Embracing their sexuality in such a repressed world would absolutely have been controversial. In this way, the broom highlighted what a woman supposedly should be, and what she shouldn’t. Witches were not necessarily magical, but their broomsticks appear to have been highly symbolic as both phallic images and signs of “proper” behavior, which is to say, keeping the home clean in the eyes of the patriarchy. Here, though, the implication of the broomsticks in particular may have more of a sexual origin. All that can be said for certain, with this particular image in mind, is that the riders are mounted in positions that will be very familiar to those who have any knowledge of witch-related literature. This appears to be the earliest known depiction of women riding on broomsticks, but the mystical and magical connotations are less clear. Martin Le Franc’s “Le Champion des Dames,” via Wikimedia Commons The book depicts two women who don’t appear to need any such champion: The topmost figure rides upon what is clearly a broomstick, while the women below is mounted on a length of wood, though not one that can really be definitively seen as a broomstick. In 1451, Martin Le Franc published Le Champion des Dames. Witches, however, have seemingly been flying on the latter models for a very long time. Though we continue to use brooms to sweep our homes today, many of them are not of the traditional wooden design. How Far Back Does the Link to Witches and Brooms Go? A “besom,” over the years, has been defined as an unclean, unpleasant or rude woman or girl in Scotland, and all of these traits, along with broomsticks, remain associated with witches in popular culture today. The trusty broomstick has long been a tool in our arsenal when it comes to doing just that, and as History reports, the word broom (a plant that was often used for sweeping) was derived from the word besom. Needless to say, the development of human homes, houses, and habitats would have been rather closely followed by the development of ways to keep them clean. The connection between seemingly malevolent magic and brooms, however, seems to lead back to a certain ritual of paganism, along with various other activities witches supposedly indulged in. In the absence of a witchcraft charge, it’s safe to assume that Boleyn was never seen flying through the skies on a broomstick. Henry, presumably, simply lost interest in their relationship when no heir was produced, but it was a convenient excuse to have. The threat, supposedly, was more subtle and insidious than that.Īccording to the BBC, Anne Boleyn was suspected of witchcraft because she allegedly “charmed” the infamous King Henry VIII using magic. The fact was, those accused of witchcraft didn’t flit around on broomsticks in long, flowing robes. What exactly had the “witches” done wrong? In an age of superstition, fear, and suspicion, surely nothing. Their indeterminate crimes were pardoned and money given to their families in 1711. During the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692, for instance, colonial Massachusetts was rocked by a wave of vitriol, misguided terror, and hatred that saw 19 people condemned and hanged. Historically, witches have been a source of much fear and prosecution. Presuming that magical peoples of legend could enchant other objects and use them to fly, though, why would they select broomsticks in particular? The reason, it seems, is that broomsticks have similar pagan roots to witches themselves! The Prosecution of Witches In the Harry Potter series, witches and wizards even play the now-iconic fictional sport of Quidditch on brooms. Then, of course, there’s the traditional witchy mode of transport: the broomstick.īroom flight has long been associated with witches. The thing about these varied takes on witches, however, is just how much they all have in common: long robes, pointed hats, magic wands, and general malevolence. Witches are common stars of all manner of media, from books to TV shows and from movies to Halloween costumes.
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