1. Definition and Core Concept “The Vulgar Witch” refers to a witch figure characterized by:
Coarse, obscene, or grotesque behavior (vulgarity as deliberate transgression). Low social or moral standing (often peasant, outcast, or sexually deviant). Rejection of refined magic (uses bodily fluids, excrement, filth, or subversive rituals). Folk origin (contrasted with elite or ceremonial magic).
Vulgarity here functions as both an insult (from patriarchal or ecclesiastical authorities) and a badge of rebellious power (in feminist or countercultural reclamations).
2. Historical and Folkloric Roots a. European Witch Trials (15th–18th centuries) The Vulgar Witch
Trial records often depict witches as poor, elderly, marginalized women whose “vulgar” acts included:
Desecrating the Eucharist. Dancing naked, swearing, or engaging in lewd acts. Using “unclean” ingredients (toad parts, menstrual blood, urine).
The Malleus Maleficarum (1486) emphasizes witches’ carnal vulgarity as proof of diabolical pacts. Rejection of refined magic (uses bodily fluids, excrement,
b. Folk Magic (Cunning Folk vs. Witches)
While cunning folk used herbs and prayers, the “vulgar witch” in village lore:
Cursed neighbors with physical filth (e.g., milk turning to blood). Spoke in crude rhymes or nonsensical chants. Lived in squalor, often with familiars like rats or toads. milk turning to blood).
c. Literary Emergence
Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606) – The Weird Sisters blend vulgarity (fingers of birth-strangled babe, liver of blaspheming Jew) with prophetic power. Ben Jonson’s The Masque of Queens (1609) – Explicitly contrasts “vulgar witches” (grotesque hags) with heroic queens.