Cunning folk

A model of a 19th-century cunning woman in her house, at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, England
Part of a series on
Witchcraft
By region
Related topics

Cunning folk, also known as folk healers or wise folk, were practitioners of folk medicine, helpful folk magic and divination in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 20th century. Their practices were known as the cunning craft. Their services also included thwarting witchcraft. Although some cunning folk were denounced as witches themselves, they made up a minority of those accused,[1] and the common people generally made a distinction between the two. The name 'cunning folk' originally referred to folk-healers and magic-workers in Britain, but the name is now applied as an umbrella term for similar people in other parts of Europe.[2][3]

  1. ^ Hutton, Ronald (2017). The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present. Yale University Press. pp. 24–25.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Davies 2003. p. 163 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ De Blécourt 1994.