Medieval Magic?

Question

Can someone tell me anything about Medieval Magic?

Like what was Medieval Magic...Any websites about it.... I'm mainly looking for Medieval Magic that deals with wizards, witches, elves, dwarves, dragons, orcs, unicorn?, etc...

Do you know anyhting about it?

Answer 1

Orcs are made up by that great medieval scholar, JRR Tolkien. Elves, dwarves, and other Little People are also adapted by him for his work. Elves are orginally from the Celtic traditions; dwarves from the Germanic, possibly coming all the way from ancient Egypt.

Dragons are present in both European and Oriental mythos. You can easily Google those. Same with unicorns. The Chinese unicorn is very different from the European, and is called the K'i-Lin.

Wizards are High Magic magicians. They now, as then, specialized in ceremonial magic, such as the Kabbalah, or Key of Solomon. They are the cape, hat, wand, sword and dagger crowd. They are usually male.

Witches, then as now, are Low Magic practioners, usually specializing in herbal and natural healing, both physical and mental, solving family and tribal issues, like finding lost articles, weather prediction, and the like. They are usually women, and also known as Priestesses of the Old Religion, which they often were.

I have a treatise on the specifics of High and Low magic, but that seems outside the scope of this question.

ReClaimists and many neo-pagans actively work to recover the lost knowledge and practices of their Elders, and therefore do a great deal of research on medieval folklore. Although most of it was lost with the often forceable conversion to Xianity, much of the folk traditions we see today all over the world are handed down from pre-medieval times.

Reinactment groups like the SCA have many current practioners of all types of medieval skills, including the Arts Arcane, but also spinning, dancing, fighting, cooking... You'll have a far better chance to learn about authentic practices, as far as we can know them, by using 'folklore' or 'pagan' in your search engines. 'Magic' gets waaayyy too many weirdo hits.

Answer 2

Most of medieval magic is still alive in one form or another today. Take the pentagram, for example. It is one of the oldest magic symbols and we still use it regularly to represent: the stars! Seriously, the magic that was in use then, was about honoring nature: the earth, the sky, the winds, the water and fire (hence the five points of the pentacle - not a devil's symbol as you so often hear). It is closely tied to what was practiced in celtic society in the 1400's and was taken over by the Roman Empire when it invaded 'the world' or what was the known world then. It took the Goddess and learned that it could not control the people without one of their two main deities. Therefore, the Roman Empire relented and gave Mary to the people as a mother figure (which is what the Goddess was: fertility). Easter, Christmas, many major Christian holidays have their roots in medieval (or celtic) celebration days. Enter any website you would like about celtic magic and you will find a plethora of information regarding the old ways. I am sure you will be astonished to see how many similarities exist.

Answer 3

The one book I would recommend on your topic is "Magic in the Middle Ages" by Richard Kieckhefer. But it is not what you think. Rather, it is a textbook that discusses the adaptation of pagan beliefs and practices into the Christian Church, and survives as bits and pieces of material here and there.

Yes, there was magic practiced in Medieval times. Alchemy, astronomy, Magi and magicians all existed at that time. We have conjurers and secret groups that practiced all sorts of magical acts.

But magical creatures and animals? You will find more of them in art of the period and some in stories, but not much in the way of physical material. The Unicorn Tapestries, illuminated manuscripts that include mystical animals in the drawings, gargoyles on churches, stained glass with magical animals in the backgrounds. That is where you will find most of your references, neatly tucked away as a little glimpse of the remains of the old pagan ideas and stories.

You will also find there are some "grimoire" that date back in time. I will not vouch for any one grimoire, or it's accurate dating. There are those who claim their grimoire dates back to middle ages and earlier. You can take a look, but remember everyone wants to claim their copy is an "ancient" grimoire. It is at least some interesting reading, some of it really funny and strange. Other material is enlightening and fascinating.

You have lots of work to do. There is lots to research out there. Start with the book by Kieckhefer, and that will give you a solid basis on reality, and you can explore the other claims from there.

Answer 4

Medieval "Magic" was more of superstitions and pagan practices; such as Runecasting, Ogam sticks, burning suspected witches, etc.

There are many many medieval folk tales about goblins, wizards, etc. However, that's all they really were, simple tales that people told for one reason or another (to entertain or to control others).

I think what you may be looking for may be better expressed by a type of medieval fantasy... such as, Dungeons & Dragons.

Answer 5

medieval magic cosist of health, supersitions. try typing on any search engines about orcs dracgons etc.