Read The Burning Time Online

Authors: Robin Morgan

Tags: #General Fiction

The Burning Time (32 page)

BOOK: The Burning Time
11.62Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

The Burning Time in continental Europe and the British Isles lasted approximately 600 years, peaking in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but persisting well into the eighteenth century and the “Enlightenment.” In Ireland the last witch trial was held in 1711, in England in 1717. But in Germany the last person accused of witchcraft was executed in 1775, in Spain 1781, in Protestant Switzerland 1782. Catholic Poland burned alive its last witch as late as 1793 (the year George Washington held his first cabinet meeting). Ideological-political battles between the Reformation and Counter Reformation literally fed the flames, with newly minted Protestants competing with Catholics for the most fundamentalist interpretation of the Bible.

The result was widespread slaughter. A short sampling: in 1482, in Constance, France, 48 women were burned; in
1507, in Calahorra, Spain, 30 were burned; in 1515, in Geneva, Switzerland, 500 accused witches were executed in a single day; in 1524, in Como, Italy, 1,000 were killed; in 1622, in Würzburg, Germany, 900; in 1670, in Mohra, Sweden, 70 women and 15 children were executed and 136 other children between the ages of nine and 16 were sentenced to be whipped together at the church door every day for a year. In Germany, the sixteenth century saw witch burnings almost every day; complete villages were “cleansed” of women, girls, and cats. In 1586, only two women were reported left alive in an entire Rhineland district. Whole convents were indicted and sentenced for harboring “rebellious, learned women.” The children of victims were especially suspect, suffering incredible cruelties: as late as 1754, Veronica Zerritsch of Germany was compelled to dance in the warm ashes of her executed mother, then was burned alive herself, at age thirteen. Some scholars, focusing on the continental persecutions between 1550 and 1650, conservatively estimate the number hanged or burned at 60,000. Others, charting the entire 600-year span of The Burning Time in Europe, estimate that between eight and nine million persons were massacred. It is impossible to know for certain. We do know, however, that although men were also accused, tortured, and killed, the vast majority of victims were women and girls.

A few more words on fact and fiction in this book.

The Song of Amorgin
quoted in
Chapter VI
dates back to 1268 C.E.; this version is, according to Robert Graves, an English translation from the colloquial Irish, itself translated from the Old Goidelic.
The Song of The Running Seasons
in
Chapter VII
is a variant of a shape-shifting lay dating at least to the eleventh century, in turn based on a theme prevalent in classical Greek poetry; a modern English version survives as
The Ballad of The Coal Black Smith
.

The advice quoted in
Chapter XII
—Wiccan guidelines for secrecy, ways to survive interrogation and torture, even endure death by fire—is authentic. The text has been passed down for centuries, and is thought to have originated in a European country in the grip of witch persecutions. The guidelines are quoted in numerous works.

The various recipes and herbal medicines are accurate, drawn from the period, and based on Wiccan sources. Wiccans have always been sophisticated herbalists. In fact, the recipes are so effective that I have omitted proportions and, in some cases, ingredients, when a hallucinogenic or possibly dangerous mixture might result.

The two healer-women denounced by the Bishop in
Chapter II
—Jacqueline Felicie de Almania, and Belota—are named in French trial records of the day. Bernard Gui, mentioned in
Chapter XIV
, authored
The Conduct of the
Inquisition of Heretical Depravity
and from 1307 to 1324 was Chief Inquisitor of Toulouse, where he condemned a long list of accused heretics.

Dana Galrussyn, Sean Fergus/Father Brendan Canice, Maeve Payn, Father Donnan, and Lady Megan are all purely fictional creations of the author.

Not so the others.

In 1577, Hollinshed, in his germinal
Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Ireland
—Shakespeare’s historical source—wrote of the Kyteler trials. The trial record, as edited by Thomas Wright (London, The Camden Society, 1843) is, according to the medieval scholar Dr. Margaret Murray, the earliest source to give the full names of those accused:

Proceedings Against Dame Alyce Kyteler

County Kilkenny, Ireland, 1324

1. Dame Alyce Kyteler

2. Alyce, wife of Henry the Smith

3. Annota Lange

4. Eva de Brounstoun

5. Helena Galrussyn

6. Sysok Galrussyn

7. John Galrussyn

8. Robert de Bristol

9. William Outlawe

10. William Payn of Boly

11. Petronilla de Meath

12. Sara, daughter of Petronilla

13. Robin, son of Artis (“the Devil”)

R.M.

New York City

December, 2005

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Alyce Kyteler is a noblewoman, teacher, and healer. Why is it important that she is the sole owner of her estate? How would the story be different if her husband still lived with her?

2. Richard de Ledrede explains his beliefs to Alyce by saying: “I have faith in the
Church
. God … God is an argument.” How does his perspective on religion compare to Alyce’s belief in The Old Ways? At the end of the story, does de Ledrede still believe that God and the Church are separate entities? And what happens to Alyce’s trust in The Old Ways?

3. Are Richard de Ledrede and Alyce Kyteler alike in some ways? How are they different? Do you think it would have been possible for them to compromise? If so, how?

4. How are the Sabbats of The Old Ways similar to holidays that are celebrated today such as Thanksgiving? In the description of the Sabbats, do you see any similarities to religious rituals practiced today?

5. How is Alyce’s relationship with her son, Will, symbolic of the relationships throughout the novel?

6. Would you consider Father Brendan Canice (Sean Fergus) to be a main character in the story? What do you think ultimately happened to him?

7. Petronilla de Meath’s religious struggle is a key point in the novel. Discuss the ways Petronilla feels bound to the Church as well as to Alyce and The Old Ways and how Petronilla’s actions illuminate the themes of the novel.

8. Alyce says to Father Brendan: “This much I know: almost no one committing evil
believes
he is committing evil … at heart even the worst villain
wishes
to do good.” Do you agree? How is “evil” defined by various characters in
The Burning Time
? Could you interpret that the “villains” of the story wish to do good?

9. Discuss the distinctions of class in the novel, from the serf to the nobleperson, and how each is portrayed. For example, why does de Ledrede think it is wrong for Alyce to teach her serfs to read? What is the significance of de Ledrede coming from a family of merchants? Why does Alyce tell her son
he must “wed someone of his station”? How does class contribute to the events that lead up to the inquisition depicted in the
The Burning Time
?

10. Teaching is a theme in the book, from de Ledrede’s efforts to teach the peasants that the Church is the only valid religion to Alyce’s teaching of the Old Ways to Petronilla. But in what ways do the teachers become the students? Who ends up learning the most important lessons?

11. Strong women are found throughout
The Burning Time
: Alyce Kyteler, Petronilla de Meath, Helena Galrussyn, Annota Lange, and Sara Basilia de Meath. Compare their actions and characteristics to those of the men in the story. Do you feel that women and men are both fully portrayed? Why or why not?

12. Toward the end of the novel, Helena describes to Alyce how the members of the Covenstead have fared since
The Burning Time
. Do these descriptions remind you of the fate of people in other historical times?

13. “That night I lost my faith in everything else I had been foolish enough to build my life on. The sole order I could recognize was disorder. The sole promise I could trust was death.” Alyce tells Helena this about the night she fled Kilkenny and Kyteler Castle. Why is Alyce’s experience important to the story?

14. Why does the novel end with Sara Basilia de Meath’s perspective? How would the novel have been different had it been narrated by Alyce, or if the book’s narrator had remained mysterious?

15.
The Burning Time
is based on real people and real incidents. Do you think that setting these happenings in a fictional narrative adds to the understanding of the historical events? What makes a novel like this different from one where an author is inspired by a real person, but doesn’t use real events in the narrative?

A more in-depth Author’s Note, a Glossary of names and terms used in the novel, and a full Bibliography of works consulted for
The Burning Time
can be accessed online at
www.mhpbooks.com
.

BOOK: The Burning Time
11.62Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

The Witch's Promise by Krehbiel, Greg
Close to the Heel by Norah McClintock
Touching Evil by Rob Knight
BloodSworn by Stacey Brutger
Cop Killer by Sjöwall, Maj, Wahlöö, Per
La emperatriz de los Etéreos by Laura Gallego García
The Experiment by Costanza, Christopher