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the end of the Roman world

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the beginning of the Late Antiquity

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dismantling of previous structures

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Roman, Judeo-Christian, and Germanic cultures merged

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the magic practiced in these cultures merged as well, producing new combinations of magic practices

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the frontiers between magic and religion were not so clearly established in people's minds

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among Romans, magical practices abounded and were part of the religious ritual itself

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observing the flights of birds or the entrails of animals to predict the future

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creating amulets to attract good or bad fortune

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concocting potions in order to mediate with invisible spiritual forces

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reciting charms to heal, protect, or injure other people

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the word magic

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5th century B.C.

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Greek word μαγεία [mah-GAY-ya]

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referred to the activities of the Zoroastrian priests from Persia known as the μάγοι [mah-GOH-ee]

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the beliefs and practices attributed to the magoi were seen as dark and dangerous

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as it differed from Greek religion

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μαγεία was a perjoritive term used to refer to practices by Greek and Roman peasants which deviated from the official religious practices of the Roman Empire

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began to refer to trickery and deceit

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the word magic was bestowed with this meaning to the Latin written languages

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by then the ancient idea of magic had been already related to a more obscure concept issued from Christian religion: superstition

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the concept of superstition is necessary to understand the perception of magic in Medieval times

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the arrival of monotheistic religions at the end of the Roman era

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believing in only one God, Christians believed the practices of other religions to be false or superstitious

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Christian authors described the non-Christian religious practices as evil and misguided

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because these religions fell outside the monotheistic religious context, they could only be related to demons by the new religious authorities and hence received justification to be eradicated

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this approach to religions would mark Western culture for centuries to come up to our present day

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nevertheless, magic would become a central aspect of the new Medieval society

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from all social strata from Royal courts to peasant villages as well as some ecclesiastical environments