They turne the Night into the Daie, and also drive the Light awai: due rappresentazioni del sabba nell’Inghilterra della prima età moderna

For more than three centuries (1450-1750), from one corner of continental Europe to the other, women and men accused of being the Devil’s initiates confessed to covering long distances, by flying, taking part in the Sabbat. In England, however, the belief in the nocturnal assembly of the so-called “Satan’s slaves” does not seem to have enjoyed the same widespread appreciation: this was due to the religious specificity of the island, where the Pope’s influence was limited and the Roman Inquisition absent. The witches’ meetings as described in English popular literature therefore have specific elements, peculiar features that this article essay aims to investigate by means of the analysis of a case study, the Lancashire witch-trial.