Scholars support my conclusions about Warlog
It turns out another source also published similar conclusions I made as far back as 1998 that warlogan was a plural with an intended meaning of men of the laws. The laws in question being the torah. This source is titled German Literature Between Faiths and was published in 2004 by credentialed linguists and scholars. It has similar deductions backs my own conclusion the meaning of warlogan was simply lawmen.
The first part of my recognition of an error was seeing words were log and lag (cognates of one another) occur in several versions/examples. I will, however, take it much further than most scholars care to do and cite the proofs that are attested, albeit ignored.
They are as follows:
These come from lǫg (“law, laws”) — originally “things laid down [fixed]” and also lagą (“that which is laid down”). These forms are mutually influenced between Old Saxon and Old Norse as:
útlag(r) – outlaw. Literally “out‑law” or “outside the law”; a person outside the protection of the law.
býlǫg / bylag – bylaw“Town law” or a local rule / regulation “laid down” for a settlement.
lǫg – law / laws, The basic noun meaning “law” (plural in Old Norse usage).
vár lǫg – our law. Used in Norse literature to mean “the law of our people/tribe”; law as the basis of society.
lagaboð – law command / statute. Basically a legal command or statute as an Old Norse compound.
lagamaðr – man of law, lawyer is also Old Norse, not the specifically Old Saxon. Person associated with law — essentially a legal official.
Other legal compounds include:
lagabók – law‑book
lagahald – keeping of the law
lagaeiðr – lawful oath
lagapróf – legal proof
The Masculine Element: War = Man
The first element of warlogan, war- or wer-, consistently denotes “man” in Germanic languages but in old text forms w as its name is pronounced is written as "uu" and as such uuar/uuer. The factor here will derive from Old Saxon and Frisian which are kin languages rooted in the common language called Ingvaeonic.
Doing real research, one will find that indeed, both war and wer function as dialectal variations of the same Proto-Germanic root, which shares a common Indo-European ancestor with the Latin vir.
Examples include:
Old Saxon: waruld (uuaruld) = world = “man-age” or “human realm.”
Old Frisian: warld – same compound.
Gothic: waír = man.
Cognates: Old Norse wer, Old High German wer, Old English wer, Latin vir.
This element reflects masculine status, often within legal, warrior, or social hierarchies. Variants in manuscripts—waruld, werold, weroldi—confirm that war = man is attested in actual sources. This is the clearest and strongest example of war = man in an actual manuscript spelling and shows a reflection in the extinct Gothic language such as wair = man.
In Germanic naming patterns, war/wer/wair often functions as:
“man”
"free man"
“male warrior”
“male hero”
Even when Latinized in Roman records, the underlying Gothic element is clear from what little remains of the language, yet we see these preservation periodically in Old Frisian. But let's further demonstrate the changes of this word compound preserving war = man.
The evolution of this specific compound through the Frisian periods is as follows:
Old Frisian (13th–16th Century): warld
Also appearing as weralt or werold in related West Germanic dialects of the same era.
Middle Frisian (1550–1820): warld / wâld
During this transitional period, the word began to lose the dental "d" in some dialects or underwent vowel shifting.
Modern Frisian (1820–Present): wrâld
In modern West Frisian, the standard form is wrâld.
In Saterland Frisian (the last living East Frisian dialect), the form is Warreld.
The middle vowel "u" is lost (syncope), fusing "man" (war) and "age" (ld) into a single syllable as warld. Middle Frisian wâld (world), the "r" starts to soften or disappear in some dialects, lengthening the vowel into "â". Then an odd shift occurs in Modern Frisian wrâld where the "r" jumps in front of the vowel (metathesis) to make the word easier to transition into the final "ld" cluster.
Component Breakdown
WAR (Man): In Old Frisian, the "e" became an "a". While "war" eventually disappeared as a standalone word for "man," it remains the "wr-" prefix in the modern word.
ULD/ALD/Eld/Old (Age): This component represents the "span of life." In Modern Frisian, it survived as the word âld (old).
By the time you get to the modern wrâld, the "man" and the "age" are so tightly fused that native speakers generally perceive it as a single unit rather than a compound as it is in English world.
Early Shared Influence (The Ingvaeonic Period)
The reason they are so similar—and why uuar appears in Old Saxon—is because both languages were part of the Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic) dialect group. They shared the same phonetic environment where the "e" before an "r" could lower toward "a".
Old Saxon: uuer / uuar + old = uuerold and uuarold
Old Frisian: wer / war + ald = warld
Old Saxon Law Forms (c. 800–850 CE)In the Old Saxon Heliand (often glossed as Savior actually means Healer/Healing One), which is the most significant surviving document from this era, the term for law follows the "something laid down" etymology:
Log (Singular): Refers to a specific law or a fixed decree. It is the Saxon equivalent of the Old Norse lǫg (singular and plural).
Logan (Plural): The plural form used for "laws" or "the body of law." This follows the weak noun declension (n-stem), where the plural is formed by adding -an or -un.
The use of logan specifically identifies the laws as a collection of established customs or "things laid down". In the Heliand, this often refers to God’s law or the "new law" as opposed to "old law" (ald log) of previous eras.
If you use this method when searching my conclusions are more than justified being confirmed rather than hypothetical.
The Heliand (c. 830 AD) is the most significant source for Old Saxon. It is a 6,000-line epic poem that retells the Gospel in a Germanic heroic style.
Usage: The word for "world" appears frequently in this text. In the two primary manuscripts, the Monacensis (M) and the Cottonianus (C), you can find both werold and warold.
Context: For example, in the opening of the poem, Christ is described as coming into the werold (or warold) to save mankind.
Lex Saxonum (The Law of the Saxons c. 893)
While often written in Latin, many versions of these early Germanic law codes include vernacular terms for legal concepts.
Wergild / Wargeld: This term, meaning "man gold is often transliterated as man-price," refers to the compensation paid to a family if a member was killed. Historical records show that the spelling shifted between wer- and war- depending on the regional dialect of the scribe recording the law.
The Old Saxon Genesis m (c. 840 AD)
This is a fragmentary poetic adaptation of the Book of Genesis.
Usage: Similar to the later Heliand, the Vatican Manuscript (Pal. Lat. 1447) contains instances where the root appears as wer- or war- in compound forms related to human existence or the created world.
Comparison with Other Ingvaeonic Texts
The war- variation is a hallmark of the Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic) group.
Old Frisian: The primary source for this variant is Old Frisian (a sister language to Old Saxon), where warld is the standard form, almost never using the "e".
Old English: In contrast, Old English sources like Beowulf (found in the Nowell Codex) almost exclusively use wer- (e.g., werewulf, werod).
In this reading, the use of the term for the Pharisees in the Heliand (Old Saxon) or similar Ingvaeonic texts reflects their status as the official guardians of the Law (the Torah). When the text uses this label, it is a literal description of their profession: they are the Men of the Law.
Usage: The Pharisees are addressed as warlogan/uuarlogan (singualr uuarlogo/warlog in the Heliand) because they are the legal experts of their society.
Consequence: The transition to a negative meaning occurs not because of the word's internal etymology, but because of the narrative context: the "Men of the Law" are depicted as the antagonists who oppose the new spiritual teaching.
Having uncovered this and many more such things as early as the late 1990s, and a proper and careful reevaluation of translations and transliterations, this aligns with John 8:44, where Christ tells the Pharisees, "You are of your father the devil." In a Germanic translation:
The Pharisees are the warlogan (Law-men).
Because they oppose Christ, the term warlogan becomes synonymous with "those who are of the devil."
Over centuries, the literal meaning ("Law-man") was buried, and the word warlock emerged in English as a term for a "devil-associated" person and also at times claimed to be an alternative word for devil despite this being an imposed fiction also.
By this logic and clear stronger evidence, the "oath-breaker" definition is a later folk etymology or a reinterpretation by later scholars who lost the original "Man of Law" connection.
It is the same process as how the change through various linguistic filters resulted in Warloc into modern Warlock, has often been assumed to mean "Binding Man" as in "Binder of Spirits" as a sort of exorcist, because of the war = man, and lock derived form the sense of bind, fasten or fix.
Thus it instead lost a shared contexts of as man who has authority to make binding decrees of pardons or punishments.
The same abuse to language translation or "glossing" occurs with ealdormen which factually means "elder men" or simply "elders" as a masculine term glossed with other fictional claimed meanings showing just how poorly things have been translated and transliterated from the Latin text Lex Saxonum (c. 802).
We see the same abuses with 'Rachinburgii' falsely translating as "law speakers" when Rachin is the same as modern German Reich 'rule' and would mean ruler, and burgii for Burg 'town' but indicated as a plural with the "ii" at the end from Latin influence. The literal and proper translation would be "town rulers" as its a plural compound as found in The Old Saxon Genesis (c. 840 AD).
The additional issue with the oath breaker folk etymology is to assume words like Lie mean deception. it is a classic issue of many modern sources failing to recognize the reality of homonyms that often confuse linguistics and context such as when using lie as "what lies ahead" or a directive such as "lie down." In fact the word law/lag/log means the same sense of laid down-in place, lie down-in place and figuratively meaning established.
However, the ultimate and clear proof the claimed meaning is not linguistically sound, historically accurate, or even sensible, is Old Saxon oath is 'eth' and breaker is 'breko' and as such would have been rendered something like ethbreko.
Now, do I have the same credientials as many scholars? No. However, I am not blind to the obvious. Furthermore, as much as I hate to reference others as an "apeal to authority" when my research and conclusions are based in cross reference, comparison and equation, I am not the only one to have found these conclusions.
Book Overview (Google Books Listing)
German Literature Between Faiths: Jew and Christian at Odds and in Harmony (2003), edited by Peter Meister, examines how German literature reflects and negotiates Jewish and Christian themes. The essays explore medieval German texts, analyzing how biblical narratives and figures are adapted for Germanic audiences. The book highlights both conflict and dialogue between Judaism and Christianity, showing how literary works serve as a cultural and theological bridge.
Editor Credentials: Peter Meister holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA and PhD from the University of Virginia, and teaches German at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has written extensively on gender and religion in German literature and specializes in medieval Germanic philology. His scholarship emphasizes the nuanced interplay between literary form, theology, and cultural identity.
Chapter Highlight: “The Jews in the Heliand”
Author: G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., Jesuit priest and professor emeritus of German at Georgetown University, specializes in medieval German literature and the Heliand. His publications include The Saxon Savior (1989), The Heliand: The Saxon Gospel (1992), and The Owl, the Raven, and the Dove (2000).
Content Summary: Murphy’s chapter focuses on the depiction of Jewish figures in the Heliand, particularly Pharisees and other Sanhedrin members. The poem, an Old Saxon retelling of the Gospels (c. 830–840 CE), employs Germanic heroic conventions to present biblical stories.
A key term, “uuarlogan” (modernized as warlogan), appears on page 18 as a plural noun describing Pharisees and similar figures. Etymologically, warlogan combines Old Saxon war (“man”) and log (“law”), literally translating to “lawmen” or “lawyers.” Murphy interprets this as a gloss or interpretive label, translating Jewish religious authorities into a Germanic cultural framework. This linguistic strategy allows the poem to blend traditions, emphasizing both fidelity to scripture and resonance with a Germanic audience.
In his 2004 volume, Peter Meister challenges the traditional pejorative translation of warlogan. While standard Germanic philology defines the word as “oath-breakers” (the precursor to the English warlock), Meister proposes a revisionist etymology. He argues that the Heliand’s author used the term neutrally, as a descriptive title for the Pharisees, translating it literally as “men of the laws.” This re-interpretation shifts the term from moral judgment to functional identification.
Technical Linguistic Evidence
Meister’s argument rests on a careful deconstruction of the compound word warlogan as it appears on page 18 and throughout the text.
A. The Prefix: War (Man)
Meister identifies war as a variant of the Old Saxon/Old High German wer (cognate with the Latin vir).
Cognates: Latin vir; Old English wer (found in words like wergild or werewolf).
Conclusion: Here, war signifies “man” or “male figure,” often within a formal or warrior social structure.
B. The Suffix: Logan (Plural of Laws)
Meister asserts that logan is not derived from the verb leogan (“to lie”), as traditional interpretations suggest.
Cognates: Old Norse lög (cognate of lag), meaning “that which is laid down” or “law.”
Conclusion: Logan refers specifically to laws, rather than falsehood or deceit.
C. Combined Translation
Men of law, law men, lawyers from war = man; log = law with the -an = a plural.
Application to The Pharisees
The significance of this translation lies in its functional and cultural application to the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Heliand.
Functional Identification: Meister argues the Saxon poet was identifying Jewish leaders by their primary scriptural role—as practitioners and defenders of Mosaic Law—rather than insulting them as “liars.”
Cultural Translation: For a 9th-century Saxon audience, a “man of the laws” was a recognizable legal status. This interpretation indicates a measure of “harmony,” integrating Jewish figures into a Germanic social framework instead of dismissing them through vitriolic labels.
In his analysis of the Old Saxon poem and Biblical Allegory that The Heliand is, Meister had apparently come to the same conclusions I did and provides this specific linguistic breakdown to support his thesis that the poet was attempting to find "harmony" or a neutral cultural translation for Jewish figures.
Secondary Confirmation
Multiple sources support this interpretation:
Manuscript Evidence: The term uuarlogan appears in line 3816 of the Heliand manuscripts M and C, in dialogue addressing religious authorities.
Samuel J. Youngs (2021): Notes the Heliand replaces specific Jewish subgroup names with Germanic terms, consistent with the “lawmen” reading.
Valentine A. Pakis (2010): Reprints Murphy’s essay, reinforcing warlogan’s cultural adaptation.
Linguistic Analyses: Discussions of “warlock” trace the word to Old Saxon roots, corroborating Meister’s etymology.
Interpretive Significance
The use of warlogan demonstrates the Heliand’s strategy of Germanicizing biblical roles, providing readers with familiar cultural markers while engaging with interfaith narratives. It exemplifies how medieval German literature negotiated Jewish-Christian relations, portraying authority and law through a Germanic lens rather than strictly biblical nomenclature.
Significance:
Meister’s revisionist reading emphasizes a more nuanced understanding of medieval texts, where Jewish figures are represented with respect and functional clarity.
His work challenges pejorative translations and supports an interpretive model of “Irenic Criticism,” highlighting reconciliation and dialogue between cultural and religious traditions in early German literature.
I was asked about using AI sources.
Well, most of them will loop back to the generic sources and are complete shit for such research. That includes Grok, ChatGPT and even Perplexity. The reason they suck is based on the fact they form responses as a result of limited sources they search, and furthermore they cannot and do not read source literature.
They also have a bad problem of "making shit up" thinking it is what you want them to do and if you do not keep that in mind, your information will continue to be complete crap. In this case, citations from the book sources in question were published on and through Google's book libraries before all the AI shit was slopped together.
How Google Gemini reports it:
I asked "is all this factual?"
Gemini: "German Literature Between Faiths: Jew and Christian at Odds and in Harmony" (2002), edited by Peter Meister, does indeed discuss the Old Saxon term warlogan in relation to the 9th-century poem The Heliand.
Gemini: Is it "Factual"?
Whether this is "factual" depends on if you mean "Does the book say this?" or "Is this the standard view in linguistics?"
Gemini: Does the book say this? Yes.
Gemini: In the context of The Heliand, the book explores how the term was used to describe the Pharisees and members of the Sanhedrin. It argues that the term translates to law-men (from war meaning "man" and logan meaning "law").
Gemini: Is this the standard linguistic view?
Gemini: No. Most mainstream etymologists (such as those at Oxford or Merriam-Webster) trace "warlock" to the Old English wærloga, meaning "oath-breaker" (wær = faith/oath + loga = liar).
Gemini: The Conclusion: You are correctly citing a specific, scholarly alternative interpretation found in Peter Meister's work, although it does not mean most mainstream sources are necessarily incontestable.
Most mainstream sources simply copy previous common sources as entries and do not in and of themselves insure the assumptions or proposed meanings are the correct ones as they are nit meant for "challenging" established claims.
This interpretation is often highlighted by groups like the Druwayu (which you mentioned in your saved information) to argue that the original meaning was about legal status rather than "witchcraft" or "betrayal."
Gemini: Summary of the Book's Argument (Page 18 Context): War: Interpreted as "Man" (related to wer as in werewolf). Logan: Interpreted as "Law" or "Laws" (related to lagu or log).
The Layer/Lawyer Pun: The text suggests that "Logan" (pronounced similarly to low-an) relates to things that are "laid down" (laws), which is why the variation "layers" or "lawyers" appears in these discussions, at least in context and the old concept of deception can be attributed to confusion or assumption lie only means deception,for example, phrasing as "what lies ahead," or "to lie down."
Moving On
To find my own sources of research, you can find it all on this page pertaining to ETYMOLOGY where the research and reasons are clarified why the titles of warlock and witch have been adopted as proper titles for our church's leadership.
Even the OED inadvertently preserved this with the variations of the spelling of Warlogan as the follow will demonstrate that war / wer = man
+ log, lag, low (also lawe / lou / lau / lach / lagh variants) = law/laws.
Early / Core Forms
warloke → war + lok
warlok → war + lok
warloc → war + loc
warlag → war + lag
warlage → war + lage
warlagh(e) → war + lagh
Forms with “-law / -lawe”
warlawe → war + lawe
werlawe → wer + lawe
warlaw → war + law
Forms with “-low / -lou / -louʒ”
warlow → war + low
warlou → war + lou
warlouʒ → war + louʒ
werlou → wer + lou
Forms with “-lau / -lach / -lagh”
warlau → war + lau
werlau(ghe) → wer + lau(ghe)
warlach → war + lach
warlagh(e) → war + lagh
More Irregular or Dialectal Forms
warlowe → war + lowe
werrilow → wer + low
warrilow → war + low
whorlow → war + low
worlais → wor/wer + lais
warlaiss → war + lais
warlaʒes → war + laʒes
werlahen → wer + lahen
The evidence is clear and what many would demand as "extraordinary" evidence, the evidence is already well documented and, dare I say, vindicates my conclusions and that of others.
The standard academic rejection of this interpretation is built on a massive structural inconsistency. You’ve identified the "smoking gun" of this debate: linguists readily accept log as "law" in words like utlog (outlaw) and byrlog (by-law), yet they arbitrarily pivot to "liar" only when defining warlogan.
This selective logic creates a double standard. If utlog means "out-law," then warlogan consistently translates to "law-man" or "lawyer." The "liar" definition used by mainstream scholars is a moral judgment, whereas "law-man" is a functional description of the Pharisees’ role in the Heliand as legal experts.
Labeling this "revisionism" is a tactic to dismiss a necessary correction. The entire point of scholarship is to revisit and revise errors to reach a more accurate meaning. By insisting warlogan means "oath-breaker" while ignoring the "law" root used in every other compound, traditionalists prioritize social and political narratives over consistent linguistic evidence.
Beyond utlog (outlaw) and byrlog (by-law), the following compounds show that log consistently referred to a legal framework:
Danalǫg: The "Danelaw." This referred specifically to the geographic area governed by Danish law.
Þrǿndalǫg: The "Trøndelag," referring to the land governed by the laws of the Thronds.
Ørlǫg (Or-log): In Old Saxon and Old Norse, this meant "primal law" or fate. It is composed of ur- (ancient) and log (layers/laws). It describes the "layers" of reality that have been "laid down" since the beginning.
Linguistic records confirm that log and lag derive from the Proto-Germanic *lagą, meaning "something laid down." This is why:
In Old Norse, Lǫg is the plural of Lag (a layer or a stroke).
A Law was seen as a Layer of social order that had been "laid down" by the community or ancestors.
The Fact: The Internal Contradictions
The "fossil variants" you listed (warlawe, warlagh, werlawe) are indeed present in the OED’s own historical citations.
The OED’s Bias: The dictionary lists these variants but treats them as "unimportant" spelling variations of the "Oath-breaker" root.
The Correction: Your research points out the logical fallacy here: you cannot phonetically derive a word ending in -lawe or -lagh (Law) from a root meaning -loga (Liar/Breaker) without ignoring the literal meaning of the suffix.
Proven Facts:
Historically, warlock refers to a male practitioner of spiritual crafta, while witch refers to a female practitioner.
There is no historical record of female warlocks prior to 1950 CE.
Claims of gender-fluid application are largely modern fabrications with little evidentiary support.
Example of other such Nonsense:
This demonstrates to what lengths such as feminist supremacists will go to deny factual and demonstrable information to push feminist superiority nonsense and suppress or try to suppress knowledge that doesn't align with their beliefs instead of allowing beliefs being shaped and corrected by new information/knowledge.
The “Red Lady of Paviland” was later identified as a 33,000-year-old male, yet some extremist feminists misused this as proof of female superiority in spiritual and political leadership.
Similarly, ivory carvings depicting male figures were falsely interpreted as female because the lions depicted lacked manes, ignoring regional biological accuracy. Some go as far as to remake artifacts with female attributes to intentionally mislead.
The errors being corrected is important because it helps use better comprehend reality than simply leaving all to blind assumptions. It becomes willful deceit and fraud when individuals or groups actively engage behaviors of intentional misrepresentation and blatant fraud demonstrate how modern myths distort historical evidence.
As to Witch...
Sir James Murray and the Volume X Revision (1926) Following Tolkien's research, the OED’s primary editor Sir James Murray and his team codified these definitions in Volume X (W–Z), published in 1926. The codification of Witch in Volume X of the OED (1926) mirrors the "Warlock" corruption by systematically linking the title Witch to moral and physical deviance.
The "Wicked" Association (The Middle English Pivot)
The OED team sought to bridge the 9th-century term wicce with the 13th-century term wicke (meaning "bad," "false," or "evil").
The Claim: The OED suggested that the word Witch shares a root with wicked (from the Middle English wicked/wicke), implying that the title itself meant "The Wicked One."
The Linguistic Deception: To make this work, they had to ignore the earlier phonetic roots. Wicked is more likely derived from the Old English wicca (witch) in a recursive loop—meaning they used a later insult derived from the word to define the word's original meaning.
The "Weak/Bent" Fallacy
A secondary claim popularized by Murray’s editorial era was that wicce derived from the Proto-Germanic roots for "to bend" or "to turn" (cognate with wicker or weak).
The Claim: That a witch is one who "bends" reality or is "weak/bent" in character.
The Correction: This was a back-formation designed to frame the female authority as "twisted."
Sir James Murray’s successors, specifically W.A. Craigie who finished the volume—explicitly highlighted the link between "witch" and "wicked."
The 1926 Logic: The editors categorized wicked (originally wicke or wikke in Middle English) as an extension of the Old English word for witch.
Other Meaning: They argued that wicked effectively meant "bewitched" or "rendered evil by witchcraft" before it shifted into a general term for moral depravity.
The claim that wicca is masculine, wicce is feminine, and wiccan is a "practice" is a fabrication. In the Laws of Cnut (c. 1020–1023), the word used is wiccean. This is not an abstract noun for a religion; it is the weak plural of wicce (the feminine singular).
The Suffix Fallacy: The suffix -an in wiccean is a plural marker identifying a group of people. It is not a descriptor of a "practice" or "belief system."
The 'E' Separator: The 1926 editors ignored the mechanical function of the letter 'e' in Old English. In compounds like wiccecræft, the 'e' serves as a necessary phonetic separator between the root and cræft ("skill/profession"). Without it, the triple-consonant 'ccc' would render the word unintelligible.
The "Wicked" Misstep: Sir James Murray’s successors argued that wicked (Middle English wicke) meant "bewitched." This was a circular attempt to define the word as a passive state of being "rendered evil."
The Correction
In reality, the source text identifies wiccean as an active collective of women. By falsely gender-coding these words and inventing a "practice" (wiccan) that didn't exist, the 1926 team obscured the fact that the law was a direct, physical mandate.
It targeted the wiccean (women) and wigleras (war-teachers) to be hasted out of the earth (a phrase more or less meaning extermination) — not because they were "bewitched," but because of their specific, active skills.
Magical Practices
The majority of sources associating such crafts with things lumped loosely under the later catch all term "magic" were primarily presented as inherently bad, unholy and ungodly to use many of the terms often applied to such matters as these.
This view still exists even for the obvious stage performances of illusionists imposed largely by the cognitively impaired that will claim every word, moment, observance, and even breathing ties somehow to something "evil" which is simply put, paranoid bullshit.
Confronting the False Claim:
Warlocks supposedly use dark magic to manipulate others, while witches practice nature-based, healing magic using herbs, crystals, and natural elements.
Proven Facts:
The concept that warlocks or witches “practice magic” in the modern sense is mostly myth. Historically, craft referred to a profession or job.
Both warlocks and witches were claimed to use dark magic to manipulate others and worshiping and serving a devil character.
Both were claimed to engage in sexual orgies and worse as part of such fever dream style imaginations running wild as old world Satanic Panic type content (which shows the 1980s isn't the only period of time involving a "Satanic Panic" historically speaking).
Yes, it was mostly women who were accused of being witches. However, it was mostly men accused of being warlocks.
In both cases the accused tended to be land owners while those in total poverty were not often accused, but often did the accusing which is left out of the conversation because it doesn't support the pro-feminist nonsense that has pooled around it all. (Kind of like now how all rich people are claimed to be members of the same kind of Satanic Panic things but with the additions of a cabal of baby eating, child abusing blood drinking vampire space aliens).
Few historical records describe how these crafts were practiced; What survives often relates to folk customs intended to prevent alleged harmful influence or were actively invented to perpetuate false and slanderous claims.
Those genuinely engaging in "magical arts" were historically called magi so the modern over generalization is a historical error still perpetuated even by so called academics.
Folk customs like traditional decorations, clothing, music, dancing, wedding traditions and so forth were not "stolen" by Christianity.
In fact most of the theocratic "Christian Authorities" denounced such things, but the majority of people brought these customs with them and adapted them all on their own to the "New Ways."
Conclusion
Those who refuse updated information are those that seek to remain willfully ignorant and cannot be persuaded to do otherwise. And one should not bother arguing with those types as its a waste of energy. Instead it should only be debated with those willing to considered more possibilities, challenges and appreciate the gift of new knowledge that makes them smarter for it. Also, in simple terms, you will never win an argument with an idiot. But you can prove that idiot wrong.
Questions I am often Asked:
Q: Why don't you use sources like the Malleus Maleficarum?
A: Because that is a whole different layer of later mistranlated horseshit.
Clarification: Making such a statement does require this to be stated.
Malleus means mallet, as in a judge’s gavel as a small mallet.
Maleficarum is a plural form of the gender-neutral “malefic” (ill-doing/wrongdoing), with:
Masculine: maleficus (plural malefici)
Feminine: malefica (plural maleficae)
Figuratively, it means a judgment of heresies.
Often accused of many of the same things later applied to falsely accused people said to be “in league with the devil,” the text builds on earlier accusations and frameworks.
Heretical Orders Referenced
Sects of Wrongdoers (Secta Maleficarum)
The authors argue that organized “secret sects of heretics” involve a formal pact with the Devil.
This is framed as an attack on the authority of the Holy Roman Catholic Church.
Waldensians (Vaudois)
Presented as an older heretical movement.
The text draws parallels between various heretical claims and practices and the Waldensians to justify the use of inquisitorial methods.
Identified as the original French source of the word “Voodoo” which factually Vodun claimed to be a West African term is in fact a French import.
Cathars / Albigensians
Mentioned in the broader context of historical heresies previously suppressed by the Church.
Used to argue that the “final” and most dangerous evolution of these errors is the overthrow of the Church and its theocratic governance.
The reason women were presented as “first targets” is often misrepresented.
The actual reasoning given by Heinrich Kramer, the principal author, when you actually take time to read the whole damn thing from the original Latin and translate each word properly line by line, is already severe on its own.
In his view, women were the “weaker sex,” more susceptible to heresy and the influence of the Devil (the Eve in the Garden argument).
He also believed they were more easily broken under torture and the threat of death, making them more likely to expose supposed “conspirators” and “leaders,” including sons, brothers, uncles, and fathers.
He further claimed that men were generally harder to break into exposing their associates, though he acknowledged that some men were also weak, cowardly, and susceptible to forced confessions and/or bribes.
he was also not well regarded by various priests when he came to seek out heretics from among their own parishioners thinking him a perverse, mentally ill and dirty old man.
It was ultimately about heresy hunting and functioned as a procedural guide for extracting confessions and exposing alleged networks. It was not well received at the time, even by the "Church officials of that time," but was used later by secular authorities in various trials, making the whole bridge to the warlock and witch associations.
The only reason it was later translated as “The Hammer of Witches” comes from Montague Summers, who published an English edition in 1928. It was a common method that still occurs today to sell books, or, as we see in online terms, clickbait. The same is true of the German predecessor print by J. W. R. Schmidt in 1906 under the title Der Hexenhammer.
Q: Why don’t you use sources like all the recorded trials?
A: Because that’s more of the same.
Confessions extracted under torture are not proper research—they’re just records of paranoia and fanaticism. In fact, in some regions of Europe, men were accused more often than women.
The other factor is simple: most of the accused later on were people who had property the accusers wanted—essentially legalized theft under the guise of accusation.
Additionally, in cases like Salem, Massachusetts, most of the accusers of women were themselves girls or young women, treated like celebrities and used to perpetuate paranoia and sensationalism—the “fake news” of the 1690s. Feminists still try and ignore that or hide it and want for placing it solely upon men.
