Superstition, Witchcraft, and the First Commandment in the Late Middle Ages

This article examines the role of the First Commandment in critiques of magic, witchcraft and superstition in the late Middle Ages, particularly in the context of catechetical works on the Decalogue. The late John Bossy argued that the concept of diabolical witchcraft emerged from the adoption of the Decalogue as the foundation of Christian morality in the late medieval Western church; however commentaries on the First Commandment addressed the forms of popular magic and superstition that people turned to in their daily lives rather than worship of the Devil. Because of the attention given to references to diabolical pacts in historical treatments of critiques of magic, another central aspect has been overlooked: the criticism that superstitious people place their trust in practices that are not based solely on the help and mercy of God. Critiques based on realism and nominalism offered different explanations of the sin of failing to trust only in God. The present article looks at effects of these traditions on treatments of superstition in the context of the First Commandment up to the turn of the sixteenth century.