Between the 15th and 17th centuries, it is estimated that half a thousand people were accused of witchcraft in Europe. The so-called “Holy Inquisition” accused them of a practice that could never be proven, the coven (or akelarre). 75% of those people were women. They condemned her to be burned alive at a public bonfire.
The coven and its meaning
The etymology of the word is not very clear. It is believed to come from Basque, the native language of the Basque country in Spain. Presumably, it comes from “aker” which means goat, and from “larre” which means meadow. The goat is related to Satan and the tradition of the witch ritual.
Although the facts are uncertain, according to what they said, witches and wizards gathered at night in a meadow to worship a goat, which represented Satan. The meetings were held three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting at 9 p.m.
During the coven, the witches knelt in front of the representation of the demon and kissed it all over its body. Then, they began a dance round following a choreography in a circle around the fire. The dance, little by little, increased its intensity until it became a chaotic series of unbridled movements and shakes.
There were dates when, during the Sabbath, they held a black mass. They were the nights of San Juan, the eve of kings and the night of all saints. In these meetings, witches and wizards mated sexually without regard to gender or kinship. At the end, the participants of the coven devoured the bodies of the victims who had betrayed the satanic cult. However, there is no evidence of these facts. Suspicions are strong that the inquisitors invented everything. There were also no witnesses to certify the veracity of the complainants’ statements.
Is the coven part of history or is it just fiction?
As the story goes, the inquisitor Juan del Valle Alvarado first used the term in the 17th century to legally accuse the victims. The inquisitors rejected any ideological contradiction that confronted the Catholic Faith.
They persecuted, arrested and tried people accused of practicing witchcraft, who were mainly women. Most of the accused were sentenced to death at the stake.
One of these events occurred in Zugarramurdi, in Pamplona. At the beginning of the 17th century, Juan del Valle Alvarado arrived there with other inquisitors to investigate rumors about the existence of witches and witches in the town. They accused dozens of people of practicing the coven and belonging to a satanic cult. They sentenced eleven people, including women and men, to be burned alive.
The truth is that many witches confessed their acts through torture. The torture implements used by the inquisition were of abominable cruelty, which had nothing “holy” about them. Many women and men confessed to end the torture and stop suffering.
