Matteuccia di Francesco: The Woman Who Could Fly

talk about that pharmacist. Matteuccia di Francesco Matteuccia was born in in the small village of Ripa Bianca in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region of Italy, and at this time in Italian history, most people were living in rural servitude and when she was born, the average life expectancy was thirty to thirty five years. Most people were not formally educated, and most of them were very superstitious. Other than her place of birth, we don't really know

anything about her childhood. In fact, we don't meet up with her in history until she's accused of practicing witchcraft. Her witch trial was one of the earliest recorded witch trials in Europe, but what really makes it stand out is that it's considered the first case where an alleged

witch is accused of flying during her lifetime. Actually from the early fourteenth century all the way up until sixteen fifty or so, it's estimated that between two hundred thousand and five hundred thousand alleged witches were executed in Europe, or more of them were women. Experts believe, of course, that most were wrongfully accused of their crimes, and those accused and convicted were often happening during cases of mass hysteria and fear about pagan practices and the embellished stories

told about them. Perceptions about Western witchcraft and sorcery began to change during around the eleventh cent tree, which puts us around two hundred years before Matteuccia was born. Ideas about the magical arts had transformed from pagan practice into an intertwined association between those practices, heresy, and the devil.

This meant that charges of practicing these offenses were tried in court as malevolent sorcery, as they already had been, but now they also came with the additional charges of diabolism. We've really started this season to see some identifying criteria used by locals and witch hunters, although it's still pretty early in terms of really seeing a pattern just yet. But here's what we've learned so far when it comes to identifying a witch. First, we can all probably tell

from the numbers of deaths. If the individual was a woman, she could be a witch. And if she had a pet, and not necessarily the stereotypical black cat, she could be a witch. If she had a wart, she could be a witch. If she was middle aged somewhere around forty, or perhaps even a little older, she could be a witch. If she lived alone, it could be argued she was undermining the sacrament of marriage and the eyes of the church, and of course that meant she could be a witch.

And finally, if you'd gotten in any sort of argument with her and something bad happened to you afterward, come on, she's surely a witch. From the four through the eighteen centuries, there were some really wild superstitions about witches, which is, we're believed to renounce God and instead worship the devil, and that meant things like selling one's soul in exchange for the devil's assistance and summoning demons to carry out magical deeds. It was also believed in Manti Yuccia's trial

is considered the first recorded instance of this belief. As we said earlier, that which has had the ability to fly through the air, You might hear subtle differences in this story. Some flu on broomsticks, which is really the classic which vehicle, I would say, or on the back of a goat, or even on the back of a demon, But witches, make no doubt about it could fly. Some people also believed that witches had sex with the devil

and engaged in orgies during their secret meetings. Some believe that the accused were capable of shape shifting from human to animal form, or just from human form to another human form. As we mentioned earlier, there were rumors that witches who had pets kept those animals as their familiars

to do their evil bidding. And it was also believed that these so called witches were known to kidnap and murder infants and children for the purpose of drinking their blood, eating them, or rendering their fat into magical ointments, or perhaps all of the above. Sure, it's naive not to think that some people practiced sorcery with the intent to harm others, or as some people did worship the devil.

The crime of witchcraft were defined and within those definitions which hunts began to gain popularity, frequently encouraged by priests, judges, and local authorities who may or may not have studied theology or law. These so called experts believed there were witches in their society and that that evil needed to be expelled. We're going to take a break for a word from our sponsor, and when we come back, we will talk about what a wise woman was and why

she would have been so important to her village. Welcome back to Criminalia. Let's meet mate Uchia. Mistress of herbs and protector of abused women. So Madauccia was known as a domino or barum that literally means the mistress of herbs,

which is kind of a fabulous title. As an expert of herbs, she likely would have worked as an apothecary, or at least in a similar capacity, doing things like preparing ointments and herbal teas to heal ailments and injuries, perhaps with the recitation of a few magic words and amusing your quotes. It's more ritual at that point, probably than magical. She also provided aid for abused women. Word about Matthiuchia's herbal remedies and potions spread and her client

base began to grow. To be honest, most of her advice was pretty harmless, although some of her concoctions may have seemed strange to some. So imagine, for example, a salve made out of radish, garlic, wormwood, and a few other herbs thrown in boiled in butter, strained, and then given to you to cure your headaches. This may all seem very odd, but to the people of her village, if it worked, it worked. Domina of Barum was what

was known as a wise woman. A wiseman was a woman who was well versed in the use of herbs, charms, maybe fortune telling, and often she also of her babies. Most people in medieval times never actually saw a doctor, but they absolutely went to their local wise woman or wise man. They had basically three options for healthcare. One was the power of prayer. Too, they could seek out a monastery with monks or nuns with knowledge of herbal remedies. Or three, they could visit the local wise woman who

was skilled in the use of herbs. During the Middle Ages, physicians were trained to observe palpitate, take a patient's pulse and do a urine examination, but apothecaries and wise women and wise men were able to practically apply more than six hundred plants for medicinal use. You can thank Diascordies, a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and the author of De Materia Medica. That's a five volume Greek encyclopedia about herbal medicine.

It was referred to for more than fifteen hundred years, but like many old documents, the original text is lost. Luckily, there are many surviving copies the detail how plants were used for specific disorders, while others were credited with curing multiple diseases. His writings were the basis of pretty much all the herbal medicine practiced in Matti Yucci's lifetime. Apothecaries

were highly valued medical professionals. Today, that work has been synthesized and edited, and today's version of it is widely attributed to Hippocrates. Matta Yucci's work as a wise woman though left her accused of being quote a woman of a bad life and reputation, public and enchantress, sorceress, evil spell caster, and which the records of her trial detail the charms she used and her specialties seemed to have been healing prayers, and she definitely could throw down a

love spell. Her primary client, how for those love spells, though, according to her trial record, were women who wanted men to love them, as you'd expect, but she also used them to help women in abuse of relationships or women who had been abandoned by their partners. Among her clients was Braccia da Montone, a renowned leader of bands of mercenary soldiers and lord of a vast territory which included Perugia. He fought in many battles, and he was almost always victorious.

We do not know how these two people met, but he was friendly with Matteucia and not always friendly to the pope. You can see where that might cause a problem. Experts think their friendship may have been a contributing factor in what ultimately led to her arrest and spoiler alert, her execution. Although it was rare before the year fourteen hundred for witchcraft crimes to specifically be prosecuted, the increasingly common persecution of heresy made way for later criminal charges

against sorcery. The inquisitors who arrested Matteucia expected to find supernatural diabolism for enchantments and other magical arts. But they didn't I mean not really, but inquisitors always made sure to find what they were looking for. So we're gonna once again take a break for a word from our sponsor, and when we return, we will go to Matteuccia's trial, where it was claimed that she was quote instigated by

a diabolical spirit. Welcome back to Criminalia. Let's talk about how this wise woman found herself accused of having flown on a goat. Matticia's trial was conducted in Tody at the Tribunale Malai, which translates into English as the Court of Evildoers. It's a pretty great name, but to be clear, it was a terrible place. The historical records are still preserved today at the Municipal Historical Archives, and hers is one of the oldest witchcraft cases in Italy for which

a complete trial record survives. Her court record states that her case was brought to trial after complaints from local quote reputable men, complaints of who, what, when or where.

None of that is included. What we know of her trial is that she was charged with upwards of thirty counts, including some very specific things, the crime of having persuaded one of Braccio's men to gather the flesh of a drowned man to prepare an oil to heal the wounds of a patient, of having drunk the blood of many infants, of being able to turn into a cat, and having flown on a goat to the famous note de Benevento, which translates into English as the walnut tree of Benevento.

So I want to sidestep for a second and just digress into a discussion about the legend of this walnut tree of Benevento, because it was recorded during the trial as a place where which is gathered every Saturday night on the banks of the river Savato in Benevento. It's just north of Naples, and they would dance around this

walnut tree in the presence of the devil. In addition to providing her apothecary services, which her accusers characterized as enchantment, Matiucia was also accused of flying in through people's windows and sucking the life out of children sometimes though that's reported as sucking the blood out of children, but really either way. Some sources report she was accused of being a sex worker, as well as having committed desecration with other women. One source also mentioned her being a nun.

We can't confirm any of that, so take those with a grain of salt. It's said in some records that Bernardino dos Siena also pressed charges against her, although if he did, it is unclear what the specific charge was. Bernardino Dosciana was an Italian priest and Franciscan missionary who was known as the Apostle of Italy. He was eventually made a saint, and he frequently preached against so called wickedness such as sorcery, gambling, witchcraft, homosexuality, and heresy, weaving

all of that into local legend and folklore. And he became a very popular man in his own lifetime, and when he preached, large crowds gathered. When it came to witchcraft, he frequently preached and will quote, there is nothing better to do than cry to the fire, to fire to the fire, and by fire he meant witches were to be burned at the stake, and that means burned alive. He had visited Doughty as recently as that same year or within two years prior, sharing these very same beliefs

with Mattiuchia's fellow villagers. So there is a description of one of his speeches, and it paints quite a picture, so we're going to read it. Quote. The turmoil was large, and the people trembled. The church and Piazza Santa Croce was full of citizens and peasants, women and men, several

thousands in number. The shouting of little children and young boys was loud when Friar Bernardino stopped preaching and went to the piazza with many other fryers and set on fire a pile of four tables of games, several baskets of dice, more than four thousand pairs of old and new card games of great numbers, And placed and attached and hung on every side were much hair and flounces of dresses of women and other things, and with a lot of wood underneath. You have never seen a more

beautiful fire. And the flames spread in the air and confused the demon enemy of God. Let's talk more about Matuccia's trial. Court records also report how she and will quote here, enchanted the body head or other limbs of patients. The fact was, though in this court it really didn't matter if her patient had become gravely ill or died, or if she had cured their illness rather than reading disease, she would still be held guilty of practicing witchcraft. It

didn't matter either way. Matteuci confessed to several things, although it's really unclear if her confession happened under torture. Torture, as we know, is a common practice at this time in history. She confessed to having sold medicine, but she also confessed to having flown on the back of a demon or possibly a goat, after having smeared herself with an ointment made of the blood of newborn children. Mattiucia

was quote instigated by a diabolical spirit. Specifically in the trial record, the phrase is Malamale's addendo diabolico spiritu instigata, which translates into English as adding evil to evil inspired by the demonic spirit, and that phrase was added to the tale of almost all of the paragraphs detailing Matteuccia's crimes, just to be sure we all knew that her crimes were of the Black Arts and that she was in

league with the devil. While reading her trial record is historically interesting, it's it's also a document that is absolutely not in her favor, and neither was her trial. Matteuccia didn't have any form of defense. She did not serve as her own defense. She had no one to stand

up for her. She testified, likely it filtered through interrogators that she had had involvement with quote ghosts who came to her as a remedy to procure a pagan bone, that is, of those buried without baptism, the bodies of drowned persons to obtain fat with which, after having cooked the meat, to create a liquor. Mattiacia confessed to the crime she was accused of as we said, and unsurprisingly, she was found quote guilty of having carried out her

criminal activity in a continuous and aggravated manner. On March, at age forty, she was burned alive in the Perusian town of Tody. Inspired by Bernardino da Siena, Tody tightened up witchcraft laws right around the time Matteuccio was executed, and they implemented a zero tolerance stance. We're gonna quote de Siana here wherever one may be, he stated, and whoever may know him or her in any place whatsoever, inside or outside the city straightaway accused her before the inquisitor.

Every which every wizard, every sorcerer or sorceress, or worker of charms and spells, such enchanters, every time they have worked any charms or spells, have denied God by doing so, and he packed the house. We always end on a net on, like a down note, Holly, So, and it's usually someone's death. Um, so let's drink to perhaps a

happier time. What do you have for us today? Okay, so I'm gonna confess that first for today's cauldron, I thought about trying to make a drink somehow inspired by a goat, but I abandoned that line of thinking because it was going to bad places. But what I there were a few things that I really loved. I obviously love the phrase diabolical spirit which comes up, and I like that there's kind of a double on ponder there,

and then spirits can refer to alcohols. So I came up with a drink that I'm calling the diabolical Spirit and what it actually reverences. And this is a little gross, but I promised the drink is delicious. Are the allegations that she drank blood? Guess what You're never going to get a bloody marry anything out of me because I do not like them, and I think tomato juice is, oh my god, how do we even know each other? I don't know. Well it shows over we just never

have to share drinks, really is the case? Right? It works out great all the time. You're gonna want this one though. So this is of course a beautiful, beautiful red color, and it's got a very surprisingly complex flavor. It's absolutely lovely. So you're gonna start it's simple to put together three quarters of an ounce of grenadine. You're gonna do a half ounce of lemon juice, and then you're gonna add an ounce of gin and three quarters of an ounce of amoretto. And to all of that

you will add three ounces of pomegranate juice. You can shake that all up, or you can stir it up and you end up. It's thick, and it looks very much like blood. That pomegranate juice has such a deep flavor and a deep color that it looks very bloody. So it looks like blood. It's rich and taste, it's full of antioxidants. That is the diabolical spirit. It is really delicious. I will say it is a lot of

flavor and it is quite sweet. So if you wanted to cut it, you could also pour in some club soda and just you know, bring it down a little bit. If you want to do the mocktail version, it's super duper easy. You're gonna do all of the same stuff, but you're going to skip the gin obviously, and use

almond syrup in lieu of vamoretto. And here's what I would do, because there is a cool thing that happens to your nose and your palette when you're drinking it, because you do get those that scent of gin, even though the flavor of it is not particularly strong and

it I would add a garnish of rosemary. Get a nice sprig of rosemary and stick it in your glass for the mocktail, because you're still going to get that that aromatic experience of smelling something that is herbalal and has like a little pungent bite to it, but it is also very beautiful and it makes the mocktail very delicious. We did a u and it may have been in the first season Catherine, perhaps did you give her a

bloody cocktail? As well. Yes, you were talking about the one that we did for Halloween, which was called the Unlikely Antidote. It had a black cherry puree around the rim that gave it the sense of dripping blood. The drink itself was basically like a black and whisky sour, right, I kind remember what we had used for that that rent the dripping red. It was very cool looking. Yes, made a mess as well. Oh yeah, well you know Halloween, you know, um, I may have missed it. But your

glass choice for today's drink, do you know? I just put mine in a Rocks glass. I shook mine, poured it over ice because it was very simple, very simple delivery there. Yeah, it's an easy, peasy whatever you like on this. Like I like it cold, you might want to drink it warm so you can simulate that it's more blood like or servant with someone and claim it is. So hopefully if you try to make that you will enjoy it. I certainly did. The non drinker at my

house loved it. So there you go. If you would like to join us next week, we would delight in that as well, because there's another cocktail, and I promise that one is also pretty interesting. Thank you for spending this time with us this week on Criminalia, and see you right back here next week with more witchcraft and diabolical things. Criminalia is a production of Shonda land Audio

in partnership with I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, please visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.