Devil. Lucifer. Beelzebub. The king of lies. Lord of the hordes of demons. A fallen angel frozen into the ice at the very bottom of Dante's Hell. One of the oldest in European tradition, this occult image remains vivid and recognizable today.
The devil causes real fear only in people who are somehow connected with one of the Abrahamic religions. To everyone else, he's just an outdated character or horror character. Such an attitude towards him was formed only about a hundred years ago: with the disappearance of religion into the background of social relations, the rapid liberalization and modernization of society, there was simply no place for the devil.
And not because we risked going to the fire for her - just then we could assume anything, but not the absence of God and the devil.
It's all about science. For a man of the XX-XXI centuries, there are almost no white spots in the general picture of the surrounding world. We are no longer afraid of the shadows swarming in the bushes, we can find a reasonable explanation for almost everything that happens around. In the end, some representatives of humanity even managed to look at our planet from the outside.
Three or four hundred years ago it was impossible, and people explained most events and phenomena in the simplest and most painless way - either by the will of God or by the actions of an unclean person. And no one had any questions. The Creator is omnipotent, his main enemy is cunning. Everything is simple and straightforward. But only at first glance.
The devil against the Christian church
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The theoretical basis for such explanations was prepared by the Christian theological tradition. The thesis that everything visible can be done by the devil quickly became one of the most relevant in the intellectual agenda. However, this statement is not categorical: it is “can”, not “is being done”. Therefore, any event requires clarification and interpretation.
Doubt is a good foundation for science, but the dominance of religion is a bad environment for its development.
Why? He is full of temptations and, as a result, sins and vices. This is due to the fact that there is not so much grace (in the Christian interpretation) in it. Taking advantage of this, the devil acts here, almost without encountering obstacles. And resistance to him becomes the main task of every good Christian personally and the Church as an organization. And already this struggle can be used as an ideological justification for any measures - from the Crusades to the Inquisition, from interference in politics to open manipulation of the population.
How can a complex theological concept be made simple and straightforward? Here all those frightening images that horror culture readily exploits in our time come to the rescue: numerous witches, werewolves and devils, led by the devil himself. They need to fill the surrounding world. Their actions should be simple and emphatically topical.
Moreover, it underlies any religion, where there are always light and dark forces and they act here and now (manifesting themselves explicitly or not very much).
Devil and paganism
Among the pre-Christian European traditions, the most striking and developed, perhaps, should be recognized as ancient and Scandinavian mythology. They are very close and similar: here the central deity becomes the hypertrophied main and masculine.
The Greek Zeus and the Scandinavian Odin even perform practically the same functions. And they are constantly hanging around in our world: the first openly solicits earthly women, the second easily breaks into the wedding and begins to make some abstract demands or make claims. And all this is perceived as something absolutely logical and everyday.
In addition, both gods experience a rather painful fixation on the topic of knowledge: One sacrificed an eye for this and spent nine days in an uncomfortable position, and Zeus is simply notified of everything that is happening in the world by default. And in the same ancient tradition, a special god is even responsible for special knowledge - Pan or Faun (depending on time and localization). He also “controls” fear and lives in places where there is no constant human presence, and indeed they are not very pleasant for people: ominous wastelands, deep forests, unplowed fields.
One more detail effectively complements the Faun's image - he leads a predominantly nocturnal lifestyle. And of course, looks. A quick glance at the image of God is enough to understand that this comrade has long been familiar to us. Goat legs, horns. The devil, right?
Why are the main monster of Christianity and Faun outwardly similar? The answer is banal and simple.
Scare and direct you to a new religion - which explains this fear and teaches you how to fight it.
Here, one more aforementioned function of the old gods fell into place. Christianity recognizes only religious knowledge. The Bible becomes a repository of absolute truth, and compliance with it becomes the criterion of truth. Anything that contradicts it is wrong at best.
And how can something that is conveyed by Pan, which is naturally not in the Bible, correspond to the Holy Scriptures? But if this character is remembered and the possibility of his presence is admitted, then he is unclean - like his knowledge. Better not to touch. We warned you.
Lead the life of a good Christian and stay out of the Bible. Because behind them is the territory of the devil. He, of course, is not constantly present there, but it is not difficult for him to appear. Therefore, it is better not even think about it. And even more so not to speak. Otherwise …
Speak of the Devil
An old French instructive legend tells what happens if we talk about the devil often. It begins like this: "Once upon a time there was a family of tenants, in which they only spoke about the devil." This is rather strange for a society dominated by the Christian worldview - were there really no more topics for conversation? But even now, both ordinary people and the media often spend a huge amount of time on unwanted and even unpleasant topics. Nothing changed.
He doesn't even need to do anything - just appear. Dressed unclean, of course, in red, he has huge horns and goat legs. Canonical devil. The intruder's visit causes panic - the whole family immediately acts as godly Christians should do in such a situation: they pray fervently until morning. But the devil only leaves at dawn. And comes back again.
Nowhere to go - you need to go to the priest. He does not see anything surprising in what is happening: you talked about the devil - he came. Was it possible to expect something else?
The Horned One comes back again and again. Prayers don't help. The situation is extremely unpleasant, although the devil does nothing - he just sits by the fireplace. We have to involve the church authorities in the case. The archbishop arrives with a crowd of clergy, they are waiting for the devil - and only their intervention with all appropriate paraphernalia makes the evil one flee.
However, it did not get better - although the devil capitulated, but an hour later a storm began, which killed almost the entire harvest of tenants. The reasons for the cataclysm are not named, but, of course, the vagaries of the climate here will not be the most successful explanation. Either the revenge of the devil, or God decided to teach people a lesson for paying too much attention to his sworn enemy. There is no specifics, but it is not needed: everyone is already sad and disgusted. But you can bet that people with horns will not be interested anymore.
This is just one of the many stories about the clashes between man and the devil - as a rule, the plot in them is less intricate than in the legend of French tenants. So, the plot, when a person walks through a dark forest at night and meets something causing panic, is one of the most banal and ancient. And it was also convenient to use it as a bonus in parables about every devilry.
In a dark forest, on a back road
A deep and dark forest is a place that causes fear even in a person of our days. Although we have much more knowledge in the field of biology, physics and other scientific disciplines, but in such an environment we can not always find a suitable explanation for what is happening around us. A branch creaked somewhere, something rustled in the foliage, some shadows move. At the edge of consciousness, the thought flashes that everything around just lives its own life and we are not alone here. But it is quickly replaced by fear.
We are afraid of what we do not see if we feel its presence. This is one of the most important protective reactions of the body, a reminder of danger. Whether it is natural or supernatural, it does not matter, we just need to be prepared for its appearance.
This is how werewolves and ghosts appear, and the devil pursues the night travelers. And the story of one carrier of experience is immediately transmitted from mouth to mouth by tens and hundreds of people, acquiring more and more new details. This makes fear common - and, on the one hand, it attracts people to the Church, and on the other hand, it pushes people to not the most pleasant actions. The conclusion suggests itself: if a devil was seen in the forest near our village, then he was there for a reason.
And the reason for the appearance of the unclean also lies on the surface - somewhere there lives someone who is not indifferent to him. So it's time to look for the witch. And she, of course, will be found and judged - most likely, using the most far-fetched and formal pretext. But there will be no doubt - as well as that the devil was in the forest. Simply because it is some 17th century outside, and knowledge in the field of natural science is at a primitive level. Especially among the peasants, most of whom cannot even read.
In addition to visions of frankly diabolical origin, various local variations are also found here: the English Black Dogs, the legends of which are found with reference to almost half of the old villages of Foggy Albion; almost ubiquitous in Europe are stories of wandering fires luring travelers into swamps or simply flickering in the distance and causing horror. Werewolves and other ghouls scurry here and there. And even the devil, familiar to us from the Slavic tradition, fits into this concept just perfectly. Especially if you remember that he, too, is an otherworldly being and clearly not of Christian origin.
Most stories of this kind boiled down to the fact that someone, somewhere, saw something frightening. But sometimes more specific and detailed plots appeared.
If you come across a dark silhouette moving towards you late at night on a forest road, it is frightening. But if the meeting is inevitable, interaction is possible. This is how stories appeared about a person's closer contacts with evil spirits.
For example, the devil (someone else has nothing to do in the night forest) may offer to go to the fair in a neighboring village - of course, sooner or later the hero realizes that the matter is clearly unclean, but it's too late. The devil takes him away from where they do not return.
In other legends, the crafty one offers a deal - for example, he is ready to correct (and as quickly as possible!) The situation weighing on his interlocutor in exchange for some service. If he, in his simplicity and naivety, agrees, the devil may not remind of himself at all for the rest of his life and only then will he come to take him with him to hell. This should not be surprising - what else to expect if you have contacted evil spirits.
An inventive enemy of the human race can convey something sacred without any conditions: an impressive selection of occult literature, a stone fulfilling a wish or an elongated object of dubious origin, which, if rubbed, makes two demons appear and fulfill your every demand - but only once in a day. The last case at the end of the 16th century became the reason for the trial in France - as a result of it, 350 people were found guilty.
Devil Family
However, abstractions and theological statements alone will not be enough in a situation with the devil. This character quickly and firmly grows into the popular consciousness and begins to live his own life. He becomes completely independent and human-like in essence, and in legends he immediately acquires a wife and offspring. And if everything is simple with children - countless hordes of demons cannot be anything but his offspring - then the presence of a wife is somewhat surprising.
In a situation with the devil, however, the church falls out for obvious reasons. And the question of children and the kitchen, given what kind of supernatural family we are talking about, remains to a certain extent open. It is curious that the devil's wife most often appears in legends, the plot of which can be reduced to the formula "the unclean beats the spouse." The concentration of absurdity is off scale.
The devil is generally a rather vile character, and one should not be surprised that he practices domestic violence. Usually his fight with his wife serves as a logical explanation for some extreme natural events - strong winds or thunderstorms. "Why does the devil hit his passion?" - also a question that does not require an answer. Beats - and that's it. Very typical of the Middle Ages.
Medieval church deals with evil spirits
However, in the relationship between people and evil spirits, an atmosphere of constant threat did not always reign. Sometimes a person used the horned one for his own purposes, while not having any obligations to him. For example, the devil could lose the dispute: in one of the legends, the ruler of the underworld was defeated in the competition "who will drink whom" and was forced to build a stone bridge alone. There are many similar stories in the Scandinavian tradition, but instead of the devil there appears a troll - however, it is also an unpleasant creature.
Mid XII century. A couple of heretics come to a small German town and begin to preach. The source does not say what exactly they were trying to convey to the flock and what their heresy consisted of, but it is quite obvious that the sermons ran counter to the position of the official church. Despite the active work of priests, the number of worshipers of heretics grew rapidly, and they began to pose a threat to the local clergy. Moreover, the blasphemous aliens also demonstrated dubious miracles: they walked on water, remained unharmed in the fire and sometimes even tried to levitate, which did not fit into the framework of socially acceptable behavior.
The usual measures in such cases - arrest, interrogation and conviction - provoked a riot. The situation became critical - even the local bishop began to seriously fear for his life, not to mention his career, and was forced to resort to extreme measures. He turns to one of his subordinates, who, before becoming a clergyman, practiced black magic and was close to the devil. This turn may seem unexpected, but in fact, there is nothing out of the ordinary here either. A man got lost in his youth, then repented, took the true path - everything is in order. At first, the vicar refuses to renew contacts with dark forces: this is contrary to his status, and indeed a deeply immoral occupation. But the bishop's arguments convinced him, especially since it was a matter of simple fortune-telling - it was necessary to find out where these heretics came from and what is the secret of their success.
After some kind of ritual (which, of course, is not described, for there is no need to instruct respectable Christians how to invoke the devil), the ruler of evil appears. And he says that he knows perfectly well the troublemakers - moreover, they act, if not on the initiative of the evil one, then certainly with his help.
But we remember that the devil is an extremely mean character. Therefore, he not only easily revealed the whole truth about his messengers, but also revealed the secret of their "miracles". Each has an amulet sewn under the skin, which adds charisma and makes them unharmed. You just need to remove these artifacts.
Having surrendered his servants, the devil solemnly departed. And the church authorities could only once again arrest the annoying heretics, under the pretext of a search in such cases to search for "marks of the devil" to find amulets, cut them out and offer a deal - check the superpowers of the dodgers once again and ask them to publicly enter the fire again. If those are truly holy miracle workers, then they will not burn. If not saints and miracle workers - well, they are not the first and they are not the last. It is clear what the reaction of the heretics was, but they had no options. Moreover, the crowd gathered for the next accusations against the bishop for arresting their favorites will certainly not wait.
The heretics refused to voluntarily go to the fire without their equipment. The crowd was indignant for a long time, but the bishop put a convincing end, showing the amulets and explaining the essence of what was happening. The assembled people were furious. There was no need to burn the heretics - they were torn apart by an angry crowd. All that was heard from them during this execution was curses against the devil. But the horned one has nothing to do with the curses of the heretics deceived by him. He's just a rare scoundrel, and he likes to do nasty things.
Despite the amazing plot with unexpected twists, the story does not in the least contradict medieval morality. The church regains its influence, the devil is just as mean and wicked as ever.
And the appeal of clerics to the devil also raises no questions: their task is war, and in war, as you know, all means are good. Even negotiations with the enemy are in their own interests.
All these manipulations with the devil were possible only in the Middle Ages. The new era with its industrial and not so revolutions and the rapid development of science made people forget about the unclean. Talk about him ceases, he no longer lurks in every dark corner.
But each of us retains an amazing opportunity even now to face an absolutely pure and genuine devil. This is easier than it sounds.
Whenever you are walking along a dark alley and it seems to you that someone is watching you. Or a strange sound at night grabs your attention. Or are you afraid to walk to the kitchen after watching another episode of your favorite TV show? Or your child is naughty and declares that he does not want to be alone in a dark room.
Now you can find dozens of explanations and excuses for this, and then, most likely, you will laugh at your fears. But you will only do this because you live in the 21st century - and four hundred years ago, most likely, you would have told more than one story in your life, like the ones discussed in this article. And of course you would be a member of them. Because then the devil was present everywhere.
It is ubiquitous now - only we call it differently. He no longer has horns and goat legs. And he is taciturn - but it doesn't get any better.