Summary: The Cunning Folks Unexplored Power
The Cunning Folks' Unexplored Power
The fear of witches and their powers of witchcraft existed in all levels of society during the seventeenth century. Both historical and contemporary research on black and harmful magic, its practitioners and their persecutions received a considerable amount of academic interest throughout history. However, the practice of white magic, the origins of the cunning folk and their powers attracted less attention and historical investigation. One of the apparent reasons may lie in missing records, as the cunning folks' practice was mostly illegal. The vast majority of works focussing on wicked magic mostly exclude white magic. Nevertheless, regarding its origins, it proved stable and continued to exist well into …show more content…
In general, cunning men and women were primarily concerned with providing magical and spiritual help that would result in practical and sentimental effects on individuals with specific problems (Jones 97; Duston 33-36). Many of them considered themselves to be “mediators between the mundane and spiritual worlds” (Brown 25). Wise men and women were mostly tradesmen and farmers. Compared to black witches, where the majority happened to be women, a male predominance among white witches could be seen (Stearne qtd. in Duston 119). An explanation for this predominance possibly lies in the limites access women had to basic education, which was certainly needed in the occupation of the cunning folk. According to Brown, the social status of charmers was higher than that of common labourers during the seventeenth century (Brown 27-28). The motives behind their work must have differed form practitioner to practitioner. White witches may have carried out their work out of a genuine desire to help others, or they may have been driven by financial needs. The cunning folk was told to possess supernatural powers that ultimately added to the success of their business. People believed that the cunning folks' knowledge was acquired from a “supernatural source, from an innate or hereditary ability” (Davies viii). However, they presumably listened to local rumours and knew from their consultations a lot about the townsfolk. In addition, Duston suggests charmers probably had an “intuitive grasp to human psychology” (41). The services were offered for sale, to supposed victims of black magic, to people were looking for lost or stolen goods, or to those were in need of preventative magic or other magical remedies including fortune-telling and treasure hunting. In many cases they carried on their regular job and earned more money working as a professional cunning man or woman (Brown 28).
The fear of witches and their powers of witchcraft existed in all levels of society during the seventeenth century. Both historical and contemporary research on black and harmful magic, its practitioners and their persecutions received a considerable amount of academic interest throughout history. However, the practice of white magic, the origins of the cunning folk and their powers attracted less attention and historical investigation. One of the apparent reasons may lie in missing records, as the cunning folks' practice was mostly illegal. The vast majority of works focussing on wicked magic mostly exclude white magic. Nevertheless, regarding its origins, it proved stable and continued to exist well into …show more content…
In general, cunning men and women were primarily concerned with providing magical and spiritual help that would result in practical and sentimental effects on individuals with specific problems (Jones 97; Duston 33-36). Many of them considered themselves to be “mediators between the mundane and spiritual worlds” (Brown 25). Wise men and women were mostly tradesmen and farmers. Compared to black witches, where the majority happened to be women, a male predominance among white witches could be seen (Stearne qtd. in Duston 119). An explanation for this predominance possibly lies in the limites access women had to basic education, which was certainly needed in the occupation of the cunning folk. According to Brown, the social status of charmers was higher than that of common labourers during the seventeenth century (Brown 27-28). The motives behind their work must have differed form practitioner to practitioner. White witches may have carried out their work out of a genuine desire to help others, or they may have been driven by financial needs. The cunning folk was told to possess supernatural powers that ultimately added to the success of their business. People believed that the cunning folks' knowledge was acquired from a “supernatural source, from an innate or hereditary ability” (Davies viii). However, they presumably listened to local rumours and knew from their consultations a lot about the townsfolk. In addition, Duston suggests charmers probably had an “intuitive grasp to human psychology” (41). The services were offered for sale, to supposed victims of black magic, to people were looking for lost or stolen goods, or to those were in need of preventative magic or other magical remedies including fortune-telling and treasure hunting. In many cases they carried on their regular job and earned more money working as a professional cunning man or woman (Brown 28).