Magical practices of confronting the authorities in the North-West in written sources of the 17th–18th centuries and in folklore

Abstract

The article examines the texts of witchcraft spells “to authority”, “to justice”, “to treatment” recorded in manuscripts and folklore. The purpose of these spells was to gain the favor of judges and superiors for benefits or avoiding trouble. The following mechanisms of the desired impact are identified: 1) “to tame and pacify” or “to restrain”, 2) to cause joy from the arrival of the actor; 3) to excite love; 4) to subjugate; 5) to limit the desire of the authorities or a judge to cause harm; 6) to disempower or to leave a judge speechless. Rituals that complement spells are recorded. The lists of imaginary recipients of the spells, which included the following: “tzars”, “tzarinas”, “tzarevichi”, “tzarevni”, “kings”, “queens”, “patriarchs”, “metropolitans”, “archbishops”, “bishops”, “abbots”, “archimandrites”, “deacons”, “all the priests”, “princes”, “princesses”, “boyars”, “noble women”, “noble men”, “officials/wardens”, “lectors and clerks”, “judges”, “lord”, etc. are analyzed. Evaluative characteristics are represented by the words “adversary”, “enemy”, “foe”, “hostile”, “opponent”, “antagonist”, “dashing person”. The list of social categories that the spells “on the authorities, on the trial” are aimed at is conditional and sometimes archaic. The mention of the Sovereign and the Sovereign’s people in the texts made the use of these spells and storage of manuscripts especially dangerous for their owners. The mechanism of the supposed impact of the spells discussed is based on the magic of similarity.

The analysis of spell texts shows that actors are confident that the outcome of administrative or judicial proceedings depended to a significant extent on the disposition of the authority representative and on luck. Spells “to the authorities”, “to the fair trial” appear as a typical example of the “protest of the weak”, who, not being ready for open rebellion, nevertheless tried to influence the authorities outside the legal framework.