sect or cult that met in periodic “sabbats” to worship the Devil and engage in sexual orgies; and 4) making a pact with the Devil. Since in a Christian society witchcraft is and could only be apostasy from the true religion, witches had therefore been seduced by Satanic forces and had made a formal contract with the Devil. Thus, an officially recognized witch would be a sorceress that performs magic through non-Christian powers. However, controversial to the official theory of a witch, most women who were accused of witchcraft had never practiced sorcery. These “witches” were often women with higher intelligence than others around them or women that were socially disruptive. Joan of Arc, though she was not charged for witchcraft in her trial, was later considered and described as a witch by the council. Healers particularly were recognized as witches since people from the lower classes believe that if someone knows how to cure a sickness caused by evil powers, than the healer must also have the ability to harness such evil power. [2] [3]
The significance of the Council of Basel in the witch-craze:
Ever since their establishment, the council had difficulties asserting their authority within the church over the papacy due to the various points of view on contentious issues. Thus, in order to unite all the members of the council as well as showing their importance, the council needed a situation that had never appeared in history in which it excelled at. Thus the idea of witches were created. As researches suggest, the fully developed stereotype of a witch only emerged in Europe within the space of a single decade, the 1430s. In addition, the districts where such idea emerge from were all in close proximity to the council: Val d’Aosta in northwest Italy, the duchy of Savoy, the Dauphine, the area around Lake Geneva, the Bernese Oberland and Basel itself. These areas were all dioceses of Basel. Moreover, Johannes Nider, one of the most influential Dominican theologian from the council. His book Formicarius was first printed in 1475 and circulated widely until 1692, going through numerous editions. Yet it was suggested that Nider initially had little interest, and possibly little knowledge in witchcraft prior to his arrival at Basel. According to all the evidences, it is possible to say that the witch-craze during the 15th century was a direct result from the Council of Basle’s attempt to assert their authority within the church, through the stereotypical image of a witch that was manufactured by the council. [1]
References:
[1]: Bailey, Michael D., and Edward Peters. “A Sabbatof Demonologists: Basel, 1431-1440.” The Historian 65, no. 6 (2003): 1375-396. doi:10.1111/j.0018-2370.2003.00057.x.
[2]: Gaskill, Malcolm. “The Pursuit Of Reality: Recent Research Into The History Of Witchcraft.” The Historical Journal 51, no. 04 (2008): 1069. doi:10.1017/s0018246x0800719x.
[3]: Horsley, Richard A. “Who Were the Witches? The Social Roles of the Accused in the European Witch Trials.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History 9, no. 4 (1979): 689. doi:10.2307/203380.
Middle Riddles 