ABSTRACT
Religion vied with domestic duty for the chief place in the daily interest and concern of the burgher’s wife. Heresies were most common in the days when the overthrow of the feudal oppressor by the trader inspired the worker with a spirit of revolt against both the master who employed him and the wealthy prelate who made religion a mask for his own unconquerable worldliness. Superstitions more ancient than the formulated Christian creed mingled with and survived it. Hitherto the statutes of various cities, such as Perugia, had allowed a witch to purge herself of her offence by paying a fine; but dark German superstitions were creeping down the beautiful valleys of Como and Cammonica, and gloom and terror reigned therein. But many women, acting on the prevalent superstition, believed themselves to be witches or assumed the character, and so gave direct encouragement to the credulity of the undiscerning and of the Inquisitors.
