Witch Mother/doctor
In my story I have a witch that in effect took care of a village right around the turn of the first century in England (1000 a.d. or c.e.). I have been trying to find if there was any honorifics entitled to that position. I found the term witch mother once, but it was in reference to another time period.
Was that even something they would ( Read more... )
Was that even something they would ( Read more... )
The king at the time was Æthelred II, better known as Æthelred the Unready (his nickname actually meant something closer to 'uncounseled'). England had suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Maldon at the hands of the Danes in 991, and shortly thereafter England began paying the Danegeld, a sort of tax that attempted to pay off the vikings to not attack. In 1002, Æthelred ordered the massacre of every Danish man, woman, and child resident in England.
The process of Christianization had started about 600 AD, so most everybody was Christian by about 1000 AD. Did you know Anglo-Saxon women were actually quite liberated? They could walk out on a bad husband AND take their children, own property, and laws protected them against being forced into unwanted second marriages. http://www.hullwebs.co.uk/content/c-anglo-saxon/home-life/anglo-saxon-women.htm
The dominant culture in England was Anglo-Saxon. Your witch is more likely to have been named Wulfwyn than Tabitha or whatever; not a lot of Steves or Roberts around back then! I personally think Anglo-Saxon names are badass. Here's a great resource for naming characters: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/engoldenglish.shtml
They made their own clothing and had their own ideas about fashion. http://www.octavia.net/9thclife/Clothing.htm
These folks have constructed a "virtual" Anglo-Saxon village. Maybe this will help you visualize what it might have been like to go about daily life in 1000 AD England. http://www.regia.org/village/village.htm
Did you know they had their own version of Norse "runes", or Futhark? The Anglo-Saxons called it Futhorc: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/runic.htm#futhorc
An article on the Anglo-Saxon medicinal tradition of (ugh) leechcraft: http://ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/1165582&alert=0
They also made charms for almost any occasion: http://www.hullwebs.co.uk/content/e-anglo-norman/original-texts/charms/charm-poultice.htm
Here's a website that gives you an idea of what kind of homes they lived in: http://www.regia.org/houses.htm
The Battle of Maldon (poem): http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/oecoursepack/maldon/index.html
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