"They Ride on the Backs of Certain Beasts": The Night Rides, the Canon Episcopi, and Regino of Prüm's Historical Method
Chris Halsted
The group ride through the air by night, one of defining elements modern witchcraft imagery, derives in long run from so-called "Canon episcopi," first attested Regino Prüm's 906 canon collection. This article argues that language used Canon reveals gendered anxieties about declining Carolingian empire. thus participates an ancient discourse whereby transgressive magic was to delineate accepted societal structure.
Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft