Witchy Ways at Central

"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."

-the Second Witch from William Shakpeare's MacBeth, Act IV, Scene I

On the evening of Tuesday, October 23, Wendy Matlock, professor of English and Medievalist at CSUS, beguiled the audience at the Central Library's Sacramento Room with a thoughtful lecture and discussion on Witchcraft in the Middle Ages.

Who would have known that there was such a fine line between earthly and heavenly power and such a double standard regarding the acceptance of each? One may have also taken from the lecture the curious intolerance for witchcraft during the Renaissance, a time so dedicated to scientific exploration and acceptance. So, in spite of the Bard of Avon's invocation of the witch - more than once - in his Renaissance literature, withces had an easier go of it in the Middle Ages than during the Renaissance? Odd enough, but seemingly true.

Look for future lectures on English Literature and lore by Matlock. For details and registration, go to http://www.saclibrary.org/ or call 264-2920.

Topics in the Medieval World: Witchcraft

Is perception the same as reality? Certainly, over time, what we think or taught to think--right or wrong--can easily morph into conventional wisdom. Are today's perceptions of pagan and alternative beliefs to European Christianity really accurate? Has popular culture created a myth of what it meant to be an animist, Pagan, or witch, prior to the Reformation?

On the 23rd of October at 6:00 pm, roughly a week away from one of the Pagan world's most sacred holy days in Samhain or what most of us call Halloween, join the Central Library and Wendy Matlock as we explore the truth behind Witchcraft in the Middle Ages. Matlock, a Medievalist and professor of English at California State University, Sacramento, will help us answer some of these question with the hopes of separating truth from fiction.

To attend, call 264-2920, or log in to http://www.saclibrary.org.