Enchanted: The History of Magic & Witchcraft

In 1575 inquisitors in northern Italy discovered the benandanti, a band of self-professed spiritual warriors who claimed to send their spirits forth in their sleep to engage in ritual night battles to defend the season's harvest from witches. In this episode, I bring you the stories of two men prosecuted by the Inquisition for their witch-fighting ways. When records obscure reality, who can find the truth?Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.Episode sourcesFor more on the Malleus Maleficarum and witch hunting on the European continent, check out The Hammer.Give to the Italian Red Cross to help victims of the Emilia-Romagna floods: English: https://dona.cri.it/sostienici/~my-donation Italiano: https://dona.cri.it/alluvione-emiliaromagna/~mia-donazione Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

Corinne is in Italy for the summer and has brought some of the sounds and stories of the Tuscan city of Lucca to Enchanted. In this episode, we explore the legends of saints and devils, the portal to Hell in one of Lucca's churches, and Lucida Mansi, Lucca's most famous ghost. In a city that's existed since the third century BCE, aren't there bound to be a few mysteries? Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet. Episode sources Give to the Italian Red Cross to help victims of the Emilia-Romagna floods:  English: https://dona.cri.it/sostienici/~my-donation  Italiano: https://dona.cri.it/alluvione-emiliaromagna/~mia-donazione  Listen to Enchanted's season two episode, "A Desirable Disaster, " for more stories from medieval Lucca. Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

Over the centuries, stories of the Pythia have been collected in texts devoted to myth, poetry, philosophy, history, and political science. In this episode, we explore the story of the Oracle of Delphi, her prophecies, and attempts by modern researchers to explain the oracle’s gift. Who was this priestess, and what power did she hold over the ancient Mediterranean world? Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.   Episode sources  Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

In an era shaken to its core by dramatic political and social change, a nation wracked by war and looming economic disaster looked for a villain to blame. In Russia, on the eve of the October Revolution, that villain was the charismatic holy man who had seemingly bewitched the tsar and the royal family. In this episode, we explore the life and the many deaths of Grigori Rasputin. Was he a spiritual guide, a faith healer, or a wielder of occult forces?  Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.   Episode sources  Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

Before Salem came Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford. Thirty years before the famous witch trials of 1692, Connecticut became the first colony in New England to execute a convicted witch. In this episode, we explore the stories of New England's earliest convicted witches and the modern legislation that seeks to exonerate them. When injustice is clear, what do we owe the past?  Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with the voice talents of Jack Krause and Lenny Scovel and original music by Purple Planet.    Episode sources  Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

In Renaissance Italy, a young widow must hold herself, her family, and her lands together to survive. The answers may lie in alchemy. In this episode, we explore the life and experiments of Caterina Sforza, the Tigress of Forlì.    Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.  To hear more about the history of alchemy, check out Enchanted's "Philosopher's Stone Trilogy": A Flower of the Fire, The Fisher King, and Beyond Expression Bright.  Episode sources  Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

In the era of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, the real-life Cardinal Richelieu must solve a bizarre mystery: the demonic possessions of the Ursuline nuns of Loudun, who have accused the parish priest of sorcery. In this episode, we explore the trial of Urbain Grandier and the possessions at Loudun. What happens when desire becomes obsession?  Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.  For more on the Loudun affair, check out Michel de Certeau's The Possession at Loudun.  To hear more on religious tensions in early modern France, check out Episode 23: The Edges of Civilization.  Episode sources  Support the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

On 30 January 1540, the Mexican Inquisition's trial of Pedro Ruiz Calderón began in New Spain. Calderón was a priest accused of using magic to find hidden gold, but what if that's exactly what a Spanish colonist was supposed to do?Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with the voice talent of Jack Krause and original music by Purple Planet.For more on Fray Juan de Zumárraga and the trial of Pedro Ruiz Calderón, check out Richard E. Greenleaf's Zumárraga and the Mexican Inquisition: 1536–1543 and John F. Chuchiak IV's The Inquisition in New Spain, 1536–1820.To hear more on heresy and sorcery trials in Latin America, check out Episode 29: The Good Angel.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

In 2013 Icelandic officials ceased construction on a planned roadway. The project was halted for environmental reasons but also because petitioners argued it would disturb the natural habitat of Iceland’s elves. In this episode, we examine three stories of the Yuletide habits of Iceland’s elves. Who's ready for an elf party?Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.To hear more on magic in Scandinavian lore, check out Runes & Songs.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod

The tumultuous politics of the late Roman Republic gave rise to a truly terrifying figure in Latin literature: the hideous and necromantic Roman witch. In this spooky season three finale, we meet Horace's Canidia and Lucan's Erictho.  Poison, blood, and prophecies from the undead: what else could you ask for in ancient Rome?Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.To hear Enchanted's episode on the goddesses of magic in ancient Greece, check out Love is a Curse, and for more on love, infidelity, and magic in ancient Rome, see Obsequium.Episode sourcesSupport the showEnchantedPodcast.netFacebook/enchantedpodcastInstagram/enchantedpodcastTumblr/enchantedpodcastTwitter/enchantedpod