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''The Witch-Cult in Western Europe'' by Margaret Murray was published in 1921, at a time when the influence and success of ''The Golden Bough'' by anthropologist James George Frazer was at its height. In those days Margaret Murray was celebrated in university circles as the expert on western witchcraft. In the period 1929-1968 she even wrote the article on witchcraft in the successive editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In 1962, her main work was reprinted by Oxford University Press. Her theory, also known as ''the witch-cult hypothesis'' suggests that the things told about witches in Europe were in fact based on a real existing pagan religion that worshiped a horned god. == Murray's theory == Murray's theory, as she explained in this book and the subsequent ''The God of the Witches'' (1931), consists of the following elements: * Until the 17th century there was a religion, much older than Christianity, which all over Western Europe had supporters both among ordinary people and the ruling classes. * Central to the worship stood a horned god with two faces, known to the Romans as Janus or Dianus. (This cult of Dianus was of the type James Frazer described in detail in “The Golden Bough”). * The horned god represented the cycle of seasons and harvests. It was believed that he died and periodically returned to life. * On earth, the horned god was represented by chosen human beings. There were some celebrities among them, such as William Rufus, Thomas Becket, Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais. They all died a tragic death as a ritual sacrifice to insure the resurrection of the god and the renewal of the earth. * In the villages the witches meetings were presided by the horned god. Pre-Christian observers of this events might have thought that these witches were worshiping the devil, when in reality they were celebrating the pre-Christian god Dianus. * The preservation of this ancient religion was entrusted to a variety of indigenous peoples, small in stature, who were driven out from their land with each new invasion. This would also explain the stories about fairies, gnomes and other ‘small people’. These creatures were very shy but were able to pass the knowledge of their religion to ordinary people. The witches were their pupils and thus the heirs of the ancient religion. * According to Murray, the (local) covens consisted of thirteen members: twelve ordinary men and women, and an officer. All members were required to hold a weekly meeting (named 'esbat' by Murray) and to attend the larger Sabbats. * There was a strict discipline in the covens, and whoever missed a meeting could be severely punished and was sometimes put to death. * The organization and structure were so good that Christianity had to wait until the Reformation before getting a stronger grip on the population. A blatant attack on the influential rival was needed, and that occurred with the great witch persecutions. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Witch-Cult in Western Europe」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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