The State and Its Enemies (Reflections on the Olga Togoeva’s Book “Kings and Witches”)

The recently published study by Olga Togoeva offers a new approach to the study of the phenomenon of demonology and witchcraft processes in Western Europe of the Middle Ages and Early Modern times. For the first time, the witch hunt is seen as a political phenomenon based on a especially secular concept of witchcraft. As a result, Olga Togoeva’s research not only reveals new facets of political culture, but also contributes to understanding the peculiarities of the process of building a monarchical state and its perception by contemporaries. The negative image of the royal court in treatises and mirrors as the “kingdom of the devil”, where “sorcerers and libertines rule”, reflects a radical change in the nature of the supreme secular power, from patrimonial to public law, where lawyers, jurists and administrators begin to occupy the first places at the throne to the detriment of the clergy, thus expressing his resentment. But the authorities themselves are beginning to actively use accusations of witchcraft and magical practices against their own political opponents. Finally, “inventing the enemy” and involving the broad masses of people in a “witch hunt” becomes an effective strategy in the hands of the authorities to maintain order and consolidate society.

demonology, witch hunt, political culture of the Middle Ages and early Modern times, monarchical state, Western Europe