RESEARCH ARTICLE

Witches’ Herbs on Trial

Michael Ostling

Abstract

Although few accused early modern witches practised herbal healing, those herbs mentionedin witch-trial testimony provide a window onto popular medicine and magic. Analysis ofsixty-seven herbs from the Polish witch-trials shows that ‘witches’ herbs’ relate more closely tothe sacramental ‘blessed herbs’ of traditional Catholicism than to contemporaneous eliteherbalism.

Witchcraft and Herbcraft in Poland

What herbs did the early modern European witches use in their charms andenchantments, their healing salves, their love-philtres, and their poisons? Suchquestions no longer seem worth asking, for good reason: accused witches were rarelyherbalists. Despite a long-standing juridical and ecclesiastical tradition conflatingherbcraft with ‘witchcraft more broadly’ (Seitz 2011, 12; cf. Filotas 2005, 226 and 276;Adamczyk 2007, 151), a very small proportion of accused witches across Europe seem tohave been herbal healers in any sense, and an even smaller proportion came to trial as adirect result of their healing practices (Briggs 2001, 162–63; Martin and Miller 2008, 63).The Polish witch-trials conform to this general European trend: herbs appear in a smallproportion of trials, and rarely command the attention of magistrates. True, the verdictagainst one Dorota Pilecka explicitly declares that for ‘practising all sorts of witchcraftand enchantment with herbs’ she was to be burnt alive at the stake (Słomniki, 1674).1

However, the successful attempt by Apolonia Porwitka to escape a similar fate bycontrasting her herb-collecting to witchcraft is more typical: ‘I didn’t practise anything,just herbs, which I picked with other women and the apothecaries bought them fromme’(Kalisz, 1593). In Poland, as elsewhere, the myth of the persecuted female healer joins themyth of the midwife witch in the dustbin of history (Davidson 2008).Nevertheless it remains useful to examine the rare herbs that do appear in the records

of European witch-trials. In the historiography of medicine and of folk healing, such aprocedure can give a face and a name to the anonymous ‘herb woman’ complained of byDoreen Nagy (1998, 58), and can expand historical knowledge of healing practices beyondthe circles of learned physicians, apothecaries, and literate gentlewomen (Wear 2000,49–55; Wojciechowska 2000; Leong 2008; Laroche 2009; Lindemann 2010, 235–81). As weshall see, an analysis of witches’ herbs calls into question the too common assumptionthat folk healers ‘employed a similar range of ingredients’ as their elite literatecounterparts (Davies 2003, 110). The title of the present study is thus intended doubly.It puts the very notion of witches’ herbs on trial, by attending rigorously and exclusivelyto just those herbs that are recorded in witch-trials themselves. In contrast to a tradition

Folklore 125 (August 2014): 179–201http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.2014.890785

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of cataloguing ‘magical’ herbs in the expansive mode of De Gubernatis’s Mythologie desplantes (1879; cf. Wilson 2000, 108–10, 132–33 and 337–43), I attempt to address widequestions through a narrow and exclusive focus on botanicals recorded in the Polishwitch-trials. The data thus gathered tend to confirm the historiographical impressionthat witchcraft and herbcraft share little in common, although they also contribute moreconcrete insights, notably that accused Polish witches (and by extension early modernPolish women in general) preferred herbs sanctified by traditions of ecclesiasticalblessing to ‘magical’ herbs, however defined.Although I confine my analysis to the botanicals encountered in Polish witch-trials,

both the method here deployed and some of the conclusions reached could be fruitfullyexported westward. Consider, for example, the question of flight-ointment—the allegedsalve that, when smeared on a witch’s naked body or on a broomstick, helped her to fly tothe diabolical sabbat. In demonological speculation, such ointments were usually derivedfrom the rendered fat of murdered children, not infrequently combined with suchabominable substances as snakes, toads, or the blood of a red-haired man (ErroresGazariorum of 1437 in Kors and Peters 2001, 161; Institoris and Sprenger 2006, pt 2, quest.1, chap. 3; Del Rio 1633, bk 2, chap. 16; Chmielowski 1754–56, 3: 243). However, accordingto an alternative model pioneered by physicians and theorists of natural magic, theointment was composed of narcotic or hallucinogenic botanicals that could induce atrance full of imagined flight, feasts, and orgiastic sex. Early modern recipes for thepsychoactive flight-ointment vary, but they usually include mandrake, belladonna, andhenbane—all hallucinogens from the nightshade family well known to early modernmedical botany—not infrequently supplemented by magical herbs such as cinquefoil andsmallage (Della Porta 1585, bk 2, chap. 26; Weyer 1991, bk 3, chap. 17; Duńczewski 1759, 55;cf. Bever 2008, 120–40 for a recent defence of this psychobotanical model). All of theseherbs appear in the Polish witch-trials, but never in the context of a flight-ointment.Smallage might appear (the identity is uncertain) in a recipe for inducing abortion(see limoiza).2 Cinquefoil and henbane were used for love-magic (see piecpiers, bielen);and roots of the latter, as also mandrake or belladonna, were made into favour-attractingamulets (see bielen, pokrzyk). In contrast, where alleged flight-ointments werediscovered in the possession of accused Polish witches, these turned out to comprise theinnocuous herbs rozchodnik and boze drzewko cooked in butter or lard—still acommon home remedy for aches and pains in the early twentieth century (Paluch 1984,230; 1989, 112). And when accused Polish witches were obliged to confess, under torture,to using a flight-ointment, they pieced together its imagined ingredients from aninversionary appropriation of folk botanical lore owing nothing to Western demonologyor medical herbalism. Ointments could be made from the popular apotropaic piołun(Turek, 1652), or from herbs blessed in church and mixed with holy water (NowyWiśnicz,1688b), or, most intriguingly, from elderflowers (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688a), according to aconfession that drew creatively on the long-standing association of elder bushes withfairies or demons (see bez). The herbs occasionally reported in Polish witch-trials thusshed considerable light on the processes of folkloric bricolage entailed by witchcraftconfession in the context of judicial torture, complicating our understanding ofimportant questions in witchcraft historiography both of Poland and more generally.3

The catalogue comprising the second part of this article describes all botanicalmaterials mentioned, for any reason whatsoever, in a database of 260 witch-trials

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between 1509 and 1775 in the Polish half of the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania.4

This procedure generates a list of approximately sixty-seven named botanicals(approximate because of difficulties in identification: see, for example, pannej Maryjejziele). These ‘witches’ herbs’ are then compared against the same herbs as described inthe sixteenth-century to eighteenth-century Polish-language herbals, as well as practicalcompendia of an encyclopedic or almanac character. They are also compared against theethnobotanical folklore of nineteenth-century and twentieth-century Poland,and against comparative material from Western Europe and Russia.5 Juxtaposing thewitch-trial herbs with these other sources allows one to find both continuous traditionsand their absence.Unsurprisingly, Polish accused witches rarely confessed to using herbs for malefice or

diabolism (but see bez, limoiza, osina, piołun, pozłotka). Unexpectedly, herbs are alsorarely reported for healing (but see bylica, czosnek, dziewanna, piwonia, postrzał).Herbs were not infrequently used in love-magic (e.g. bez, bielen, koczanka, przytulia);but, ironically, accused witches most often confessed to using herbs apotropaically andcounter-magically—to protect themselves and their cattle from witchcraft, or to undobewitchment already suffered. These categories tend to blur into each other: whenmilk was filtered through pokrzywa, for example, this might protect it from magicaltheft, recover ‘profit’ already stolen, or constitute a ‘natural’ procedure for preventingspoilage (cf. czysciec, piołun, przestep). Both in contemporary folklore and in thetrial records, a single herb could be used for diverse and even contradictory ends(see especially bez, przestep), and one should not force a specious order upon them.Herbs sometimes advertised their effects through their shape, smell, or taste.

Early modern literary sources, modern folklore, and witch-trial testimony all listdziewieciornik as an aphrodisiac, presumably on account of its heart-shaped leaves.The leaves of kopytnik resemble hooves, suggesting its veterinary use, while the habitof the leaves of osina to tremble is central to a maleficent spell. Spiky or spiny plantsused apotropaically, such as mikołajek, mlec, and pokrzywa, were the botanicalequivalents of the scythes, nails, and axes used in apotropaic magic (for example,Chęciny, 1665b; Warta, 1679a; Szczekociny, 1706; cf. Kolberg 1961–2011, 7: 89; Moszyński1929–39, 2: secs 241–43; Lehr 1985, 66–67; Jaguś 2002, 68). A pungent scent or strong,unpleasant taste could suggest a similar apotropaic effect (see czosnek, gorczyca,piołun, rozchodnik, ruta). However, recorded uses are less consistent than one mightexpect from such a doctrine of signatures. Thus, while Spiczyński recommended pricklydziewiecsił to protect children from ‘the evil enchantments of old women’ (Spiczyński1542, chap. 100b), those old women themselves sometimes used the same herb forlove-magic. Other herbs advertised their magical functions by their common names;for example, przytulia (cuddler), łaskawiec (favour-maker), or ostudziec (seducer), allused in love-magic; or odczyn (undoer) to undo bewitchment. It is not always clearwhich came first, the name or the alleged effect: wrotycz does not really mean‘returner’, but the word resembles the verb nawrówić (to return, to restore) and the herbwas used to undo love-magic and to restore witch-stolen milk (cf. nawrot, and comparethe unidentified herb obratim recorded in love-magic rituals from seventeenth-centuryRussia [Ryan 1999, 276]). Names could also wander among species: dziewiecsił(nine-strengths) and its cognates attach to half a dozen herbs throughout Slavic

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and Germanic phytofolklore, and call to mind the famous ‘nine-herbs charm’ from thetenth-century Anglo-Saxon Lacnunga (Jolly 1996, 125–26).6

Despite such ancient echoes, the overlap between witch-trial herbs and the literarylearned tradition is surprisingly slight. An early version of the catalogue belowcontained nearly twice as many items as currently: sixty-three talismanic or apotropaicherbs from the early modern literary sources were excised because these herbs were notmentioned in the witch-trials. In the remainder of this section, I explore the implicationsof this relatively weak relation between witches’ herbs and literary traditions of magicalbotanicals.First, one must admit that the witch-trials sometimes confirm literary accounts. Both

genres agree that czartowe zebro promotes milk-yields, that czosnek protects againstwitchcraft, and that ruta encourages romantic love. Intriguingly, the witches of Poznańand Kalisz agreed with a late foreign grimoire (Sekrety białogłowskie; pseudo-Albertus1698) that bielen makes a good talisman. The abortifacient properties of carrot,controversially discussed by pharmaceutical historian John Riddle as a secret witch-herbsuppressed by the Catholic Church (1997, 51), receive confirmation from a trial inKobylin (see marchew). More frequently, however, trial-herbs find no correspondingliterary treatment (e.g. gorczyca, piołun, oczyna). Some witches’ herbs, such asczarnysz and robacznik, are so unfamiliar to the Polish learned tradition that theyremain unidentified.Very often, that learned tradition followed classical models with no basis in local lore.

One is not surprised to find the Mediterranean cebula zamorska (Urginea maritima L.,sea-squill) absent from the trials, despite its ancient apotropaic reputation (Marcin ofUrzędów 1595, 280; Syreniusz 1613, 865; cf. Weyer 1991, bk 5, chap. 21). But the same is trueof many herbs growing wild in Poland; such as dzięgiel (Angelica sylvestris L., angelica) orkoszyczko (Verbena officinalis L., vervain), both praised in the earlymodern Polish herbals fortheir apotropaic virtues (Spiczyński 1542, chap. 24b; Siennik 1568, 175 and 185; Marcin ofUrzędów 1595, 53; Syreniusz 1613, 90–95, 847 and 1250; Haur 1693, 455; Hellwig 1750, 49;Chmielowski 1754–56, 1: 646 and 3: 259; cf. Weyer 1991, bk 5, chap. 21). Other herbs, such asboze drzewko or bylica, find very brief, vague mention in the trials, which give noindication of their exalted position in elite herbalism and Polish folklore alike. Indeeddzwonki Panny Maryi (Hypericum perforatum L., St John’s wort)—perhaps the mostpopular anti-magical herb in Poland, as throughout Europe—might appear in just onetrial, and even this correlation depends on a somewhat doubtful identification(see pannej Maryjej ziele). To be sure, the silence of the trials in no way proves that agiven herb had no traditional uses in the early modern period: the trials provide afragmentary record, contingently preserved. Nevertheless, it seems clear thatmany dozensof herbs recommended in the literary tradition find no echo in the witch-trials becausethey were unknown to the majority of early modern Poles.In contrast, when one looks for correspondences between witches’ herbs and

folklore, one finds them in considerable abundance. With a few exceptions (e.g. nawrot,piecpiers, postrzał, przytulia), herbs found in the trials remain central to Polish folkbotanical practice in recent centuries. And the most frequent correspondence is that thewitches’ herbs are the same as those known from later sources to be blessed in church.Herbs are blessed on a number of occasions in traditional Polish Catholicism, but four

stand out: Palm Sunday (see brzoza; cf. Lehr 1985, 69–70); Corpus Christi and its octave

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(see biedrzeniec; cf. Szot-Radziszewska 2005, 187–88); and Saint John’s Eve, associatedthroughout Europe both with residual paganism and with the advent of Christianityannounced through John’s baptism of Jesus (see bylica). But from the twelfth centuryuntil today the most important herbal holiday has been 15 August, the Assumption of theVirgin Mary or Matka Boska Zielna, ‘Our Lady of the Herbs’ (Rostafiński 1922; Bracha 2000,177–78; Paluch 1984, 255–77; Szot-Radziszewska 2005, 189). In a homily justifying theherbal associations of this holiday, the Jesuit preacher Aleksander Lorencowic comparedthe Virgin herself with a ‘wreath of lovely herbs . . . , of wondrous beauty and aroma,that by these very herbs God was bound and lured into coming into the world’ (1671, 1:148). Lorencowic’s fellow Jesuit Benedykt Chmielowski explained that Christ’s ‘Most HolyMother, when laid to rest, was showered with flowers, so that each Year the Church ofGod blesses herbs, giving them power against witchcraft and devils’ (Chmielowski 1754–56, 3: 260).7 Polish post-Tridentine pastoral legislation allowed priests to bless herbs in sofar as these were blessed ‘not superstitiously, or for satanic purposes, [but] for the healthof spirit and body’ (Nasiorowski 1992, 203; cf. Bracha 2000, 189–90), and deep into thetwentieth century the wreaths or posies blessed at church on this feast day were fed tocattle and humans, burnt as incense, hung in doorways, and otherwise used in healing,exorcism, and protection against demons (Lehr 1985; Czyż 1993; Jaguś 2002, 69–70; Szot-Radziszewska 2005, 185–90).Although ethnobotanists have catalogued a great variety of herbs and plants thus

blessed in various regions of Poland—Adam Paluch notes 120 species blessed at theAssumption, and eighty at Corpus Christi or its octave (1984, 275–77)—most of thetraditionally popular blessed herbs are also found in the witch-trials. The cataloguebelow includes twenty-eight blessed herbs, of which seventeen are sufficientlywidely reported in later folklore to merit comparative discussion. Some of these(boze drzewko, bylica, czysciec, dziewanna, dzwonki panny Maryi, piwonia) alsoenjoy a high anti-demonic reputation in learned texts, but many others do not;barwinek, kopytnik, marchew, piołun, rozchodnik, and targownik are in no wayrelated to magical protection in early modern elite herbalism. Amulets or counter-magical remedies using biedrzeniec, brzoza, macierzanka, ruta, and wrotycz appearin the practical encyclopedic compendia of Jakub Kazimierz Haur and BenedyktChmielowski but not in the literary herbals proper, reinforcing an impression that theselater authors drew on ecclesiastical or proto-folkloric sources. In the trials, these herbsare often explicitly described as ‘blessed’ and used in traditional benevolent ways—forhealing, for protection against witchcraft, to encourage milk-production (e.g. barwinek,biedrzeniec, mikołajek). However, blessed herbs could have decidedly unorthodoxapplications as well: combined with holy water in a love-magic bath (Skrzynno, 1639);administered in beer as a test for demonic possession (Toruń, 1712); even allegedly usedin flight-ointment (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688b). Such inversionary redirection of sacramentalpower could lead to a witchcraft accusation and the stake: Dorota Pilecka came to trialafter she was observed gathering herbs to be blessed, not in the meadows, as was proper,but in the graveyard (Słomniki, 1674).Two conclusions seem warranted from the material gathered below and analysed

above. First, one must guard against the fallacy of misplaced concreteness: the botanicaltestimony of accused Polish witches reveals no underground tradition of phytother-apeutic lore, but rather a hodgepodge of remedies, rituals, and spells in which herbs

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often play a rather incidental part. Folk practice, in this instance, agreed with the clericalcommonplace that ‘there is power in words, stones, and herbs; great power in words, lessin stones and herbs’ (Bracha 2000, 173). A herb-gathering charm preparatory to bathingcattle against preternatural milk-theft illustrates this point:

Herb, allow yourself to be pickedI’ll wash the cows with confidence. (Opalenica, 1660b)

Herbs take their power from being picked before dawn (see biedrzeniec, bobownik,panny Mariey włoski), on the borders of fields (see barwinek), or from the rituals andprayers that accompany their application (see brzoza, olsza, proso, sosna, wrotycz).In one of the most elaborate rituals recorded in the Polish trials, the use of botanicalsto remove bewitchment from beer is entirely subordinated to other ingredients andactions—frankincense, myrrh, and gold blessed at three masses, multiple signings ofthe cross, and a long invocation to the Virgin Mary (see grab). Emphasis rests onsacred substances, on ritual actions, and on prayer, rather than on the properties(‘natural’ or ‘magical’) of the herbs themselves—so much so that the ‘various herbs’ usedoften remain unnamed and undescribed (Kraków, 1611; Praszka, 1665; Słomniki, 1674;Sandomierz, 1675; Lublin, 1678; Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688b; Lublin, 1698). Indeed, othermaterials could achieve the same effects as herbs: to protect milk against bewitchment,it could be filtered through herbs such as piołun or pokrzywa or wrotycz (Chęciny,1665a, 1665c; Szczerców, 1697; cf. Szot-Radziszewska 2005, 47), but also through ‘weeds’gathered from several gardens (Chęciny, 1665d). It could be filtered through blessedherbs (Chęciny, 1665c; cf. Niebrzegowska 2000, 101–103), but also through blessed cheeseor bread (Chęciny, 1665a; Poznań, 1549), or even through a stolen Eucharistic host(Lublin, 1644, 1664). More commonly still, accused witches (like everyone else) protectedtheir milk by sprinkling their cattle with holy water (Poznań, 1544b; Kalisz, 1613;Chęciny, 1665c; Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688b). Blessing was more salient than the botanicalproperties of herbs, which often feature primarily as vehicles for sacramental power.A second conclusion grows naturally from the first: early modern Polish herbcraft

owed little to elite medical herbalism. Nineteenth-century ethnobotanical historians,reacting to the Slavocentric particularism of some of their colleagues, argued thatPolish folk-herbal knowledge derived entirely from classical sources by way of monasticmedicine-gardens and Renaissance herbals (Berwiński 1984, 2: 74–90; Rostafiński 1896,2). The present article complicates this picture. I should not want to attempt to reinstatea strong demarcation between popular and elite medicine, after all the work that hasbeen done to dismantle that division in recent historiography (Gentilcore 2004). On thecontrary, I have argued elsewhere against over-neat divisions between popular‘superstition’ and elite ‘theology’ in the historiography of witchcraft (Ostling 2011,107–16); and the materials below demonstrate that some authors (especially Haur) couldbe intermediaries between classically derived medical herbalism and the counter-magicof the countryside. Nevertheless, where witches’ herbs most closely correspond toherbal traditions known independently of the witch-trials, the tradition in question isnot medical but ecclesiastical; witches’ herbs are often simply the herbs blessed inchurch. Thus one last irony: the ‘magic of the Medieval church’ (Thomas 1973, 27) andthe magic of women accused of diabolical apostasy from that church often prove to beone and the same.

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The Catalogue

Entries in this catalogue conform to the following rubric:

Early modern Polish common name (literal translation of this name, if significant):Latin binomial, English common name. Identification difficulties, if any.Lore: Contemporary (nineteenth-century to twenty-first-century) folk-medicinal uses, ifany (sources): main disorders treated.Other traditional uses (modern folkloric sources; early modern literary sources[cf. comparative non-Polish sources, if any]): quotations, explanations, details.Trial: Alleged uses according to witch-trial testimony (place and date of trial):quotations, explanations, details.

To conserve space, alleged properties of herbs are represented by symbols. Mosttextual sources are abbreviated (e.g. Chmielowski 1754–56, 3: 404 becomes CB 3.404).Witch-trials are cited by location and year (e.g. Poznań, 1544; Chęciny, 1665).

Key to Symbols

Beneficent: used for healing.Maleficent: used to destroy healthor property.Traditionally blessed in church.Associated with demons, fairies,witches, or paganism.Apotropaic: protects against witch-craft and misfortune. Compare .Talismanic: attracts friendship orfortune. Compare .Counter-magical: undoes maleficentmagic.Used to increase dairy production.Used to magically steal or spoilmilk and dairy products.Aphrodisiac: promotes lust and/ormarital love.Anaphrodisiac: inhibits lust, spoilsmarriage.Promotes pregnancy, eases childbirth.Abortifacient or contraceptive.Use unclear.

Abbreviations

Early modern Polish herbalismCP Crescentyn 1549 [composed c.1309]FS Falimirz 1534

MU Marcin of Urzędów 1595SH Spiczyński 1542RJ Rostafiński 1900 [after

fifteenth-century mss]SM Siennik 1568SS Syreniusz 1613

Early modern Polish practical guidesCB Chmielowski 1754–56DS Duńczewski 1759HC Hellwig 1750HJK Haur 1693

Nineteenth-century to twenty-first-centuryPolish ethnobotanyCL Czyż 1993FA Fischer 1937JI Jaguś 2002KO Kolberg 1961–2011KP Köhler 1993LU Lehr 1982LU2 Lehr 1985MK Moszyński 1929–39PA Paluch 1984SA Spólnik 1993SRE Szot-Radziszewska 2005

Comparative ethnobotanyRW Ryan 1999WDC Watts 2007WJ Weyer 1991 [1583]

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babka (old woman): Plantago major L.,greater plantain.Lore: ] (PA 25; JI 131; SRE 134): Inflam-mation, wounds.

(KO 7.129, 34.123).(HJK 455).

Trial: (Chęciny, 1665b).

barwinek: Vinca minor L., lesserperiwinkle.Lore: ] (PA 100; SRE 135): For kołtun, aPolish culture-bound disorder still some-times associated with witchcraft, mani-festing internally as general malaise andexternally in matted hair or dreadlocks.

(LU 140; PA 100–101; KP 79; SRE135).C (SS 319).Trial: (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688a): Gathered‘on the meadow, not on the field-border’—an attempt to deflect suspicion away fromthe magical practice of gathering herbs,soil, or dew from field borders to steal the‘profit’ of the fields. However, barwinekdoes not grow in meadows.

(Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688c): ‘I gatheredbarwinek to have it blessed, but notfor witchcraft, and I used it to cense mycattle on Thursdays . . . to have goodprofit from those cows’.

bez: Sambucus nigra L., elder (SS 1504), notlilac (Syringa spp.) as in contemporaryPolish.Lore: ] (PA 32; JI 131; SRE 142):Respiratory and digestive complaints,headaches, burns.

] (MK 2.257; KO 7.169, 9.143; LU2 67–68; SRE 48, 183): Misfortune, bewitchment,disease, or even an unwanted pregnancycan be ‘poured out’ at the base of an elderbush to be absorbed by its resident demon.

(Kolbuszewski 1895; KO 7.169, 15.153,17.155, 163, 34.183–84; MK 2.433; LU266–67; cf. WDC 129–33; Malecki 2004, 236):The Prussians and Samogitians are said to

worship a demon who makes its ‘homeunder Sambucus trees’. Similarly, innorthern Poland ‘concerning the elderbush they hold that some sort of strangeearthly fantazmata lives underneath it,which they call kraśni ludzie [gnomes] . . .And they aver, that these [gnomes] stealgrain from the cellars of the ungrateful,and carry it to those who do them honour’(Murinius 1606, 7).

(Stanisław of Skarbimierz c.1405 inOlszewski 2002, 188): ‘others do somethingwith elderberry, believing, that thanks tothis no enchantments can harm them’.Trial: k (Bełżyce, 1600): Troubled mar-riage repaired by ‘pouring out’ the maritalstrife under an elderberry bush.k (Turek, 1652): Troubled marriage to berepaired by removing a maleficent elderbush from near the home. Later in thesame trial: troubled marriage repaired byplucking elder boughs in the cemetery,reciting: ‘With the help of God, with thehelp of Our Lady Mary, I ask youelderberry . . . to get rid of the problem’.

(Poznań, 1611): Offerings of money andgrain under ‘three elder bushes’ to invokethe help of the ‘Szatan’ or ‘Latawiec’(incubus, house-demon) residing there;this bush also described as the tree uponwhich Judas hung himself.

(Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688a): Elderflowersallegedly ingredient in a flying-ointment.

(Nowe, c.1700): A witch met her devil-lover when he approached her from anelder bush.

biedrzeniec: Pimpinella saxifraga L., burnetsaxifrage.Lore: ] (PA 102; SRE 135): Wounds,digestive complaints, epidemic disease.

(PA 103; SRE 135).(CB 3.404).

Trial: (Chęciny, 1665c): Gathered onthe morning of Corpus Christi, along withdriakiew, czysciecz, and other blessed

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herbs, then boiled and fed to cattle; thedecoction used to wash cattle and thenpoured out on the road.

bielen, bielun, szelej, szalej (white herb,go-crazy herb): Both terms probablydenote Hyoscyamus niger L., henbane(SS 1364), although today bieluń denotesDatura stramonium L. (thorn-apple), whileszalej denotes Cicuta virosa L., cowbane(JI 136; MK 2.170).Lore: ] (PA 138; JI 136; SRE 149):Headache, toothache.

(DS 55 [cf. WJ 225–28]): Witches use‘various herbs harmful to the body andto understanding, such as szalej, lulek(Hyoscyamus niger L., henbane), sawina(Juniperus sabina L., savin juniper), blessedbylica and others’.Trial: k (Poznań, 1544a, as bieleń): withdziewieciorg, ruta, and piecpiers.(Kalisz, 1584, as szelej), with nawrot.(Kalisz, 1613, as bielony szelej).

bobownik: Veronica anagallis-aquatica L.,blue water-speedwell; possibly V. becca-bunga L., brooklime.Lore: ] (PA 153; SRE 155): Respiratorycomplaints, cholera.

(PA 153).Trial: k (Warta, 1679b): Combined withkoczanka,macierzanka, and the barks ofbrzoza, olsza, osika, and sosna, boiled inthree kettles of well-water drawn on aSaturday before sunrise, to improvemarital relations.

boze drzewko, panny Mariey drzewko(God’s little tree, the Virgin Mary’slittle tree): Artemisia abrotanum L.,southernwood.Lore:] (PA 74, 230; JI 131; SRE 137):Wounds,pains, headache, digestive complaints,gynaecological complaints, consumption.

(CL 138; LU2 71; PA 75–76; PK 64; KO19.110).

(SS 370; CB 3.259; HJK 470): Twocounter-magical recipes from HJK (455):1. Boil southernwood with krzyzownikand bathe the victim of bewitchment, thenmix this liquid with beer and give it to thevictim to imbibe.2. Combinewith ruta and krzyzownik, boilin vinegar; feed to and sprinkle on cattle.k (SS 370).

k (SS 370): Protects against marriage-spoiling bewitchment.Trial: ] (Chęciny, 1665c): Good for sleep.? (Wiśnicz Nowy, 1688a)—see rozchodnik.See also pannej Maryjej ziele.

brzoza: Betula spp., birch.Lore: ] (PA 52; JI 131; SRE 136–37): Pain,inflammation, rheumatism.

(FA 60–61; LU2 74; SRE 136; PA53–54 [cf. WDC 31–32]): Apotropaic Easter‘palms’ made from birch switches; cattlestruck with birch switches at first springpasturing to protect from malefice.Like lipa (Tilia spp., lime) and leszczyna(Corylus avellana L., hazel), birch is said tohave sheltered the Virgin Mary during theflight into Egypt.

(HJK 453, 472): To unbewitch animpotent man, make a broom of birch,red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa L.),and dyer’s greenweed (Genista tinctoria L.);‘let the bewitched patient urinate onthis broom or bunch of twigs, andthe bewitchment will disappear’. Tounbewitch a horse, cense it with birch,myrrh, frankincense, and cow-dung, thenride in silence to running water and washthe horse.Trial: (Poznań, 1611): Birch-brooms usedin a spell to bring thunder and hail on aneighbour’s fields.k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659) —see przytulia.k (Warta, 1679b)—see bobrownik.] (Warta, 1679b): A healing bathcomposed of ‘the birch-switches that youhang’ (probably blessed Easter palms)

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together with ‘marunka, spring andwinter rutka, cooked and boiled on aSaturday’.

bylica, beliczka: Artemisia vulgaris L.,mugwort.Lore: ] (PA 111; JI 132; SRE 138): Generaltonic, aches and pains, women’s disorders,consumption.

(PA 112; LU2 72; SRE 138).(PA 112; FS 1.9v; SH cap 1.1; SS 721–26;

HC 49; CB 3.259 [cf. RW 272–73; WJ 427;WDC 258–59]): ‘if mugwort is hung abovegates, doors, entryways, and windows,then witchcraft will do nothing to thathome, nor harm any person, who carriesthe herb on his person’. Moreover(MU 31–32), it ‘drives witches away fromthe cows in their stables’.

(DS 55; MU 31–32): A pagan herb,mugwort is dedicated to Artemis andassociated with midsummer bonfireswhere women dance and sing, ‘givingworship and prayer to the devil’.

(Czarownica 1714, 22): In contrast to theabove—‘houses, and the entranceways ofhouses, are decorated devoutly withmugwort from olden times, and garlandsworn in sign of celebration, according toScripture: “Many will rejoice at his [John’s]birth” [Luke 1:14]’. Cf. KO 7.128–30: Johnthe Baptist’s decapitated head fell ontomugwort, conferring healing power on theherb.C (CP 271; SS 721).

(SS 725).Trial: (Kalisz, 1613)—see czarnysz.] (Kalisz, 1616): With krzyzowe ziele,used to bathe children suffering fromconsumption.

czarnysz: Unidentified. Possibly whatSyreniusz calls czarnusza—that is Nigellasativa L. or N. arvensis L., blackseed (SS 479);possibly what is now called czarne ziele

(Pulsatilla pratensis Miller, small pasqueflower).Lore: If identified with P. pratensis:] (SRE 118): Pain-relief.

k (SRE 162).Trial: (Kalisz, 1613): Cattle washed ina decoction of czarnysz, oczyna, prosnykwiat, and byliczka to protect themagainst witchcraft.

(Kalisz, 1616): Boiled with mikołajek,piołun and zołty kwiatek; beer-brewingvessels washed in this decoction toprotect against spoiling or malefice. Forthe same purpose, from the same trial: adecoction of czarnysz and odczyn.

czartowe zebro, czarcie zebro, diabliziebro, czarcikes (devil’s rib, devil’sbite): Succisa pratensis Moench, devil’s-bitscabious.Lore: ] (SRE 120): Epidemic disease.

(FS 242v; SH 189D; MU 296; SS 885;CB 3.259).Trial: (Chęciny, 1665b): Gathered withdziewieciosił and other unnamed herbs;cattle washed with this mixture at thenew moon.

] (Chęciny, 1665b): To cure malefi-cent illness, bathe in ‘diabli ziebro’.

czosnek: Allium sativum L., garlic or A.vineale L., field garlic.Lore: ] (PA 30; JI 132; SRE 140): Generaltonic, esp. for colds and coughs; worms.

(LU2 66; PA 31; HJK 455 [cf. RW 273;WDC 161–62]).Trial: (Kalisz, 1580)—see gorczyca.] (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688b): A mixture ofgarlic, manure, pepper, and grease used totreat mouth sores in cattle.

czysciec, czysciecz (purgatory): Stachysspp.; esp. S. officinalis (L.) Trevis. ex Briq.,betony.Lore: ] (PA 110; JI 131): Respiratorycomplaints, headache.

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(KO 15.117; PK 76).(MU 53; SS 1250; CB 3.259 [cf. WJ 427;

WDC 258–59]).Trial: (Poznań, 1544b): Cattle washedin blessed betony and holy water to undo amilk-thieving enchantment.

(Kalisz, 1593): Blessed, withmikołajek, to protect beer.

(Chęciny, 1665c)—see biedrze-niec.

dab: Quercus spp., oak.Lore: ] (PA 58; JI 132; SRE 141): Generaltonic, skin disorders, toothache, menstrualdisorders.

(KO 27.60; FA 67; HJK 453 [cf. WDC269–70]): Solitary oaks associated withpaganism and the graves of the restlessdead; witches make men impotent withan oaken staff.

(CP 466; HJK 452, 456).(HJK 452): Two unbewitching recipes:

1. Combine oak leaves, powdered pinkcoral, seeds of wyżlin (Antirrhinum spp.,snapdragon), the herb czarcie łajno (Ferulaassafoetida L., asafoetida) in an oil ofdzwonki Panny Maryi.2. To reduce witchcraft-induced fever,drink vodka mixed with oak ashes, fern-root (see paproc), and blood from theleft ear of a puppy.Trial: (Warta, 1679b): A decoction of oakashes, piołun, and soil from an anthillused to unbewitch horses.

driakiew, dryakiew: Identity uncertain.From the Greek theriaca (hence ‘treacle’),driakiew can denote a composite panaceaor as many as twenty different herbalsimples. Likely candidates include Cen-taurea scabiosa L., greater knapweed;Scabiosa columbaria L., small scabious; orSuccissa pratensis Moench., devil’s-bitscabious (see czarcie zebro).Lore: None.

Trial: (Chęciny, 1665c)—see biedrze-niec.

dziewanna: Verbascum spp., especially V.densiflorum Bertol., dense-floweredmullein.Lore: ] (PA 77; JI 132; SRE 141): Generaltonic, burns, respiratory complaints.

(KO 19.120; PA 78).(CB 3.259; SH 100): A tincture of mullein

flowers protects ‘all who fear witchcraft’.: The chronicler Jan Długosz traced

the name of this herb to an alleged pre-Christian goddess Dziewanna, Slavicequivalent to Ceres; we also find a femaledevil named Dziewanna in the anonymousDevil’s Lawsuit (Postępek 1891, 97). However,Brückner has convincingly reversedthis etymology: Długosz named hisinvented pagan goddess after the herb(Brückner 1985, 41 and 227).Trial: ] (Kalisz 1613): A decoction ofdziewanna, szanta, macierzanka, andoczyna used to bathe children and thesick.

dziewieciornik, dziewieciorg (nine-herb): Probably Parnassia palustris L.,grass of Parnassus, possibly also spp. ofMarchantia or Eupatorium, or synonymouswith dziewiecsił (SRE 162). Ryan (RW 273)identifies the Russian cognate deviatil’nikwith Tanacetum boreale ( ¼ Tanacetumvulgaris L., tansy—see wrotycz).Lore: (SRE 162).k (SA 53; MU 136).

(MU 136; SS 591) when combined withpanny Mariey włoski.Trial: k (Poznań, 1544a)—see bielen.

dziewiecsił, dziewieciosił (ninestrengths): Probably Carlina acaulis L.,stemless carline thistle; or other spp. ofCarlina. However, cognates of the magicalname ‘nine-strengths’ attach to manyother plants in the Slavic region—for

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example, Inula helenium L., elecampane;Levisticum officinale Koch, lovage; Heracleumsphondylium L., common hogweed;Symphytum officinale L., comfrey. Thecognate German Neunkraft can refer toPetasites albus (L.) Gaertn., white butterbur;or Achillea millefolium L., yarrow (MK 2.171;PA 49; SRE 117; RW 273).Lore: ] (JI 132): Stomach-ache.(SH cap. 100b): Placed in the cradle with

urocznik (Bupleurum spp., hare’s ear—seealso łaskawiec) to protect young children‘from the evil enchantments of old womenand from other frights’.Trial: k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659)—see przy-tulia.(Chęciny, 1665b)—see czartowe zebro.

dzwonki Panny Maryi (Virgin Mary’slittle bells): Hypericum perforatum L., StJohn’s wort.Lore: ] (PA 33; JI 132; SRE 142): Gastroin-testinal complaints, respiratory com-plaints, jaundice, ‘good for everything’.

(CL 138; LU2 58–60; PA 35; SRE 182; KO19.120).

(KO 7.46–47; MK 2.256; LU2 58–60; PA35; SRE 46; HJK 455; CB 3.259; SS 828 [cf.WDC 341]): ‘it protects against witchcraft,enchantments, and satanic mischief,whence it is called fuga daemonium’.(HJK 452): Seeds of this herb, with wyżlin

(Antirrhinum spp., snapdragon), and grus-zyczka (Pyrola spp., wintergreen), mixedwith wine to counteract witchcraft. Seealso dab.C (SS 828).Trial: See panny Maryjej ziele

gorczyca: Sinapis alba L. or S. arvensis L.,white or field mustard.Lore: ] (JI 133; SRE 143): Pain-relief,flatulence, worms.Trial: (Poznań, 1544a): To preventmilk-theft, mark cattle with a cross ofmixed egg, honey, and mustard; protec-

tion lasts as long as the mustard is bitterand the honey sweet.

(Kalisz, 1580): Made into a paste withczosnek, mlecz and tar, rubbed on cows’horns while reciting: ‘Witches and witch-children, you won’t take away my tripleprofit [cream, whey, and milk] for you willstink disgustingly just like this mustardmixed with these other things’.

grab: Carpinus betulus L., hornbeam.]: None.Lore: None.Trial: (Poznań, 1544a): Hornbeamwood, with klon and wiez, shaped intocrosses and placed together with thrice-blessed frankincense, myrrh, and goldunder beer-vats to undo beer-spoilingmalefice. The woods appear to have beenchosen for the puns made possible by theirnames: ‘Maple, dispel [Klenie, odklin ],hornbeam, release [grabie, odgrab ], elm,untie [wiazie, odwięąż ] all corruption, allevil deeds from my home’.

grusza: Pyrus spp., pear.Lore: ] (PA 122; JI 133): Gastrointestinalcomplaints, burns.

(PA 123).Trial: ? (Wyszogród, 1703): Child-witch(aged ten) made multi-coloured mice frompear-leaves. Compare olsza.

imbir: Zingiber officinale Roxburgh, ginger.Lore: None.Trial: ] (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1662): Jaundicetreated with a decoction of imbir, pokr-zywa, and tatarskie ziele. The accusedwitch was also found to possess smallamounts of expensive, imported saffronand black pepper—marking her out as atleast a semi-professional cunning woman.

klon: Acer spp., maple.Lore: ] (JI 133): Toothache.Trial: (Poznań, 1544a)—see grab.

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koczanka, kocanka: Helichrysum arenar-ium (L.) Moench, sandy everlasting.Lore: ] (PA 132): Jaundice, gastrointesti-nal complaints.(MU 295).

Trial: k (Warta, 1679b)—see bobownik.

kopytnik (hoof-herb): Asarum europaeumL., asarabacca.Lore: ] (PA 135; JI 133; SRE 146–47):Respiratory complaints, headache,wounds, fever.

(KO 19.110; LU 140; PA 135; SRE 146).(KP 65; SRE 146).

Trial: (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688b): Mixedinto pancakes and fed to cattle for bettermilk.

krzyzowe ziele, krzyzownik (cross-herb): Probably Polygala vulgaris L., milk-wort; possibly Senecio vulgaris L., ground-sel; Alchemilla vulgaris L., ladies’ mantle; orHypericum perforatum L., St John’s wort (seedzwonki Panny Maryi).Lore: (KO 19.120).

(HJK 470)—see boze drzewko.Trial: ] (Kalisz, 1616)—see byliczka.

łaskawiec (gracious herb): Unidentified,possibly Bupleurum falcatum L. or B. long-ifolium L., hare’s ear.Lore: None (but see dziewiecsił).Trial: k (Praszka, 1665), with ostudziec.

lebiodka, lobiodka: Origanum vulgare L.,oregano, wild marjoram; or O. majorana L.,marjoram. See also maruna.Lore: ] (JI 134): Inflammation, diarrhoea,scabies.

(KO 119.120).(CB 3.259).

k (CP 474).Trial: k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659)—see przy-tulia.

lenek panny Maryi (Virgin Mary’s flax):Linaria vulgaris L., yellow toadflax.Lore: (LU 140).

(CB 3.259).Trial: See panny Maryjej ziele.

limoiza: Unidentified; possibly a folk-garbling of eleoselinum or helioselinum,thus Apium graveolens L., wild celery orsmallage.Lore: If identified with A. graveolens:

(SS 1078–79): ‘female quacks andcharlatans, pretending to be doctors’,give this herb to nursing mothers, causingthe milk to dry up instead of increase. ‘Butas is commonly said, where Satan himselfcan’t get something done, he sends atrickster or an old woman’.Trial: (Kobylin, 1616): ‘I gave maidens anherb, which they call limoiza, that spoilsthe foetus, so that they won’t bearchildren. To Zaleski’s pretty lover, I gavelimoiza, maruna biała, seed of marchew,and red roza. With these also I can destroythe foetus of whomever I want’.

macierzanka, maciezanka (littlemother): Thymus serpyllum L. and otherspp. of Thymus, thyme.Lore: ] (PA 62; JI 135; SRE 120, 149–50):Respiratory, digestive, heart, and gynae-cological complaints, consumption.

(LU2 68; PA 63; SRE 149).(PA 63;HJK455; CB 3.259; cf.WDC283–84).

C (MK 2.166; KP 77; RJ 1.289).Trial: ] (Kalisz, 1613)—see dziewanna.k (Warta, 1679b)—see bobownik.

marchew: Daucus carota L., garden orwild carrot.Lore: ] (PA 88; JI 134): Jaundice,wounds, bruises, ulcers, consumption.

(PA 88; KO 19.120).(Riddle 1997, 51).

Trial: (Kobylin, 1616)—see limoiza.

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maruna, marunka: Identity uncertain;probably Tanacetum parthenium (L.) Sch.Bip., feverfew; possibly Tanacetum vulgareL., tansy (see wrotycz); Chelidoniummajus L., celandine (see zołte kwiatek);or Origanum majorana L., marjoram (seelebiodka).Lore: k (SS 807).Trial: ] (Warta, 1679b)—see brzoza.(Kobylin, 1616)—see limoiza.

mikołajek: Eryngium campestre L., fielderyngo.Lore: (SS 681; CB 3.259 [cf. RW 277]).k (FS 68; SH cap. 108a; SS 682).Trial: (Kalisz, 1593)—see czysciec.

(Kalisz, 1616)—see czarnysz.k (Kalisz, 1616), with odczyn, in a bath.

mlec (milk-herb): Probably Sonchus spp.,sow thistle; possibly Taraxacum officinale F.H. Whigg., dandelion.Lore: If identified with T. offiicinale:] (PA 89; JI 134): Skin blemishes, asthma.Trial: (Kalisz, 1580)—see gorczyca.

nasiezrzał (look-at-each-other): Ophio-glossum vulgatum L., adder’s tongue.Lore: k (KO 19.200; KM 2.267; SA 53;SRE 118).Trial: k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659)—seeprzytulia.

nawrot (turner): Heliotropium europaeumL., European heliotrope.Lore: (MU 163).(SH 74G).

Trial: (Kalisz, 1584)—see bielen.

odczyn, oczyna (undoer) Anthyllis vul-neraria L., kidney vetch.Lore: ] (PA 151): Night terrors.Trial: ] (Kalisz, 1613)—see dziewanna.

(Kalisz, 1613)—see czarnysz.k (Kalisz, 1616)—see mikołajek.

olsza, olszyna: Alnus glutinosa L. or A.incana L., alder.Lore: ] (PA 64; JI 134; SRE 152–53):Aches and pains, wounds, colds, skinblemishes.

(PA 65).(FA 70): Home to devils and topielcy

(ghosts of the drowned).(PA 64–65; HJK 335): Wherever rooks

nest in alder trees ‘neither witchcraft norenchantment can cause harm’.Trial: k (Warta, 1679b)—see bobownik.(Szadek, 1649): Cheesecloth boiled next

to an alder tree during Easter mass,presumably as part of a milk-increaseritual.? (Płońsk, 1712): Accused witch allegedlycould turn olsza leaves into mice.Compare grusza.

osina, osika, osica: Populus tremula L.,aspen.Lore: (FA 73; MK 2.433, 531; SRE 153).

(FA 73; MK 2.433; cf. RW 276): Tremblesbecause, unlike the brzoza, the aspenfeared to bend down its branches to hideMary during the flight into Egypt.Trial: (Opalenica, 1660b)—see piołun.k (Skrzynno, 1639): A branch of aspenhung in the fireplace by a thread takenfrom the witch’s underwear, so that theman she loved ‘would yearn for me’.k (Warta, 1679b)—see bobownik.

(Poznań, 1544a): Let the lover be ‘asbitter to her, as this this aspen is bitter’.

(Poznań, 1544a): Soil from the victim’sfootprint buried under the fireplace andcovered with aspen-wood: ‘Let her trem-ble, just as this aspen trembled when itstill had leaves’ (cf. RW 187 for a similarRussian spell).

ostudziec (seducer): Unidentified.Lore: None.Trial: k (Praszka, 1665), with łaskawiec.

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pannej Maryjej ziele (Virgin Mary’sherb): Unidentified; possibilities includedzwonki panny Maryi, lenek pannyMaryi; panny Mariey drzewko, orpanny Mariey włoski.Lore: See herbs listed above.Trial: ] (Szczerców, 1697): To heal abewitched hand, rub it with ‘a herb, itgrows near the brewery, the Virgin Mary’sherb’.

panny Mariey drzewko (Virgin Mary’slittle tree)—see boze drzewko.

panny Mariey włoski (Virgin Mary’shair): Identity uncertain. Probably Asple-nium ruta-muraria L., wall rue; possibly A.trichomanes L., maidenhair spleenwort,Adiantum capillus-veneris L., maidenhairfern, or even Trifolium arvense L., fieldclover (see targownik).Lore: (HJK 455): Must be collected beforedawn and eaten raw.

(SS 591) in combination with dziewie-ciornik.Trial: See panny Maryjej ziele.

paproc: Dryopteris filix-mas (L.) Schott.,male fern.Lore: ] (SRE 163): Worms.(SS 1524).

(HJK 454–55)—see dab.Trial: (Poznań, 1549): Thrown under avat of bewitched beer, causing the vat toburst and reveal the source of theenchantment—buried human bones.

piecpiers, pieciornik (five breast, fiveherb): Potentilla reptans L., creeping cin-quefoil; possibly also P. erecta (L.) Rausch.,common tormentil.Lore: (SH 162N).C (SS 296).Trial: k (Poznań, 1544a)—see bielen.

piołun: Artemisia absinthium L.,wormwood.Lore: ] (PA 26–27; JI 131; SRE 137):Digestive complaints, headaches, bruises,fever.

(CL 138; LU2 72; PA 28).(PA 28).

k (SS 355, 455).Trial: (Kalisz, 1616)—see czarnysz.

(Opalenica, 1660b): Planted in thegarden together with a staff of osina, toprotect cattle from milk-theft.

(Chęciny, 1665c): If the milk of one’scattle spoils, ‘take cow manure and urineand put it in an eggshell, put wormwood inanother shell, rinse a cheesecloth andpour [the contents of the shell] onto it, itwill stop spoiling’ (cf. a very similar spellusing wrotycz).

(Warta, 1679b)—see dab.? (Turek, 1652): Allegedly gathered atPentecost for flight-ointment, althoughthis is unclear. Also sprinkled on hay—formalefice?

piwonia: Paeonia offininalis L., peony.Lore: ] (PA 149; JI 135): Haemorrhage,women’s disorders, stomach-ache, ulcers

(PA 149; KO 19.110).(SH cap. 161h; MU 758; SS 786–87; CB

3.260; HC 49 [cf. WDC 292]): A wine-tincture of piwonia and bylica ‘chasesaway witchcraft and all enchantments’.(SS 788).

Trial: ] (Lublin, 1678): In combinationwith hartshorn, to heal children ofunspecified illness.

pokrzyk (screamer): Properly Mandragoraofficinarum L., mandrake. However, man-drake does not grow in Poland, and boththe term and the folklore attaching to M.officinarum have been applied to localherbs, usually Atropa belladonna L., deadlynightshade (Waniakowa 2007). See alsoprzestep.

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Lore: (RJ 1.810): A fifteenth-centurymedical manuscript glosses mandragora as‘nyeskrzczenecz’ (unbaptised child), a termused later to denote witches’milk-stealingfamiliar demons (Ostling 2011, 201–208;cf. Wijaczka 2007, 246–48 for a Prussianexample of a mandrake root kept as atreasure-attracting familiar). See alsoprzestep.

(MU 201; SS 1378; FS I.86v-87 [cf. WDK102 and 238–41]): Pokrzyk is associatedwith ‘magic-using women and the oldwomen who associate with devils’.(FS I.86v-87; MU 201; SS 1378 [cf. WJ 5.22;

Della Porta 1585, 2.5]): ‘There exists astupid supposition among the folk, thatthe roots of pokrzyk grow in the shape of aperson . . . And they are so convinced ofthis by tricksters and mountebanks, thatthey cannot be persuaded otherwise:paying dearly for those pokrzyki, sold bythose same [mountebanks], which theybuy for witchcraft and enchantment’.Trial: (Tymbark, 1509): An accusedmale witch swore that neither he nor hiswife had ever used ‘herba mandragoraealias pokrzyk’ for ‘medicine or malefice’.

(Kalisz, 1593): The executioner’s wifedenounced as a witch who owns a pokrzykroot.(Lublin, 1643): Sold as a luck-charm to

gamblers.

pokrzywa: Urtica dioica L. or U. urens L.,stinging nettle.Lore:] (PA 45; SRE 154–55): Rheumatism,colds.

(PA 47).(MK 2.257; LU2 65; PA 47; cf. RW 275;

WDC 263–66 and 339).(LU2 65).

k (SH 254F; MU 314).(SRE 47, 155; cf. WDC 263–66 and 339).

Trial: (Szczerców, 1697): Milk filteredthrough nettle ‘to keep it from spoiling’.

(Poznań, 1549): Milk unbewitched byadding beeswax, blessed bread, and nettlethat had grown through a fence.] (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1662)—see imbir.

postrzał (lumbago): Solidago virgaurea L.,goldenrod.Lore: None.Trial:] (Poznań, 1544b): To cure back painone should wash in a decoction of thisherb.

pozłotka (golden-flower): Unidentified.The common name is now applied toEschscholzia californica Cham., Californiapoppy, but this cannot have been true ineighteenth-century Poland.Lore: None.Trial: (Płońsk, 1706): Gathered from themanor-fields for maleficent or perhapsmilk-stealing purposes.

prosny kwiat: Identity uncertain; poss-ibly the flower of proso or of wróble proso(Lithospermum arvense L., field gromwell).Lore: If identified with L. arvense:

(CB 3.259).Trial: (Kalisz, 1613)—see czarnysz.

proso: Panicum miliaceum L., millet.Lore: None.Trial: (Kalisz, 1593): To remove bewitch-ment from the distillation of vodka, washvessels with boiled millet, a shuttlecock,and a spoon while reciting a long prayer/spell to the Virgin Mary.

przestep, postep, białe zioło (crime-herb, misdeed-herb; white herb): Bryoniaalba L., white bryony.Lore: ]: (PA 151; JI 135): Hernias, coughs.

(MK 2.265; LU2 62–63; PA 152; KO7.78, 118–19 [cf. WDC 418]): Witches bathethe root of this herb in milk; it draws themilk from neighbours’ cattle but also frommice, cats, rabbits, and other vermin.

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(KO 7.78; LU2 63; JI 67; SRE 155).(JI 67; SRE 155; HJK 383; CB 3.259

[cf. WJ 427]).(LU2 63–64; SRE 46–47).

Trial: (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1688c, as ‘białezioło’): Used to promote souring of milkwithout spoilage.

(Przecław, 1675): The ‘devil’ allegedlyboiled in holy water by an accused witchto repair her witch-spoiled beer-mashmight also have been this herb.

przytulia (cuddler): Galium spp., probablyG. verum L., lady’s bedstraw.Lore: None.Trial: k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659): A love-magic bath was decocted from przytulia,sancta (szanta), nasiezrał, dziewiecsił,lebiodka, ruta, and a tar-water distillateof brzoza.

robacznik ziele (bug herb): Unidentified.Lore: None.Trial: (Opalenica, 1652): With a powderof horse bones, used to spoil beer.

roza: Rosa spp., esp. Rosa canina L., dogrose.Lore: ] (PA 94; SRE 120): Gynaecologicalcomplaints, skin diseases, rashes.

(PA 95).(MK 2.257).

Trial: (Kobylin, 1616)—see limoiza.

rozchodnik (disperser): Sedum acre L.,biting stonecrop.Lore: ] (PA 94; Paluch 1989, 112; JI 135;SRE 156): Wounds, sores, bruises, sorethroat, cough, headache.

(LU2 68; PA 94; KP 75; KO 19.110).(SRE 156).(KP 75).

Trial: ? (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1662): An ointmentof this herb mixed with butter was foundin the home of an accused witch andpresented in court as evidence.

? (Wiśnicz Nowy, 1688a): Kept in a jar withboze drzewko by an accused witch.

ruta: Ruta graveolens L., rue.Lore:] (PA 158; SRE 157): Heart problems,menstrual problems, respiratory pro-blems, ague.

(KO 19.110, 120; LU 140; PA 158).(PA 158; SRE 157; SS 533; HJK 455; CB

3.259; cf. WDC 331–32).(SM 157b; HJK 470)—see boze

drzewko.k (MU 270; SS 529; HJK 437).

(CP 474; MU 276; SS 529).Trial: ] (Warta, 1679b)—see brzoza.k (Poznań, 1544a)—see bielen.k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659)—see przytulia.

smłod, smloth: Identity uncertain;probably Peucedanum cervaria Lap., much-good; possibly P. officinale L. or even Daucuscarota L., wild carrot (see marchew).Syreniusz (SS 146–49) identifies smłódwith zebrzyca, which see.Lore: If identified with P. officinale:C (SS 197).Trial: (Poznań, 1559): Used withzebrzyca (but see identification issuesabove) to protect the brewing of meadagainst witchcraft.

sosna: Pinus spp., pine.Lore: ] (PA 67; JI 135; SRE 158):Respiratory complaints.Trial: (Kalisz, 1616): To exorcise kłobuchy(evil spirits) from children, small pieces ofpinewood pressed to the child’s side whilereciting ‘kłobuch, kłobuch, jump out, in theName of the Father and the Son and theHoly Spirit, come out’.k (Warta, 1679b)—see bobrownik.

szanta, sancta: Marrubium vulgare L.,white horehound.Lore: ] (PA 161; JI 136): Respiratorycomplaints, consumption.

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(CB 3.259; HJK 448 [cf. WDC 421]):Censing children with this herb andwrotycz ‘drives away night-demons [noc-nice ] and every other misfortune’.(PA 161).

Trial: ] (Kalisz, 1613)—see dziewanna.k (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1659)—see przytulia.

targownik: Trifolium montanum L., moun-tain clover; possibly also T. arvense L., fieldclover.Lore: ] (PA 132; JI 133): Gastrointestinalcomplaints, diarrhoea, coughs.

(LU 140; SRE 126, 146; KO 19.110).Trial: ? (Kalisz, 1613): Use not specified.

tatarak, tatarskie ziele (Tatar’s herb):Acorus calamus L., sweet flag.Lore: ] (PA 96; JI 136): Skin problems,gastrointestinal complaints, menstrualdisorders, jaundice.k (SS 21).Trial: ] (Nowy Wiśnicz, 1662)—see imbir.

wiez: Ulmus spp., elm.Lore: None.Trial: (Poznań, 1544a)—see grab.

wrotycz,wroticzka (returner): Tanacetumvulgare L., tansy.Lore: ] (PA 97; SRE 160): General tonic,stomach complaints, worms.

(PA 97; SRE 160; KO 19.110).(KP 77).

(HJK 448)—see szanta.(SH cap. 247b; SM 179): Undoes the

aphrodisiac effects of lubczyk (‘friendlyherb’, Levisticum officinale Koch, lovage).Trial: (Chęciny, 1665a): To recoverwitch-stolen milk, steal wood from thestables and manure from the cattle of themilk-stealing witch; combine manure withmilk and yeast in an eggshell, while boilinga cheesecloth over a fire made from thestolen wood. Filter the mixture throughthe cheesecloth, then add tansy, reciting:‘By the Virgin Mary’s power and the powerof all the Saints, I take back my profit, thatit should return [nawrócił ] to me just asthis wrotycz returns’. Cf. piołun.

zebrzyca: Possibly Seseli annuum L., seseli;or Bupleurum fruticosum L., shrubby hare’sear; but see smłod.Lore: If identified with B. fruticosum:C (SS 148).Trial: (Poznań, 1559)—see smłod.

zołty kwiatek: Probably Chelidonium majusL., celandine.Lore: ] (PA 79; JI 133; SRE 143): Skinblemishes, jaundice, worms.

(PA 80).Trial: (Kalisz, 1616)—see czarnysz.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Bill Burley and Erik Gotfredsen for crucial advice ontaxonomy. This study is dedicated to the memory of Dino Garcia-Rossi, botanistextraordinaire.

Notes1 Polish witch-trials are cited by place and year. Translations from the Polish witch-trials are my own, with

the exception of the Turek trial of 1652, for which see Wyporska 2003. I have amended her translationvery slightly.

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2 Terms in bold cross-reference to the alphabetically ordered catalogue of Polish ‘witches’ herbs’comprising the second part of this article.

3 Attention to the vernacular voices of actual accused witches also rebuts semi-scholarly tomes such asWitchcraft Medicine and The Herbal Lore of Wise Women (Müller-Ebeling et al. 2003; Storl 2012). The centralcontention of such studies—that they present an underground gynocentric herbal lore—is deeply ironic:their sources are learned medical doctors such as Della Porta and Weyer, usually writing in Latin.

4 For details of this database and its limitations, see Ostling 2011; thepresent studyadds six trials not consideredin that earlier work. Herbs or other botanicals were found in thirty-seven of the 260 trials surveyed.

5 The main sources used, in each category, are listed at the beginning of the catalogue. An attempt tocompare ‘witches’ herbs’ to modern clinically tested herbal remedies (Ulbricht 2010) was abandoned:there were just too few points of comparison to make the exercise worthwhile.

6 Similarly, czartopłoch [‘demonifuge’] and its cognates denote any number of prickly or thorny botanicalsamong the Slavs, including mikołajek and dziewiecsił (Moszyński 1929–39, vol. 2, sec. 241; Ryan 1999,273). Although Chmielowski recommends czartopłoch against demons and witchcraft (1754–56, vol. 3,259), the term does not appear in the trials.

7 Mary also often figures in the etiological myths explaining the healing powers of many herbs. Thisaccounts in part for common herbal names such as ‘Virgin Mary’s bells’, ‘Virgin Mary’s hair’, ‘MotherMary’s slippers’, and so forth (Szot-Radziszewska 2005, 108–10 and 121; and see pannej Maryjej ziele).

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Biographical Note

Michael Ostling has taught or studied in Poland, Canada, the United States, and Australia, wherehe is currently at work on a history of goblins and fairies. He is the author of Between the Deviland the Host: Imagining Witchcraft in Early Modern Poland (Oxford University Press, 2011).

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