Kivelson, Valerie. Desperate Magic: The Moral Economy of Witchcraft in Seventeenth-Century Russia (review)

Abstract

SEER, 92, 4, OCTOBER 2014 770 Kivelson, Valerie. Desperate Magic: The Moral Economy of Witchcraft in Seventeenth-Century Russia. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY and London, 2013. xx + 349 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Appendices. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $27.95 (paperback). Magic in seventeenth-century Russia, Kivelson argues, was very different from magic in Western Europe and even from magic in latter day Russia. What court records show is that Satanism had nothing to do with Russian witchcraft accusations; magical assaults, though heinous, were akin to physical assaults and not an attack on Christianity. Furthermore, the predominance of female accused characteristic of Europe was not to be found in Russia where most people tried on charges of witchcraft were male, men outnumbering women four to one. After an introduction that seeks to define magic and describe the difficult hierarchical and autocratic social structure of seventeenth-century Russia, Kivelson turns to examining previous witchcraft scholarship in chapter one. Most of what has been written about witchcraft in the past is based on Western Europe and, while some of the findings of Western scholars do apply to Russia, they do so only to a limited extent. For example, while some periods of economic hardship do lead to an increase in accusations of witchcraft, others do not. Chaptertwodealswithdocumentationofwitchcrafttrails.Kivelsondescribes the archival sources she used and underscores the degree to which persecution of suspected witches was centralized. All cases were sent to Moscow through a defined set of steps and action was taken only after receiving instructions from the highest courts. Correspondence with Moscow required extensive repetition and both the practice of copying and the centralization in Moscow led to better preservation of records than might be expected for seventeenthcentury materials. Available documents show a striking dissimilarity between Russia and the West. While magic in Europe was seen as the result of a contract with the devil and, consequently, a threat to Christianity, in Russia the devil did not figure in witchcraft accusations. Heresy is mentioned on occasion, but, as shown in chapter three, courts were interested in the human realm, such as where the accused had learned magic and whom he himself had taught; Satanism was not a judicial concern. Gender, explored in chapters four and five, played a role in witchcraft in both Russia and the West, but in different ways. The belief that women experienced insatiable sexual desire led Europeans to see them as especially susceptible to the temptations of the devil. In Russia, women and men were different, not in terms of desire, but in access to the outside world. Within the Russian power REVIEWS 771 hierarchy, women were subordinate to men at every level. They were largely confined to the home, had limited ability to interact with others, and were thus, to an extent, shielded from accusations of witchcraft. Women used charms and herbs to cure illnesses and to mitigate male mistreatment such as wifebeating . Those who were particularly adept at healing could render assistance outside the home, but this was risky and the roots and herbs used for treatment could become evidence of witchcraft when medicinal ministrations failed. Literacy was also dangerous knowledge, but typical only of men. The written word was believed to be so potent that illiterate men kept scraps of writing for their purported magical efficacy. Whether applied to men or to women, the real crime that led to accusations of witchcraft was noncompliance, or fear of same, and men who did not hold positions that demanded literacy but could nevertheless read and write were especially likely to be brought to trial. As shown in chapters six and seven, wife-beating was not the only form of physical abuse that was considered routine and even necessary. Yet there were limits. Those in power, while allowed harsh treatment of underlings, were expected to be merciful and kind and magic was used to secure a positive attitude toward oneself and concomitant compassionate treatment. Masters were aware of their obligations to their dependents and often their own sense that they had failed to behave properly led them to fear witchcraft and assume that magic was the cause of any misfortune they experienced. Torture was a routine part of the judicial...