Preachers and Confessors against "Superstitions": Bernardino Busti and Sermon 16 of His Rosarium Sermonum

This article looks at idolatry and superstition in Sermon 16 of Bernardino Busti's Rosarium Sermonum, which proves a rich source for the developing concept of witchcraft at the close of the fifteenth century. The sermon elaborates on ways in which it is possible to sin against the proscription of idolatry in the first commandment. Busti was particularly worried about three elements of idolatry common to depictions of witches: demonic involvement, ritualistic behaviors, and negation of the principles of Christianity. By describing maleficae et maladictae feminae who renounced the Catholic faith, he contributed to ratification of the stereotype of the striga in the early modern period.