Definition
A composite category employed in some early modern European accusations and interrogations.
Evidence boundary
Whether a record fits that category may reflect inquisitorial framing rather than local self-description.
Why the distinction matters
Terms used across history and modern investigations can silently change meaning. A reliable archive states its intended scope, avoids using definitions as proof, and distinguishes an observation from a claim about causality. If a term appears within testimony, the original speaker and recording context matter. If it appears in contemporary analysis, its operational definition should be testable.
Related reading
Use the archive search to compare this term across source-led essays, methodology notes and associated technical research. The source catalog identifies where historical or project-specific terminology is drawn from.
Source and revision record
- Imagining the Witches’ Sabbath (Cambridge University Press)Scholarly book · Modern scholarly treatment of the interpretive construction of the sabbath.