Magic in the Middle Ages

The word “magic,” like many related words, began as a term of abuse, but has taken on more positive connotations. Particularly the adjectival forms of these words, “magical,” “enchanting,” “charming,” “fascinating,” and even “bewitching,” now stand for objects and experiences that are out of the ordinary, but alluring and attractive.1 This shift in usage came after the Middle Ages, but for background to it we must turn to the portrayal of magic in medieval courtly culture, and especially in the literary romances written for that culture. People at court clearly recognized that certain magical practices could be sinister and destructive; there is ample evidence that kings and courtiers feared sorcery at least as much as commoners did. In their imaginative literature, however, they were willing to accord it a different status and to consider, without horror, the symbolic uses of magical motifs. Sorcerers in courtly literature were figures in an enchanted realm. On one level this literature offered escape from the humdrum realities of life, but on a deeper level it reflected the social and psychological complexities of courtly society, and made possible for medieval and for modern readers a richer understanding of that life.