The ''Formicarius'', written 1436–1438 by
Johannes Nider
Johannes Nider (c. 1380 – 13 August 1438) was a German theologian.
__NOTOC__ Life
Nider was born in Swabia. He entered the Order of Preachers at Colmar and after profession was sent to Vienna for his philosophical studies, which he finishe ...
during the
Council of Florence and first printed in 1475, is the second book ever printed to discuss
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
(the first book being
Alphonso de Spina's ''Fortalitium Fidei''). Nider dealt specifically with witchcraft in the fifth section of the book. Unlike his successors, he did not emphasize the idea of the
Witches' Sabbath
A Witches' Sabbath is a purported gathering of those believed to practice witchcraft and other rituals. The phrase became popular in the 20th century.
Origins
In 1668, Johannes Praetorius published his literary work "Blockes-Berges Verrichtu ...
and was skeptical of the claim that witches could fly by night. With over 25 manuscript copies from fifteenth and early sixteenth century editions from the 1470s to 1692, the ''Formicarius'' is an important work for the study of the origins of the
witch trials in Early Modern Europe
Witch trials in the early modern period saw that between 1400 to 1782, around 40,000 to 60,000 were killed due to suspicion that they were practicing witchcraft. Some sources estimate that a total of 100,000 trials occurred at its maximum for a s ...
, as it sheds light on their earliest phase during the first half of the 15th century.
Nider was one of the first to transform the idea of
sorcery to its more modern perception of witchcraft. Prior to the fifteenth century, magic was thought to be performed by educated males who performed intricate rituals. In Nider's ''Formicarius'', the witch is described as uneducated and more commonly female. The idea that any persons could perform acts of magic simply by devoting themselves to the devil scared people of this time and proved to be one of the many factors that led people to begin fearing magic. The idea that the magician was primarily female was also shocking to some. Nider explained that females were capable of such acts by pointing out what he considered their inferior physical, mental and moral capacity.
The work is further of note for its information regarding notably infamous figures of the time, one of whom was the sorcerer Scavius, who reputedly escaped his enemies on multiple occasions by metamorphosing into a mouse.
Prior to his death, Scavius was responsible for the tutelage of
Stedelen
Stedelen (dead c. 1400) was a man who was accused of being a witch in Boltigen, Switzerland between 1397 and 1406.
Background
After the harvest had failed at his village, Stedelen was accused of using black magic to destroy the crops, killing cat ...
in witchcraft.
The title is Latin for "the ant colony", an allusion to Proverbs 6:6. Nider used the ant colony as a metaphor for a harmonious society.
Context
The ''Formicarius'' was written between 1436 and 1438, while Nider was part of the theological faculty at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
. The stories and examples that he presents throughout the book are taken from his own experiences and from his interactions with clerical and lay authorities. Most of these accounts are representative of the late medieval religious atmosphere of what is now
Switzerland, southern
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and the southern
Rhineland
The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section.
Term
Historically, the Rhinelands ...
. This region is also where the book was most widely read.
[Bailey (2003)](_blank)
p.96
The Council of Florence is where Nider was exposed to many of the second-hand stories he recounts. Many of the stories relating to witchcraft take place in the
Simme Valley and were told to Nider by Peter of Bern, who had conducted many witch trials in the region.
French cleric Nicolas Amici told Nider an account of the trial of
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronat ...
during the council as well.
Contents
The ''Formicarius'' uses a teacher-pupil dialogue as its format. The teacher is a theologian who is clearly meant to be Nider himself. The student is presented as a curious but lazy individual who is there primarily to prompt the theologian to recount contemporary stories related to the book's many themes. Every topic follows the formula of the theologian reciting biblical, patristic, or scholastic literature.
[Bailey (2003), p. 97]
In each case, the student quickly becomes bored and asks for contemporary examples. After the theologian would present these, the student asks clarifying questions that Nider used to dispel what he saw as common misconceptions.
The contemporary examples that the theologian provides draw heavily from Nider's own experience and especially from his time at the Council of Basel.
The treatise is organized according to the forms and conditions of the lives of ants. The first book focuses on the deeds of good men and women and is organized around the occupations of ants. The second book, dealing with revelations, was based on ants' varied means of locomotion. The third book examines false visions and uses the variable sizes and kinds of ants.
[Bailey (2003), p. 97-98]
The fourth book deals with the virtues of saints and other holy people, using the stages of an ant's life cycle. The fifth book, on witches, is structured around the colors of ants. Additionally, each of the twelve chapters of each book was based on one of sixty conditions of ants' lives. This complex system of using ants as metaphors for various aspects of Christian belief and practice is only really addressed in the first few lines of each chapter, after which Nider focuses on whatever theme he means to address with almost no further reference to ants.
Purpose
The ''Formicarius'' would have functioned as a kind of preacher's manual, with stories tailor-made for use in sermons. It is primarily meant to be used as a means for encouraging reform at all levels of Christian society.
[Bailey (2003), p. 92] Nider used his teacher-pupil storytelling device as a means of convincing the ecclesiastical class of the validity of his points, supplying priests with stories they could spread among the laypeople, and aiding those priests in tackling common questions and misconceptions they would likely encounter. Nider, a Dominican reformer himself, intended the book to reach as wide an audience as possible through its use in popular sermons.
While the section on witches would be published later as part of the ''
Malleus Maleficarum
The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise on witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinized name ''Henricus Institor'') and first ...
'', Nider did not write the book as a guide on witch hunting. According to Bailey, Nider was much more focused on reform in general, which was opposed by demons, who worked their opposition through subservient witches. Nider presents reform and proper adherence to Dominican rites as the surest counter to witchcraft.
[Bailey (2003), p.124-25]
Footnotes
References
*''Formicarius''. NIDER (Johannes). Augsburg, Anton Sorg
bout 1484 folio.
*Bailey, Michael. From Sorcery to Witchcraft: Clerical Conceptions of Magic in the Later Middle Ages. ''Speculum'', vol. 76, No. 4 (Oct. 2001), pp. 960–990.
*
*Bailey, Michael D. (2003) ''Battling Demons: Witchcraft, Heresy, and Reform in the Late Middle Ages. Pennsylvania State University Press.'' .
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1430s books
1475 books
Witch hunter manuals
Witchcraft treatises