1 Two major works on the subject of witchcraft and sorcery are J. Hansen, Quellen und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Hexenwahns und der Hexenverfolgung im Mittelalter (Bonn, 1901), and the undigested mass of material collected by H. C. Lea, Materials toward a History of Witchcraft (3 vols., Philadelphia, 1939). For the few references to sorcery in Italy, see Hansen, pp. 347-350, 455, 546-547. The most recent general work on the subject is R. H. Robbins, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology (New York, 1959)- This book is filled with valuable information and useful references; it is also written with an eye to a popular audience.

2 Robbins has no article on witchcraft in Italy, although he states (p. 7) that Italy was not immune to the mania. He makes a sharp distinction between witchcraft and sorcery (p. 472): ‘Sorcery is an attempt to control nature, to produce good or evil results, generally by the aid of evil spirits. On the other hand, witchcraft embraces sorcery, but goes far beyond it, for the witch contracts with the Devil to work magic for the purpose of denying, repudiating and scorning the Christian God. The crimes both sorcerer and witch are supposed to commit—that is, the whole range of maleficia—appear to be alike, but the motives are distinct. This is the basis on which the Inquisition built up the theory of witchcraft as a heresy—a conscious rejection of God and the church; witchcraft became not a question of deeds but a question of ideas.'

3 R. Davidsohn, Firenze ai tempi di Dante, tr. E. Dupre Theseider (Florence, 1929), pp. 185-190.

4 Ibid., p. 186; G. Villani, Cronica, ed. Dragomanni (Florence, 1844-1845), book x, ch 40. Cecco's downfall was the result of his book, in which he argued that evil spirits in the spheres manipulated the stars to determine the pattern of human events, and that even Christ in his human role was obedient to these stellar configurations. Like many others of his generation, Giovanni Villani was an avid student of astrology, but Cecco's opinions were too radical for him: ‘Ma con tutto che fosse grande astrolago, era uomo vano e di mondana vita, ed erasi steso per audacia di quella sua scienza in cose proibite e non vere, perocché le ‘nflucnze delle stellc non costringono necessitá, nè possono essere contra il libero arbitrio dell'animo dell'uomo nè maggiormente alia prescienza di Dio, che tutto guida, governa e dispone alia sua volonta.'

5 The single known execution of a convicted heretic in Renaissance Florence, before Savonarola, occurred in 1389. The victim was a member of the Fraticelli sect, Fra Michele da Calci. See Storia di Fra Michele Minorita, ed. F. Flora (Florence, 1946).

6 Scholars have not been permitted access to the archiepiscopal archives, and thus the nature of the surviving records cannot be determined with accuracy. A fire in 1532 apparently destroyed most of the ancient documents. There is no reference to any court records in the published accounts devoted to the episcopal archives: E. Palandri, ‘L'archivio vescovile di Firenze', Rivista delle biblioteche e degli archivi, new ser, IV (1926), 167-191, and ‘Notizie degli Archivi Toscani', Archivio storico italiano CXIV (1956), 400-403.

7 The judgment in this case is in Archivio di Stato di Firenze, Atti del Esectitore degli Ordinamenti della Giustizia [AEOJ], 751, fols. 25^r-26^r , 5 November 1375. All other archival citations, unless otherwise identified, are from the Archivio di Stato in Florence.

8 Ibid., fol. 25^v: ‘Ex quibus supradictis dictus Paulus, homo utique gravis et honestus et etatis quatragintaquinque [sic] annorum et ultra, ab omni recto tramite deviavit et deviat, eiusque uxorem et filios et artem et omnia sua facta derelinqucns et solummodo intendcns dicte pessime mulieri domine Caterine.'

9 Ibid., fol. 25^r, in margin: ‘MIII°LXXVIII, indictione prima, die secunda mensis Agusti, cancellata est dicta domina Caterina de presenti condepnatione per me notarium infrascriptum, vigore reformationis consilii populi et comunis plorentie edite de mense Iulii proxime preteriti … vigore provisionis et deliberationis facte per dominos priores Artium et Vexilliferum Iustitie et sindicos Artium et populi, omnium dicte civitatis, sOicte [sic] per ser Coluccium Pieri [Salutati], eorum notarii, vigore balie eius concessein gcnerali parlamento dicti Comuni, scricte per dictum ser Coluccium de dicto mense Iulii proxime preteriti.’ A large number of judicial condemnations were canceled by the Ciompi government.

10 AEOJ, 1217, fol. 47^r: ‘Ex quibus maleficiis et incantationibus dictus Andreas pluries et pluries habuit plures et diversos dolores in corde et corpore ipsius, ex quibus doloribus valde fuit tormentatus et alteratus… .'

11 AEOJ, 1521, fol. 18^v : ‘Dictus Jacobus … scripsit sua propria manu in quadam carta pecudina quodam salmum quiincipit: Eruptavit cor meum, cum suco certarum cribarum armonachi et cassia fistule, animo et intentione ponendi seu poni faciendi in certo loco unde dicta domina transire debebat ut super ipso salmo transiret et sic dictam dominam pudicam ad impuditiam … perduceret, secundum doctrinam dictorum librorum.’ The quotation is from Psalm 44: ‘Eruptavit cor meum verbum bomim.'

12 Ibid., fols. 18^r-18^v: ‘Dictus Jacobus volens dictam facinorosam artem malificam mathematicam experiri et etiam exercere … ad instantiam et petitionem cuiusdam domine … fecit et scripsit super quadam piastra plumbea certas caracteras cum certis litteris, et ipsam piastram plumbeam cum ipsis caracteris et litteris dicte dominc assignavit et dedit, asserens sibi quod sic dictas caracteras et literas super se portet nescientc marito, quod ipse totaliter se impregnaret.’ When the woman lost the charm, Jacopo provided her with another. The record does not state whether the charm was effective.

13 Atti del Capitano del Popolo [ACP], 2766, fol. 7^r : ‘Supradicti inquisiti temporibus pluribus et diversis … et diversis modis et temporibus sub colore sortilegii et incantationum mulieres plurimas … subduxerunt ad peccandum et ad luxuriam, dantes ipsis intelligere cum suis filateriis plurima nefanda et oribilia, et sub hoc etiam colore plurimas et infrnitas pecunias extorserunt in dampnum dedecus et verecundiam civitatis Florentie.' This accusation expressed more concern for the fate of the fallen women than for the sorcerous practices of Nanni and Taddea: ‘In hac civitate Florentie mulieres plurimas… suis lenotiniis solicitaverunt ut earum integram castitatem, que sola possibilis est animas presentare Deo, possunt corrumpere et ad vitam pestilentam luxurii deduccre’ (ibid., fol. 7^V).

14 In his condemnation, dated 27 June 1412, Giovannino was described thus: ‘JcJianninum Johannis de civitate Turini de Pedemontio, hominem male fame conditionis et vite, latronem publicum, furem, homicidum, assassinum, aguspitem [haruspicem], sacrilcgum, nigromantem et robatorem stratarum’ (Atti del Podestd [AP], 4261, fol. 38^r).

15 Ibid. The case of the abbot of Rota, head of the monastery of S. Piero a Ruoti, was a cause celebre in 1412, and it involved the Pitti family, who befriended the abbot, in a bitter controversy with the Ricasoli. The conflict was carried to the communal courts. Buonaccorso Pitti described the affair in his chronicle, Cronica di Buonaccorso Pitti (Bologna, 1905), pp. 165-171. Additional details are provided by the condemnation of Buonaccorso's son Luca and his accomplices (AP, 4272, no pagination, 17 December 1412).

16 The condemnation of Maestro Francesco is in ACP, 2011, no pag., 24 March 1396. According to the charge, Francesco ‘accessit ad cimiterium hospitalis Sancte Marie Nove de Florentia et de dicto cimiterio abstulit quodam capud et seu teschium hominis mortui causa faciendi cum eo et de eo malas et prohibitas incantationes et cum certis suffomictationibus ad pressciendum futura et ad previdendum de futuris, et ipsum capud … portavit suttus calmitem suam de dicto cimiterio ad domum.'

17 The judgment against Consigli is in AP, 3204, no pag. The folios are not consecutive (in the volume, they are fols. 103^v-104^v, 113^r-114^v) , and the script is execrable. This is unusual, for judicial condemnations were usually written with care and precision. Perhaps the podestás notary was annoyed by the length of the document or by the onerous burden of copying a condemnation of an ecclesiastical court. This is the only judgment from the inquisitor's court that I have found in the judicial records from 1343 to 1440. I must thank my friend, Dott. Gino Corti of Florence, for his efforts to make an intelligible transcription of this document. His success was notable but not complete, and several phrases remain indecipherable.

18 ‘Ipse Nicolaus … fuerat in iudicio coram venerabili patre magistro Andrea Ricolgi inquisitore, predecessore nostro, quedam enormia hcresim sapientie [sic] circa curationem cuiusdam filie Georgii vocati Buino, populi Sancti Remigii de Florentia, que dixerat esse admalata et spiritata … et ab eadem supra huiusmodi purgationem et penitcntiam suscepisse ac preceptum de non se nunquam impediendo de aliqua malia faciendo curare vel distruere de admaliatoribus vel spiritatis vel de expellendo demones vel eos invocando aut de quibuscumque fidelibus heresim sapientibus… . Et ipse suo iuramento promisisse ex sibi in [illegible phrase] et servare dictam tamen purgationem et pene ac precepti dicti domini inquisitoris et sui proprii iuramenti transgressor et violator … de anno Domini MCCCLXXVI et mense octobris et novembris ipsius anni fecit et facere docuit quendam nomine Johannem … nocere usque ad mortem cuidam Martino et filio suo.'

19 ‘Ipse Nicolaus vocatus et citatus … ad respondendum de fide et super inquisitionem … veritatem suppressit et negavit, ac expressit et protulit falsitatem … animo et intentione illudendi nos et impediendi dicte inquisitionis negotium ac subterfugiendi respondere de ipso fidei coram nobis… . Quibus tamen indutiis a nobis obtente sub iterato et prestito iuramento ac precepto predicto ut pervenerit coram nobis et nostra curia, immo se pertinaciter absentavit et comparere subterfugit precepto et ob hoc prefate excommunicationis sententiam patenter et scienter incurrit et eum sic incurrisse ad nostrum fore albitrium puniendi pro tunc sententialiter pronumptatum prout per n o s … [et] per annos acto et menses tres ipsam quod substinuisse semper et numquam comparuisse coram nobis vel nostra curia nisi per non unquam captus fuisse et dentus in carcere et sic ad iudicium.'

20 ‘Dictus Nicolaus suam obstinatam inpenitentiam et conversionem ac demonum GCtfnertia gravius et patentius manifestatus in sua detentione predicta in palatio domini potestatis ubi absque corporali molestia vel tormento habet vel habere potest spatium penitendi, pluries et frequenter variis diebus et noctibus se ipsum alta voce, manibus invinctis et elevatis, recommendavit diabolo seu diabolis et presertim illis tribus scilicet Lucifero, Satane et Belzebut, quos ad sua vel aliorum posse desideria adimplenda consueverat invocare … asserens se in eorum esse in animam [sic] et in corpore, et numquam confessorem petiit ut sibi sacraliter confiteretur peccata sua, nee aliquid bonum et verum signum penitentie et vere confessionis hostendit, cum tamen per nos personaliter et per alios fratres ad penitentiam et veram confessionem ac plenam confessionem fuerit frequenter inductus.'

21 Giovanna was condemned to death on 7 June 1427 (AEOJ, 2096, fols. 47^r-47^v). She was described as a ‘magam meleficam incantatricem atque maleficiis artibus contra salutem hominum et ipsos pudicos amnios ad libidinem inductricem'.

22 Ibid.,£o\. 47^v: ‘Habuit novem fabas, aliquantulum panis, unum carbonem extinctum, aliquas folias olive benedicte que stabant ante quandam figuram Virginis Marie, et unum numum cum cruce et unum granellum salis, et istis omnibus in manu sua habitis, gcnuflectens se in terram nudis genibus ut diabolica pertracteret, dixit tribus vicibus Pater Noster et Ave Maria, spernendo tarn divinas orationes ad Deum colcndi et eius Matrem Verginis [sic] Mariam compositas et inventas. Et sic facto omnia predicta posuit in quadam pezza panni linei et super ea dormuit per tres noctes. Et postmodum predicta capiens in manu iterum ter dixit Pater Noster et Ave Maria… . Novit dicta Johanna … quod dictus eius futurus vir earn diligere non debebat. Et sic accidit quia post predictum contractum matrimonium inter ipsos et demum carnali copula consumatum, dictus Johannes eius vir per paucos dies stetit cum dicta Johanna, discexit ex ea et nunquam postmodum reversus est.'

23 Ibid.: Accepit aliquantulum auri et aliquantulum turis et aliquantulum mirre, accepitque quandam triunculam cum quibusdam carbonibus accensis, et accepit etiam quandam parvam candelam ceream, et istis sua preparatis et candela predicta accensa, quam in manu sinistra tenebat, accessit ad quandam figuram Virginis Marie que erat depicta in dicta sua domo, et genuflectens se coram dicta figura, ponens quin dictum triunelam ad pedes dicte figure nominando nomen dicti Johannis, proiecit dictum aurum, tus et mirram super dictis carbonibus accensis… . Cum fumarent per totam dictam figuram, dicta Johanna dixit et protulit certa verba quorum tenor quia turpissimus et detcstabilis est, et ne populo materia delinquendi detur, sub silentio preteritur… .'

24 AEOJ, 1521, fol. l8^r : ‘… De pluribus et pluribus multis et diversis generibus experiri cepit, et maxime pluribus et diversis personis quorum nomina tacentur ad presens pro meliori eius consilio ut possent eorum vagas pudicas et honestas mulieres ad eorum iniquum propositum adducere, et dicto Jacobo postulantibus huiusmodi consilium in pertinuit….‘ The Florentine interest in the occult has not diminished over the centuries. Witness this advertisement in La Nazione, 18 December 1960: ‘Mocera, mago di Palermo, chiaroveggente, medium. Clientela entusiasta. Cura: amori, fidanzamenti, matrimoni, spiriti malati. Via Faenza, 8.'

25 It is noteworthy that four of the convicted sorcerers were not native Florentines, but came either from outlying areas (S. Miniato del Tedesco, Poppi, Scarperia), or from abroad (Turin).

26 AP, 3304, no pag. Consigli possessed ‘quosdam libros seu libellos nigromantie, cum quibus fecit varias incantationes demonum ad ponendum hodium vel amorem illicitum et carnalcm inter homines et mulieres ad petitionem et instantiam diversorum et plurium personarum de quarum nominibus se asseruit nullatenus recordari'.

27 AEOJ, 1521, fol. i8r : ‘Sua propria manu scripsit quamplures et plures libros dicte malcfice et matemathice artis inter alia continentes multas varias et diversas receptas et ordinationes adducendos hominum et mulierum hactenus pudicos amnios ad libidinem exercendam, et multas caracteres diversi generis et incantationes et coniurationes demonum et multas alias receptas malorum et medicaminum contra omnem hominum salutem et ad dictam nefandiximam artem maleficam et mathematicam pertinentes … .'

28 AEOJ, 1521, fol. 19^r : ‘Quod dicti libri debeant igne comburi ita quod dc eis unquam copia habeatur.’ AP, 4261, fol. 39^r: ‘Nee non dictus liber cum dictis immaginibus in dicto loco iustitie cunburetur, ita et taliter quod convertatur in pulvere, ut de eo nullo tempore aliqua copia haberi possit.'

29 Archivio di Stato di Siena, Concistoro, 1809, no. 71, 13 Tune [1383]. The inquisitor did not identify himself ('El vostro inquisitore manu propria’), but we may assume that this autograph letter was written by Fra Piero di ser Lippo, who a year later presided over the court which condemned Niccolo Consigli. This document was published by G. Sanesi, 'Un episodio d'eresia nel 1383', Bullettino senese di storia patria III (1896), 384-385. Sanesi concluded that this sect was a survival of the old Cathari heresy, a judgment which I do not accept.

30 ‘Sappiate che ame è venuta piena e chiara notitia come nel castcllo de Rugomagno se fanno e usano cose pessime, a vituperio de Dio e della sancta fede, a maleficiare e p[e]ricolare l'anime di cristiani, e ancho i loro corpi.’ Rugomagno (or Rigomagno) was a castle in the Valdichiana, 5 miles from Sinalunga, 30 miles southeast of Siena.

31 ‘E a[l]loro [Satan and Beelzebub] se fa sacrificio, e in esso s'adorano gl'idoli et chiamanosi tutti i prencepi delle tenebre, et per malitia e forza di questi se possono fare molti mali, intra'quali se fa con certe invocationi de demoni morire uuo huomo a stento, et fase venire l'uomo de di e de nocte venire a drieto ognc femina c molte altre effecti vituperosi et pericolosi, i quali non raconto per brevita.'

32 ‘Unde io con vostra volonta e conscientia facendove chiari delle cose sopradecte, con solepne e niaturo consiglo, ladove sara chiamato el vicario del vescovo, e tutti doctori maestri in thcologia e prelati, vorria stirpare l'ydolatria et la forza diabolica del paese. e la dove per qucsti s'e facto a lucifero incenso, et sacrificio de iniquitate, cosi a dio vorrevi io fare sacrificio de iustitia e d'equitate … .'

33 AEOJ, 751, fol. 25^v: ‘… Contra formam iuris statutorum et ordinamentorum Comunis Florentie et contra fidem captollicam et libertatem arbitrii et contra omnes bonos mores.’ Caterina was the only sorceress accused by a private individual; all other prosecutions were initiated by thejudicial authorities. The motivation for her prosecution was clearly stated: ‘Et ab ipso Paulo dicta domina Caterina … consecuta est quamplures quantitates pecunie adscendentes ad summam florenorum auri quingentorum et ultra et alias masscritias et res multas, ipsumque Paulum per dictam illicitam et abominabilem materiam quasi ad inopiam deduxit, in gravissimum dapnum et verecundiam dicti Pauli et suorum coniunctorum.'

34 AEOJ, 1521, fol. 18^r ; AP, 3204, no pag.

35 The dates are 1375, 1384, 1394, 1396, 1404, 1412, 1421, 1427.

36 During the tenure (1378-1382) of the most democratic government in Florence's history, there was a single reference to the practice of sorcery in a judicial document. This supplementary charge was included in the judgment of a man convicted of murder: 'Artem nigromantie et magie contra salutem hominum adinventam studuit et adiscere curavit, libros in dicta arte quot invenire potuit perquirendo et varia spcrimenta tentando et operando cum preiudicio quam plurimum hominum ut dictam negromantiam et artem magicam posset adiscere’ (ACP, 1255, fol. 101^r, 22 August 1380).

37 On the commune's resistance to the church's campaign against heresy before 1382, see M. Becker, ‘Florentine Politics and the Diffusion of Heresy in the Trecento', Speculum xxxiv (1959), 60-75. There are several references to heresy in the minutes of council meetings in the 1380s. See, for example, the comments of Ser Benedetto di ser Lando, 'Et quod provideatur super heresi fraticellorum ita et taliter quod de civitate evellatur' (Consulte e Pratiche, 22, fol. io8r , 22 October 1383); the statement of Filippo Ardinghelli, 'Sollicetentur rectores quod inquirant secrete de conventiculis qui fiunt seu fieri dicuntur per hereticos’ (ibid., 25, fol. 56^v, 7 April 1386); and the views expressed by the advisory colleges on 13 March 1388: ‘De fraticellis dixit quod episcopus qui habet baliam provideat', and ‘De fraticellis autem dixit quod mandentur rectores ut dent bracchium episcopo et inquisitori prout dixit lex nova, et episcopum foverent’ (ibid., 16, fols. 182^r-182^v, 13 March 1388). The government was also disturbed by the groups offlagellanti which gathered in the city. A law of December 1388 prohibited all gatherings and processions by frustatori or battuti (Provvisioni, 77, fol. 215^r).

38 Some judges may have regarded sorcery as a more serious crime than did others. Since the tenure of office for the judges and their associates was six months, there was a rapid turnover of personnel in the courts.

39 I have read hundreds of private letters written in this period from such sources as the Carte Del Bene, the Carte Strozziane, and the Conventi Soppressi. I have yet to find a single reference to sorcery in any of these private documents.

40 AEOJ, 1217, fol. 47^r; 751, fols. 25^r-26^r . The condemnation of Giovanna of Scarperia also credited her with succeeding in her efforts to seduce men (AEOJ, 2096, fols. 47^r∼47^v).

41 ‘Et quia non invenit dictum experimentum non esse verum, ulterius non probavit …’ (AEOJ, 1521, fol. 18^v). The courts also recognized that the practice of sorcery was frequently simulated, and that its objective was not to invoke evil spirits but to delude credulous individuals. There is no suggestion in Giovannino's condemnation that he possessed the power to transport money through the air by means of demons. The brothel keepers, Nanni and Taddea, were described as ‘simulatos sortilegos ac maleficos et diabolicos incantatores'.

42 Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze, Panciatichi, 158, fol. i48v: ‘Martedi a di xxv d'ottobre [1384], messer Jacopo de Sanghuniacci da Padova, podesta di Firenze, fecie ardire Nicolo di Lochio il quale la domenica dinanzi Maestro Pietro ser Lippi, inquisitore di Firenze, avea condanato in Santa Croce, presente il popolo, per eretico. Fune grande favelio per la citta, perche gia gran tempo per lo inquisitore simili cose non furono fatti in Firenze, e messer lo vescovo e la chericaria e molti dottori in decretali contrari a questa morte.’ The bishop of Florence was Angelo Acciaiuoli, who received the cardinal's hat in the following year.

43 Sanesi, ‘Un episodio d'eresia', Bull, seneseIII, 384-385: ‘Son venuti qui al mio vicario certi vostri cittadini con prieghi armati e con parole arroganti e non pare che intendano che costui porti penitenza del suo fallo.'

44 AEOJ, 748, fols. 36^r-36^v: ‘Item quia dicitur in ipsa accusatione quod deducta in ipsa accusatione fuerunt commissa et perpetrata contra fidem cactollicam, per quod concluditur et inferetur quod de contenta in dicta accusatione iurisdictio cognitio et decisio de iure spectat et pertinet solummodo ad iudicem ecclesiastichum et ad ipsum iudicem ecclesiastichum dicte cause cognitio et decisio debet remicti et alius ullo modo de ea se potest intromictere, et sic dicta accusatio tanquam male et inepte concepta non procedit quia iuris communis et statum similiter punitionem inceptat quod de iure non potest procedere.'

45 Nicolosa of Poppi was sentenced to be whipped through the streets and then sent to the Stinche for one year (AEOJ, 1217, fol.48^r). By petitioning for mercy to the Signoria, she obtained her release from jail: ‘Quod ipsa Niccolosa est pauper et in carceribus Stincarum … et quod ultra hoc fuit facta contra ipsam Niccolosam executio fustigationis…' (Provvisioni, 83, fols. 3o8r-3o8v). Jacopo of San Miniato suffered an identical penalty (AEOJ, 1521, ibl. i9r).Nanni and Taddea were mitred, whipped, and then expelled from the city with the warning that, if they returned, they would be burned at the stake (ACP, 2766, fol. 8^r).

46 AP, 4261, fol. 39^r.

47 ACP, 2011, no pag., 24 March 1396: ‘… Ut dictus magister Francischus inquisitus de tanto eius scelere culpis et delictis deinceps non valeat gloriari et eius pena et punitio omnibus aliis similia desiderantibus transeat in exemplum, cupiens ad hue benignis correctionibus ipsum magistrum Francischum gastigari et dirigi ad viam salutis, quod ducatur et duci debeat ad Stinchas et seu carceres comunis Florentie et in eis mictatur … hinc ad quatuor annos continuos et integros.…’ Maestro Francesco's entry into the precincts of the Stinche is recorded in the surviving documents of that institution (Archivio delle Stinche, 91, fol. 93^r , 24 March 1396).