The worldview of the medieval Christian reader in terms of the existence, experience, and explanation of magic and supernatural events
Magic and witchcraft was not only something familiar to the medieval Christian reader, it was also a part of their lives. The belief in magic and magical powers dates back to the earliest recorded history; people from ancient times have been trying to achieve different goals using supernatural powers. Unlike modern people who tend to question the credibility of every fact, medieval people genuinely believed in the existence of magic and did not question it at all. For the British, magic is a part of their creation and it was related to the Gods since they believed in the “Age of Miracles”, during which all kinds of magic were possible. Hence, there are many elements that might appear odd to the contemporary reader, but would seem perfectly normal to a person from medieval times. For example, a reader from the XXI c. would likely question the possibility of transmutation occurring in “The Three Werewolves”, or the nutritious capability of the magical apples in “From the Voyage of Mael Duin”, in contrast to the medieval reader.
Medieval literature consists of the recorded stories that people used to tell each other most often. Most Celtic stories are told by Christian churches because many of the Celtic themes overlap with Christian beliefs such as the ability to survive fire, to breathe under water, to have power over nature, etc. – properties which are often attributed to saints. Those stories are also a representation of their customs, traditions, and habits. Many of these elements of story-telling are taken by the Christian Church and implemented in religious teachings. As a result there is a set of magical numbers reappearing in Christian readings (three, seven, forty, etc.) Furthermore, many biblical themes and references can also be found in medieval literature. For instance, in The Mabinogion: Branwen the Daughter of Llyr, the two half-brothers of the King Bendigeid Vran – Nissyen and Evnissyen – are reflections of Cain and Abel from the Bible; Grendel and his mother were descendants of Cain, which means that they were the demons of the Old Testament; Beowulf’s self-sacrificial actions when he fought off the evil are analogical to Jesus Christ’s selfless deed when he was crucified and through that act absorbed all of the human sins.
Medieval people were also gender-prejudiced when it came to magic and witchcraft – they had a particular attitude towards women. In medieval texts, magic is executed by both men and women but the representation of men and women using the supernatural forces is different. Depictions of magic and magicians tend to point towards the extremes: magic practitioners were either saviors or villains, saints or devils. Overall, what can be seen in medieval literature is a gradual villainization of feminine magic due to the stereotype that dictates that while men are stronger physically, women are more cunning. Hence, females were generally viewed as people who bring destruction. In medieval British literature, females were either depicted as seductresses who use their power to control men (Dido, Medea, Circe), old ugly hags who kill and eat children (Erictho), or beautiful women who eventually bring misfortune to whomever they were involved with (Branwen). On the other hand, most depicted heroes of medieval literature were males, and possessed highly-regarded qualities such as intelligence, physical and mental strength, bravery, etc. (Beowulf).
Even though magic was something common for a medieval person, it was not always regarded as something positive. Magic in medieval British literature was tightly linked with virtues such as glory, honor, loyalty, generosity, etc. In fact, people judged the use of magic based on the intention of the practitioner. For example, being dishonest and cheating is considered as a very negative trait; hence those who use magic in order to obtain something unfairly were despised whereas those who use magic with pure intent were not criticized. Since there is no Afterlife in the Celtic culture, people live on through the greatest deeds they have done during their lifetimes. For that reason medieval men were primarily concerned with earning their title as a great warrior so that they will be remembered later on, and they feared satirists who could easily and effortlessly destroy their name. During that period people had to overcome a lot of hardship to achieve and preserve fame, glory, good reputation, wealth, power, etc. in order to become a well-known individual of whom people sang. Hence, it is unfair for some to use supernatural powers as a shortcut. That is why the magic used in the cauldron (THE MABINOGION – Branwen the Daughter of Llyr) to revive people is acceptable – because the magical cauldron was something public – it had been a present for the King, its use was familiar to people, and it was being publicly used. In contrast, the magic used by Llwyd the bishop to enchant the town and mess with Manawyddan’s crops (THE MABINOGION – Manawyddan the Son of Llyr) is deemed as unacceptable because his intent was to take revenge using magic secretly – to cheat. Moreover, he ordered his underlings to specifically steal food, which was especially important in medieval times.
Magic and witchcraft in medieval times was also tightly connected to the power of the word. On the physical level, the practice of magic portrayed in medieval literature is often connected to the power of speech. For example, when dead people are resurrected by the magical cauldron (THE MABINOGION – Branwen the Daughter of Llyr) they lost their ability to speak; magic practitioners used elicit words to cast spells and enchant; oracles also spoke in a very specific way when making prophecies; etc. On a more elevated level, the emphasis falls on the values that a person holds. For example, when Beowulf proudly announces that he will save the kingdom from the demons’ ravages, he gave his word and this can be seen as an unbreakable bond between Beowulf and the monsters he fought against – that is Beowulf shall never find peace until he lives up to his word.
To sum up, during that period of time, the Christian church adopted and filtered a lot of information regarding magic in order to manipulate the readers’ concept of it. Despite the gap between medieval period and our 21st century, the literary works that the ages produce are still similar in their aim to preach the eternal values such as honor, courage, generosity, hospitality, etc.