‘Arch ghespuys en ander spookery’; Dutch translations of witchcraft theory in the early seventeenth century

Abstract

In 1608 the last witch in the Dutch Republic was sentenced to death, making it the first country to stop its executions. However the concept of witchcraft still circulated in the Dutch society, which is exemplified by the increasing number of vernacular texts concerning witches appearing throughout the century. A striking amount of these texts consists of translations from other vernacular languages. This thesis aims to get a grip on the specifics of the Dutch conception of witchcraft by using Peter Burke’s concept of cultural translation. I will analyse different editions of the Dutch Daemonologia (1603) and Ondecking van tovery (1609), which together form a small cluster of texts reacting to each other, and compare them with their English originals. By looking at what is lost and gained in translation, differences between the Dutch and English concept of witchcraft will be revealed. The Dutch view on witchcraft did not seem to include the notion of the diabolical witches’ sabbath and the belief in familiar spirits. The translations do reveal a general preoccupation with superstition, although the two works hold different views on the effectiveness of these magical practices. Furthermore the Dutch word for witchcraft – ‘tovery’ – seems to be a cumulative concept that enveloped all kinds of magical and/or superstitious practises, which the author of a dedicatory poem to one of the translations summarized as ‘arch ghespuys en ander spookery’ [evil scum and other apparitions]. Although ‘tovery’ appears to have been a very versatile concept, a detailed transcultural comparison illuminates some of the peculiarities of the Dutch concept of witchcraft. The cultural aspects of Dutch witchcraft are still largely unexplored. This thesis is a first exploration of the Dutch views on witchcraft and proves this is a challenging but also a rewarding terrain for further research.