The silence of the night interrupted: Diana and her company of women according to Bishop Burchard of Worms. Considerations on the practical usefulness of the Corrector sive medicus

Abstract

This paper focuses on Bishop Burchard of Worms' view of superstitions, which is formulated in his work known as Decretum written in the early 11th century. The rare times he refers to the pagan goddess Diana in his Liber XIX, also known as Corrector sive medicus, and in Liber X or De incantatoribus et auguribus are extremely significant; in addition, both were inspired (in particular, the latter) by a text fragment from Abbot Regino of Prüm´s Libri duo. In my view, while the basic elements of the delusion of a company of women riding on beasts at night achieved by Satan through metamorphosis and dreams are present in Regino's text, by applying certain textual modifications the bishop of Worms makes explicit his own perspective on superstitious beliefs and practices in order to refute and eradicate them. The penances Burchard determines for the congregation at the moment of confession constitute conclusive evidence in support of my hypothesis. Even though the Christian church struggled forcibly against every belief and practice departing from orthodoxy, during the High Middle Ages notions like the above were not considered either effective or real; rather they were seen as demoniac delusions and manifestations of the gullibility of a superficially Christianised population. Furthermore, taking into account the longstanding debate on the practical use of penitentials, the content of the penitential question from the Corrector, when compared with the passage taken from the canon in Liber X, substantiates their utility.