La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages
1862
La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages
1862
Translated by Lionel J. (Lionel James) Trotter
Michelet's 1862 masterpiece argues that the witch was not a remnant of pagan superstition but a invention of medieval fear a phantom projected onto the women who kept healing traditions alive when the Church could not. With the风湿 of both historian and poet, he traces how the wise woman the village healer, the midwife became the village devil as ecclesiastical power consolidated and feudal panic intensified. This is not mere chronicle but impassioned polemic: Michelet sees the witch hunts as a grotesque theatre of scapegoating, where desperate communities projected their suffering onto the most vulnerable. The result is a book that reads less like Victorian scholarship and more like a cry from the archives, urgent and angry across the centuries. For all its period limitations, it laid groundwork for how modern scholars understand gendered persecution and the social function of the devil. Essential for readers who want history that aches.
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“Man hunts and fights. Woman contrives and dreams; she is the mother of fancy, of the gods.””
— Jules Michelet
“El domingo, después del oficio, había bastantes enfermos; pedían socorros y se les daba sólo palabras: -Has pecado y Dios te aflige. Da gracias, menos tendrás que sufrir en la otra vida. Resígnate, sufre, muere. La Iglesia tiene plegarias para sus difuntos.- Débiles, desmadejados, sin esperanza, ni ganas de vivir, seguían bien este consejo y dejaban escapar la vida.””
— Jules Michelet
“Especialmente la medicina era un culto satánico porque lucha contra la enfermedad que era un merecido castigo de Dios, porque al curar el cuerpo se obstaculizaba el camino del alma hacia el cielo.””
— Jules Michelet
“Porque la risa es una función esencial de nuestra naturaleza. ¿Cómo soportar la vida si no podemos reír, al menos en los intervalos entre nuestros dolores?””
— Jules Michelet
“Todos los pueblos primitivos empiezan de la misma manera, como lo vemos por los viajes. El hombre caza y combate. La mujer piensa e imagina, engendra a los sueños y a los dioses; ciertos días se vuelve vidente, roza el infinito del deseo y del sueño. Para contar mejor el tiempo, el observa el cielo, sin perder su interés por la tierra. Cuando joven y hermosa contempla las flores amorosas y las conoce muy bien. Más tarde, ya mujer, las utiliza para curar a aquellos que ama.¡Así de sencillo es el inicio de las religiones y de las ciencias! Más tarde todo se complicará; veremos aparecer a los especialistas: juglar, astrólogo o profeta, nigromante, sacerdote, médico. Pero en el principio, la mujer lo era todo.””
— Jules Michelet
About La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages
Chapter Summaries
- Introduction
- Michelet establishes that witchcraft was primarily a feminine phenomenon and argues that women were the original creators of religion and science. He presents the witch as both victim and rebel against medieval oppression.
- I.1
- Christianity's triumph led to the supposed death of the pagan gods, but they survived as demons. The story of the Bride of Corinth illustrates nature's rebellion against Christian suppression of life and love.
- I.2
- The Church initially allowed popular creativity in legend-making but then suppressed it, leading to cultural stagnation. The people were reduced to serfdom both spiritually and physically.
Key Themes
- Religious Oppression and Rebellion
- Michelet portrays witchcraft as a natural rebellion against the tyranny of medieval Christianity. The Church's suppression of nature, reason, and human dignity drives people to seek solace in Satan.
- Social Justice and Class Struggle
- The witch represents the oppressed serf class rising against feudal exploitation. Witchcraft becomes a form of primitive socialism, offering community and mutual aid to the downtrodden.
- The Feminine Divine and Women's Power
- Women are portrayed as naturally closer to nature and spiritual power. The witch embodies feminine wisdom and healing knowledge suppressed by patriarchal Christianity.
Characters
- The Witch(protagonist)
- The central figure who evolves from a serf's wife to a powerful sorceress. She represents the oppressed masses turning to Satan for relief from feudal and ecclesiastical tyranny.
- Satan(major)
- Portrayed as the Prince of Nature and rebellion against Christian oppression. He evolves from a small household spirit to the great adversary of the established order.
- The Goblin(major)
- A small household spirit who first appears to the serf's wife. Represents the remnants of pagan beliefs surviving in Christian Europe.
- The Serf(major)
- The oppressed peasant husband whose desperation drives his wife to witchcraft. Represents the suffering masses of medieval Europe.
- Sprenger(antagonist)
- Dominican inquisitor and author of the Malleus Maleficarum. Represents the Church's systematic persecution of witches through scholarly justification.
- Gauffridi(major)
- A priest who becomes involved with nuns and is accused of witchcraft. His trial represents the corruption within the clergy and the use of witchcraft accusations for political purposes.
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Michelet, Jules. La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages. Lex, lex-books.com/book/la-sorci-re-the-witch-of-the-middle-ages-8786e9c7-f81c-433f-b5be-3da599ac7ced.Michelet, J. (1862). La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/la-sorci-re-the-witch-of-the-middle-ages-8786e9c7-f81c-433f-b5be-3da599ac7cedMichelet, Jules. La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages. Lex. https://lex-books.com/book/la-sorci-re-the-witch-of-the-middle-ages-8786e9c7-f81c-433f-b5be-3da599ac7ced.













