Describe The Relationship Between Hag And Witchcraft
Hags
The word Hag comes from the old English word for Haegtesse, meaning witch. Traditional Hags would live at the edge of a village and shunned all company. This is thought to have been partly because of their hideous appearance. A typical Hag will have the appearance of an old woman with dark eyes, filthy unkempt hair and be adorned in dirty rags. Hags live in isolation from other Hags. A village would never have had more than one Hag living there at any one time.
A Hag is often called a Crone and Wise Woman. This is because in olden times (pre 13th Century) they were people of importance in a village and were known for their healing powers. Often Sorcerers and Mortals would take their ill children to the village wise woman for medicine. A Hag does not use a wand to transmit their powers, instead using herbs and basic potions to work their magic. Hags also have the ability to cast non verbal spells. For hundreds of years, Hags fulfilled the vital function of wise woman and protector in the village and everyone lived in harmony.
This all changed in the mid 13th century when suspicion and prejudice for magical people was strong. Hags were accused of witchcraft and worshipping the devil. …show more content…
Mortals looked at the Hags appearance and only saw evil, as they were so hideous looking they couldn’t be good. Villages hunted down their Crones and tortured them until the confessed to false crimes and false devil worship. Many Hags went into hiding and left their homes and villages. Mortals believed that they were purging their villages of Witches and a Hags revenge could be very swift and deadly.
In the small village of Amersham, England the local Wise Woman’s revenge is well documented. After villagers raided her cottage in 1248, Edith Waterman took deadly revenge. She cast a powerful curse on the village and one by one the children started to get sick. This mysterious sickness showed signs of a fever and hallucinations but no-one knew how to cure it. The children started seeing visions of Edith in the Village, even though she had been burned at the stake several months earlier. By July 1249, Amersham had lost all their children to this illness and many families had left in desperation. The curse only ended after the last child had died. This situation did nothing to help other Hags who had been captured causing even more anger and resentment towards them.
Remaining Hags went into hiding, often moving about the country, never staying in the same place for very long for fear of discovery. Modern day Hags still hold a hatred for Mortals and can be sinister, disagreeable and malicious towards Mortals especially children. A Hag will steal into a Mortal home at night time and sit on the chest of the child, sending nightmares to the victim. When they awoke they will often find themselves unable to breathe or move for several minutes until the Hag has left. This can be a terrible experience for the child, especially as Mortal adults will often not believe the child and think it is part of the nightmare.
Sorcerers have always been aware of the existence of Hags, often consulting with them over Healing potions.
The relationship between Hags and Sorcerers has always been uneasy. Hags believing we should have done more to help them hundreds of years ago. Modern day Hags prefer to be left alone but sometimes they can attach themselves to a magical family oftentimes becoming extremely dedicated to the protection of that family. They can be extremely loyal friends but believe in the ‘eye for an eye’ philosophy and will not have any qualms about exacting revenge on any real or imagined slight. Hags have been known to remove children from households if they feel they are being mistreated, unfortunately they can also use illness and death as a means to remove the
child.
Many magical families believe that avoidance is the best line of defence when it comes to Hags. They are easily recognised and have a serious aversion to holly. They will never trouble a family will holly bushes in their garden. Visitations can also be prevented by putting mistletoe under the bed. Mistletoe prevents bad dreams and a Hag will simply leave you alone rather than try to disturb your sleep.
On the other hand, some Hags can be useful to know. Our very own Potions Master, Professor Paxton is close friends with a Hag. She often visits her friend’s cottage to discuss herbs and potions. As with many creatures, evil is not a straightforward label and not all Hags are revengeful.
The word Hag comes from the old English word for Haegtesse, meaning witch. Traditional Hags would live at the edge of a village and shunned all company. This is thought to have been partly because of their hideous appearance. A typical Hag will have the appearance of an old woman with dark eyes, filthy unkempt hair and be adorned in dirty rags. Hags live in isolation from other Hags. A village would never have had more than one Hag living there at any one time.
A Hag is often called a Crone and Wise Woman. This is because in olden times (pre 13th Century) they were people of importance in a village and were known for their healing powers. Often Sorcerers and Mortals would take their ill children to the village wise woman for medicine. A Hag does not use a wand to transmit their powers, instead using herbs and basic potions to work their magic. Hags also have the ability to cast non verbal spells. For hundreds of years, Hags fulfilled the vital function of wise woman and protector in the village and everyone lived in harmony.
This all changed in the mid 13th century when suspicion and prejudice for magical people was strong. Hags were accused of witchcraft and worshipping the devil. …show more content…
Mortals looked at the Hags appearance and only saw evil, as they were so hideous looking they couldn’t be good. Villages hunted down their Crones and tortured them until the confessed to false crimes and false devil worship. Many Hags went into hiding and left their homes and villages. Mortals believed that they were purging their villages of Witches and a Hags revenge could be very swift and deadly.
In the small village of Amersham, England the local Wise Woman’s revenge is well documented. After villagers raided her cottage in 1248, Edith Waterman took deadly revenge. She cast a powerful curse on the village and one by one the children started to get sick. This mysterious sickness showed signs of a fever and hallucinations but no-one knew how to cure it. The children started seeing visions of Edith in the Village, even though she had been burned at the stake several months earlier. By July 1249, Amersham had lost all their children to this illness and many families had left in desperation. The curse only ended after the last child had died. This situation did nothing to help other Hags who had been captured causing even more anger and resentment towards them.
Remaining Hags went into hiding, often moving about the country, never staying in the same place for very long for fear of discovery. Modern day Hags still hold a hatred for Mortals and can be sinister, disagreeable and malicious towards Mortals especially children. A Hag will steal into a Mortal home at night time and sit on the chest of the child, sending nightmares to the victim. When they awoke they will often find themselves unable to breathe or move for several minutes until the Hag has left. This can be a terrible experience for the child, especially as Mortal adults will often not believe the child and think it is part of the nightmare.
Sorcerers have always been aware of the existence of Hags, often consulting with them over Healing potions.
The relationship between Hags and Sorcerers has always been uneasy. Hags believing we should have done more to help them hundreds of years ago. Modern day Hags prefer to be left alone but sometimes they can attach themselves to a magical family oftentimes becoming extremely dedicated to the protection of that family. They can be extremely loyal friends but believe in the ‘eye for an eye’ philosophy and will not have any qualms about exacting revenge on any real or imagined slight. Hags have been known to remove children from households if they feel they are being mistreated, unfortunately they can also use illness and death as a means to remove the
child.
Many magical families believe that avoidance is the best line of defence when it comes to Hags. They are easily recognised and have a serious aversion to holly. They will never trouble a family will holly bushes in their garden. Visitations can also be prevented by putting mistletoe under the bed. Mistletoe prevents bad dreams and a Hag will simply leave you alone rather than try to disturb your sleep.
On the other hand, some Hags can be useful to know. Our very own Potions Master, Professor Paxton is close friends with a Hag. She often visits her friend’s cottage to discuss herbs and potions. As with many creatures, evil is not a straightforward label and not all Hags are revengeful.