Anastasia Beverly Hills has introduced a new product in the line of cosmetics called the Magic Touch Concealer in shade 6. This concealer is designed to provide a flawless and natural-looking coverage for all skin types. The main highlight of this concealer is its ability to effectively cover blemishes, dark spots, and under-eye circles. Its formula is lightweight and blendable, allowing for a seamless application. The concealer comes in a convenient tube packaging with a wand applicator, making it easy to apply and control the amount of product. The shade 6 of the Magic Touch Concealer is ideal for medium to tan skin tones.
It is in the interpretative efforts of the inquisition as well as in the texts of the preachers that the evolution from a mythology connected to joy and bounty can be seen taking up its diabolical connotation. This is often characterized by the idea of an inversion of Christian faith. Often the stance of the authors concerning these beliefs can vary within the context of belief in the ludus Dianae , from which the stereotype of the witches’ Sabbath emerged.
The friar goes on telling how the two women, the young girl and the diabolical old lady, went to a wonderful hall covered with silk and filled with pleasant fragrances where they engaged in joyful dances in the company of handsome young men dressed in golden and silver clothing. The aim of this study is to show how the folkloric and the Classical literary motives were intertwined in the fifteenth century by figures lauded as the high intellectuals of the time, Franciscan and Dominican preachers and inquisitors, to produce a coherent and multifaceted picture of witchcraft-related beliefs.
The shade 6 of the Magic Touch Concealer is ideal for medium to tan skin tones. It has a neutral undertone, which ensures that it doesn't look too warm or cool on the skin. The pigmentation of this concealer is impressive, as it provides full coverage without looking cakey or heavy.
Notes on the Nature of Beliefs in Witchcraft: Folklore and Classical Culture in Fifteenth Century Mendicant Traditions
Witchcraft is a varied historical phenomenon with changing sociocultural aspects according to the times and the places considered. Nonetheless, it is possible to trace the different cultural substrata giving shape to witch-beliefs in order to shed light on their process of amalgamation. The aim of this study is to show how the folkloric and the Classical literary motives were intertwined in the fifteenth century by figures lauded as the high intellectuals of the time, Franciscan and Dominican preachers and inquisitors, to produce a coherent and multifaceted picture of witchcraft-related beliefs. By putting some of the most significant sources that I have analyzed in my monograph Witchcraft, Superstition, and Observant Franciscan Preachers in relation to others that I have not considered before composed by the same or different authors, my aim is to show how this process of combination of various cultural traditions gave shape to the creation and the understanding of the witchcraft phenomenon. Furthermore, I also intend to highlight how the at times contradictory views concerning witch-beliefs, pointing either to realistic or to skeptical stances, are related to specific declensions of those different traditions on the part of the friars.
Keywords:Witchcraft is a multifaceted cultural phenomenon with its nature, causes, and outcomes bound to a high degree of variation and fluidity according to the geographical and the chronological boundaries considered.1 The origin and the peculiar cultural substrata shaping witch-beliefs can, however, be reconstructed in detail to shed light on their intellectual formative processes. My aim here is to show how two of the main cultural substrata behind the construction of witch-beliefs, the folkloric and the Classical literary motives, were intertwined in the fifteenth century by Mendicant preachers and inquisitors to produce a coherent and multifaceted picture of witchcraft-related beliefs. By relating some of the most meaningful sources that I have analyzed in my monograph Witchcraft, Superstition, and Observant Franciscan Preachers (2015) to others that I have not analyzed before, my aim is twofold. I aim to show how this process of amalgamation of various cultural traditions gave shape to the creation and the understanding of the witchcraft phenomenon, and to highlight how the at times contradictory views concerning witch-beliefs pointing either to realistic or to skeptical stances, are associated with specific declensions of those different traditions on the part of the friars. In other words, I shall show how and with what purpose the texts of the friars recall and reuse both folkloric and classical traditions in dealing with witch-beliefs.2
The myth of witchcraft is not a standalone phenomenon, one disconnected from a wider, and at the same time, specific context. Through their assessment of people’s level of adherence to Christian faith, according to the rules of Scholastic theological models, the Mendicant friars collected and elaborated on elements that would become a constitutive part of beliefs in witchcraft. In this regard, those friars often dealt with witch-beliefs as part of their concerns over superstition—this latter being the domain opposing official Christian religious practices—as well as in the context of pastoral care, as I have shown in the case of fifteenth-century Milanese Franciscan friars3 The teachings of the confessor as well as those of the preacher show how the world of superstition is vast. As the renowned Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola (d. 1498) shows in his Eruditorium confessorum , a handbook for the instruction of confessors, superstition opposes religion, and it includes specific categories of practitioners of witchcraft among those dealing with other classes of magic:
The sinner has to be interrogated about the superstitious cult, which acts against religion. […] The idolaters, necromancers, evil doers ( malefici ), sorceresses ( mulieres incantatrices ), and whoever else exhibit cult to the devil, they all sin against that [religion] in a very serious way […]. And similarly [sin] the enchanters, diviners, and those who say to be able to find stolen objects through various superstitions as well as those who wear amulet scrolls hanged on their neck […].4
Malefici and mulieres incantatrices certainly belong within the domain of witchcraft. While the term maleficus can be employed in a general way to indicate the one who conducts evil, in his Libellus against magicians the Dominican Isidoro Isolani (d. 1528) includes witches ( strigae ) as part of the malefici category.5 The women who practice sorcery ( mulieres incantatrices ) offer the category of superstition an even more precise orientation towards witch-beliefs, leading to the construction of the stereotype of the witch practitioner typically being female. Within this context, folklore and classical culture emerged as the two primary domains from which the constitutive elements of beliefs in witchcraft will be taken and assembled.
In the record of superstitions that is part of the Sermones discipuli de tempore published in 1418 by the German Dominican preacher Johannes Herolt (d. 1468), known as the Discipulus , the friar gives an interesting account of beliefs seemingly referring to pre-Christian folkloric traditions. In particular, in his Sermon 41 for the second Sunday of Lent titled “On the twenty-four types of men who falsify faith,” Herolt enlists a number of beliefs and behaviors in opposition to the Christian faith, twenty-one of which are considered to be superstitions.6 Some of these elements concern the domain of divination, such as casting lots, the one of enchantment, such as casting spells, or that of magic, such as putting together love potions. Other elements pertain to superstitious attitudes called vanae observationes that Herolt, as all the other friars, generally consider with leniency, including observing dreams or observing the course of the moon and the sun. Other beliefs, on the contrary, are of much greater concern for the friar. Above all, the vetulae or old women who can make a woman sterile or provide advice on how to get rid of a fetus, as well as those women who enchant people and beasts, fall under the suspicion of showing a diabolic attitude endangering life in all its forms.
It had been most notably the belief in the train of the goddess Diana and the host of the dead as related by Herolt to catch the interest of scholars. The German friar develops a rather different version of the well-known witchcraft mythology centered on the ludus Dianae or the “Game of Diana,” which relates to the tenth century canon Episcopi . Through its successive redactions by Regino of Prüm’s De ecclesiasticis disciplinis of 906, Burchard of Worm’s Decretum , and later on, Gratian’s Decretum , the canon Episcopi , mistakenly believed as issued at the Council of Ancyra of 314, pointed to those deluded women who believe they go about at night in the train with the goddess Diana (or with Herodias according to other redactions) on the backs of animals:
It is also not to be omitted that some wicked women, who have given themselves back to Satan and been seduced by the illusions and phantasms of demons, believe and profess that, in the hours of night, they ride upon certain beasts with Diana, the goddess of the pagans, and an innumerable multitude of women, and in the silence of the night traverse great spaces of earth, and obey her commands as of their lady, and are summoned to her service on certain nights. […] Such phantasms are imposed on the minds of infidels not by the divine but by the malignant spirit.7
Herolt connects this mythology to the world of the dead, as opposed to the original text of Episcopi . This separates his text from the several other authors who elaborate on the same myth without making such an association.8 The Dominican preacher writes:
The nineteenth [in this list] are those who believe that Diana goes about at night with her army through great distances. Similarly, some at night prepare the table and uncover the vessels so that the souls of the dead should fill them and bring them every fortune.9
The term army ( exercitus ) employed by the German preacher while pointing to belief in the night train of Diana travelling through the space of many lands, refers to the “furious horde” of the dead, thus apparently merging the myth of Diana with that of the army of the dead of Germanic origin. This was later connected to Unholda, the demonized and witch-like version of the goddess Holda, originally linked to the idea of bounty. The positive, original belief connected to this mythology is proven by the fact that, as Herolt writes, at night some people prepare tables and leave the pots open so that the souls of the deceased that are part of the army of Diana can fill them and make the households rich. The core of this belief rests on the idea of bounty and fortune brought about by those ghostly entities to the houses they visit, constituting an interesting opening towards the vast and foggy land of folkloric or popular beliefs.
As it is known, belief in supernatural travelers of female appearance and good inclination, visiting houses at night and being known as bonae res or “good things,” enjoys a rather rich written tradition in medieval literature. Both William of Auvergne’s (d. 1249) dominae nocturnae travelling in the train of a female figure whom he calls Lady Abundia and Satia, and the Dame Abonde of the late thirteenth-century Roman de la Rose show a clear link with the idea of prosperity. Stephen of Bourbon (d. 1261) as well as Vincent of Beauvais (d. 1264) link the “good women” to Diana (and Herodias) and the mulieres of the canon Episcopi , thus highlighting the interconnections between folkloric and literary domains. Such “good ladies,” potentially dangerous entities themselves, had more harmful counterparts in the vast array of sorcerers roaming around with them such as the estries mentioned in the Roman de la Rose , and especially those evil nightly entities known as striges or lamiae which can shapeshift and murder children.
These latter beliefs are about entities coming from the Greco-Roman tradition. Lamiae were modeled on the Lamia of the Greek mythology, the beautiful Lybian princess and former mistress of Zeus, who would later become a monster murdering young children. This is paralleled in near-eastern Lilith, their counterpart in the recurrent ancestral fear of child-killing demons.10
The Sicilian donni di fuora or the “ladies from outside” studied by Gustav Henningsen, represent the example of “good women” who mediated between the world of the humans and that of the fairies. These testify to the proximity to a mythology centered on joyful, dancing, and festive processions of fairies bringing food and prosperity to the houses they visit. That of the donni is a specific case of folkloric taste, having nothing to do with diabolic witchcraft, notwithstanding the attempt of the Spanish inquisition to merge the two traditions into one single pattern, just as it would happen with the Benandanti studied by Carlo Ginzburg.11 We cannot detect any diabolical traits in the accounts of the gatherings of the Sicilian ladies and in their entering the houses at night, as one woman joining them declared: “When they went into the houses it was like a wind, and they opened the chests and dressed themselves up in the clothes they found, and they played the tambourine and the lute and sang very sweetly.”12
It is in the interpretative efforts of the inquisition as well as in the texts of the preachers that the evolution from a mythology connected to joy and bounty can be seen taking up its diabolical connotation. This is often characterized by the idea of an inversion of Christian faith. Often the stance of the authors concerning these beliefs can vary within the context of belief in the ludus Dianae , from which the stereotype of the witches’ Sabbath emerged.
The exemplum of the young girl from Ivrea told by the Milanese Observant Franciscan friar Bernardino Busti plays a particularly meaningful role in this context. According to the preacher, a young woman was convinced by a vetula , a wicked old lady, to join her at the Game of Diana ( ludus Dianae ). According to the folklore, this was a joyful event and closely linked to the history and mythology prevalent in the community. In her case, however, there is a condition. As the friar highlights, in order to take part in the game the girl is required to renounce her Christian faith:
A certain girl was often urged by a diabolical little old lady to go with her to the Game of Diana, after she had once said to her that she had never seen nor experienced such delights, and at last agreed to go. When the old lady told her that in order to participate in those sights and pleasures she would have to renounce the Christian faith, baptism and all the sacraments of the Church, she did all that.13
The friar goes on telling how the two women, the young girl and the diabolical old lady, went to a “wonderful hall covered with silk and filled with pleasant fragrances” where they engaged in joyful dances in the company of handsome young men dressed in golden and silver clothing. This went on until disgusted by the behavior of the vetula , the girl uttered the name of Jesus, and the entire ludus suddenly disappeared, leaving the young woman alone, right in the same place where she was before embarking on the experience, as she afterwards told to her confessor. As I have shown in my book, along with the new, diabolical connotation of the ludus Dianae , a development in the intellectual stance of the Milanese Franciscan friars about the nature of these beliefs takes place with an approach steadily leading to skepticism about their reality. That follows a line already expressed by Johannes Nider’s (d. 1438) well-known exemplum concerning the vetula dementata (deluded old little woman) who accepted to demonstrate her ability to be carried through the air on a night ride with Diana to a Dominican friar. While the woman experienced she was flying, the friar, however, could just see her falling asleep in the bowl where she had sat after having rubbed herself with some ointments and apparently having convulsions during her self-induced “demonic dreams.”14
Along this line, those who visit the houses at night are not always described as fairies, but are accused of being evil women, specifically vetulae , according to a growing stereotypical association of witches with old women. These are women who can turn into other species, especially cats (shapeshifting being a feature that these evil beings share with the harmless fairies) in order to better penetrate into houses, which they can enter even through closed doors, to bring harm to babies placidly sleeping in their cradles. Still with a skeptical stance, the Observant Franciscan Antonio da Vercelli describes this belief discharging the women from perpetrating those actions, and granting sole responsibility onto the devil: “As what is seen under the shape of a cat is simply the devil himself, whom in the shape of an old woman or a cat kidnaps and murders babies in the cradle.”15 In order to discharge the accused women from the accusations, Antonio agrees that even in the case that something concrete happens, it is not due to the action of the woman allegedly involved but due to the devil.
Antonio elaborates further on the problem of the reality of this witch-belief by denying that the wounds one might detect on the bodies of a vetula should be considered the result of a physical altercation between the parents and the vetula and therefore the proof that she was a witch visiting homes at night:
On whether the blow truly leaves traces on the body of the little old lady, or in other words, whether such a wound is really imprinted on her, I say that this can happen in three ways. First, in a natural way, due to fact that the old woman may have injured herself by falling; second, this can happen due to strong imagination, as a punishment for her sins, as she believes of being part of the followers of Herodias or Diana, and to go about fascinating babies [so that] such wounds can be found on her as all this imagination makes her to fall; third, as the devil himself can injure the woman, with the permission of God, to punish her for her sins, and from all this she is convinced of being beaten or of killing the babies. To this you can add, if you want, a forth possibility: since the devil can deceive the eyesight of several people by making the little old lady seem that she was beaten, while she was not.16
The only real element, according to the preacher, is the illusion and that is the reason for the wounds one can find on the bodies of those vetulae erroneously considered to be witches. There are three possible causes for the wounds detected on the women as Antonio states: the first is the most common and it rests on the possibility that the women could have simply fallen during the day. The second can be the power of the imagination of the vetula concerning the reality of her travels along with Diana or Herodias, an imagination that can generate real falls. The last is a supernatural type of possibility, when with the permission of God the devil harms the old, wicked woman to punish her for her sins and she becomes convinced of having been beaten or performing her murderous acts on the babies. Here Antonio seems to elaborate further on an issue already addressed by Bernardino da Siena, when he points out that “the devil makes it seem to that evil woman that she shapeshift into a cat and go around bewitching. However, she remains in her bed. These are illusions of the devil to deceive people!”17 According to Bernardino, it is just the devil who wants to deceive people, to make it seem to the woman that she shapeshifted into a cat and went around bewitching. All while the truth is that she remains in her bed. The power of imagination, one might say.
Friars decry the belief in metamorphosis or the ability of humans to shapeshift into different species, as a diabolic illusion. To prove this point, Roberto da Lecce refers to examples of humans transformed into animals by magical or divine tricks in Classical myth and literature, primarily through the auctoritas of Augustine of Hippo, whose skeptical stance Roberto adopts to sustain his own view on this matter. Thus, the transformation of the companions of the Thracian hero Diomedes into birds “in the fashion of big geese” (“a modo de grosse oche”), that of Ulysses’ companions into beasts by the “beautiful, evil, and lecherous” (“bella, malefica, e meretrice”) Circe, and Lucius transformed into an ass by the mistake of the witch’s servant Fotis in Apuleius’ The Golden Ass , are all cases that, according to Roberto, participate in making belief in shapeshifting unrealistic, if not ridiculous.18
The belief - of folkloric taste - concerning the night visits of fairies into the homes not only had a completely harmless scope but also a positive one in bringing prosperity, joy, and fun to the babies living in the house. Such a belief eventually shifted into the one in old women changing shape in order to better sneak into the houses and murder the babies sleeping in their rooms. This is a shift from prosperity to its negation, and from life to death: that was the true sense of any witchcraft for those communities. The interesting point besides the evident shift in the meaning and the interpretation of these beliefs seems to be the skeptical view developed in the writings of those friars. There are, of course, discordant voices about this in the coeval sources and different approaches were always possible. The case of the condemnation by such an inquisitor as the Dominican Heinrich Kramer of “those dangerous and unlearned preachers” (“periculosi et indocti praedicatores”), as he calls them, who were apparently trying to relieve accusations against alleged witches based on their skeptical stance, is one important sign of the tense coexistence of different views concerning witch-beliefs among friars.19
Thus, the Franciscan preacher Roberto da Lecce tells, with a witty spirit, an anecdote describing how one of those vetulae even gets to the point of making fun of the belief in her own travelling at night and to gain something for herself out of such credulity:
In a certain town there was a dog-faced old woman, who used to go to the course [with the goddess Diana], and some women who had their husbands afar went to her, whose name was lady Simia, asking her one by one of their husbands. The old woman replied to them: “I will go to the course tonight, and I shall tell you tomorrow morning what I know, but bring to me a nice, fat Paduan crow”, and that foolish woman brought that to her. The dog-faced old woman ate that all, and at times those women also brought her some good wine, so that, eating and drinking so well, she also slept well at night, waking up when the sun was already high. Thus, while the women were waiting to receive an answer, the depraved and malicious dog-faced woman, told them the first thing she had in mind, and sometimes she guessed it right, while other times she did not, in this way still eating the crow.20
Simia, the “dog-faced” old woman, is thus said to go to the night train with Diana and certain women want to exploit her travels for the sake of knowing about their husbands who are far from home. In an exchange, the vetula asks for a fat, good jackdaw to eat. The women keeps providing Simia with food and wine so, full and happy after eating and drinking, the vetula sleeps during the night and wakes well into the day. In order to comply with her pact with the women, the old lady gives them different answers sometimes guessing right, and sometimes not. Roberto da Lecce treats this as a good and comical way to represent the nonsense of the belief in the witches’ night train while at the same time showing his own attitude, not at all concerned about these beliefs, which he is working hard to delegitimize. We need to imagine the effect those short tales were intended to have on the audience during the preaching event, that of changing the beliefs and behaviors of the laity.
Through this, however, we are left to wonder: who could be considered a witch? This is a fundamental question for us as it was for the friars dealing with witch-beliefs within their communities. It was while the friars characterized the evil nature of the old woman or the vetula that they merged disparate traditions into the definition of such a character. For sure, there is not a simple and univocal path towards the characterization of the witch. These stereotypes and beliefs are interwoven much as the threads of a knitting. What we see is a process of amalgamation of different traditions, to which sometimes-diverging stances correspond.
The idea of evil, monstrous beings of female nature attempting at life, and especially at the life of babies, arrived to the study table of the fifteenth century friar from an old tradition rooted in Roman and Greek literature and mythology.21 As has been pointed out, the Roman literary tradition offers a varied characterization of what we would consider a witch, also pointing to her by different terminology, such as docta , divina , maga , saga , venefica, malefica , lamia , or by the simple periphrasis quaedam anus (some old woman), so close to the by then common quedam vetula , which we have already discussed. Central to the characterization of the witch is, however, the strix (pl. striges ).22 The strix is a type of night bird, generally considered a screech owl, although this association only happened in modern times as Marina Montesano has pointed out. It was originally not considered an animal belonging to the natural world, but rather a monstrous creature of human (feminine)-bird appearance. The elegiac couplets of Ovid’s Fasti give a popular description of these mysterious beings:
The exemplum of the young girl from Ivrea told by the Milanese Observant Franciscan friar Bernardino Busti plays a particularly meaningful role in this context. According to the preacher, a young woman was convinced by a vetula , a wicked old lady, to join her at the Game of Diana ( ludus Dianae ). According to the folklore, this was a joyful event and closely linked to the history and mythology prevalent in the community. In her case, however, there is a condition. As the friar highlights, in order to take part in the game the girl is required to renounce her Christian faith:
One of the standout features of this concealer is its long-lasting formula. Once applied, it stays put for hours without creasing or melting off. This makes it perfect for everyday wear or for special occasions where a flawless complexion is desired. Another notable aspect of this concealer is its versatility. It can be used not only to conceal imperfections but also as a highlighter or contouring product. Its creamy texture makes it easy to blend and build up intensity. Overall, the Magic Touch Concealer in shade 6 by Anastasia Beverly Hills is a high-quality product that offers excellent coverage, natural finish, and long-lasting wear. Whether you need to cover dark circles, blemishes, or simply brighten up your complexion, this concealer will give you the desired results..
Reviews for "Why the Magic Touch Concealer in 6 by Anastasia Beverly Hills is a favorite amongst makeup artists"
1. Sarah - 2 stars
I was really excited to try out the Magic Touch concealer by Anastasia Beverly Hills, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. The shade 6 was supposed to match my skin tone, but it ended up looking too ashy and unnatural. The formula also felt quite heavy on my skin and it settled into my fine lines, making them more noticeable. It also didn't provide enough coverage for my dark under-eye circles, so I had to layer it on, which made it look even more cakey. Overall, I was really disappointed with this concealer and wouldn't recommend it.
2. Mike - 1 star
I had high hopes for the Magic Touch concealer by Anastasia Beverly Hills, but it turned out to be a major disappointment for me. The shade 6 was too dark for my fair skin tone, even though it was supposed to be a light shade. The formula was also very drying on my skin and emphasized all the dry patches, making my under-eye area look even worse. The coverage was mediocre at best and didn't last throughout the day. I would definitely not repurchase this concealer and would advise others to try different options.
3. Emily - 2 stars
I bought the Magic Touch concealer in shade 6 by Anastasia Beverly Hills after hearing great things about it, but it didn't work for me. The shade was too yellow-toned for my neutral undertone, and even though it blended well, it didn't provide enough coverage for my dark circles. I also found that it creased and settled into my fine lines within a few hours of application, making me look older. The packaging was nice, but the product itself was subpar. Overall, I was disappointed and will be looking for a different concealer.