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The ritual of the Mass was sometimes reworked to create light-hearted parodies of it for certain festivities. Some of these became quasi-tolerated practices at times—though never accepted by official Church authorities—such as a festive parody of the Mass called "The Feast of Asses," in which Balaam's ass (from the Old Testament) would begin talking and saying parts of the Mass. A similar parody was the Feast of Fools. | The ritual of the Mass was sometimes reworked to create light-hearted parodies of it for certain festivities. Some of these became quasi-tolerated practices at times—though never accepted by official Church authorities—such as a festive parody of the Mass called "The Feast of Asses," in which Balaam's ass (from the Old Testament) would begin talking and saying parts of the Mass. A similar parody was the Feast of Fools. | ||
There began to appear more cynical and heretical parodies of the Mass, also written in ecclesiastical Latin, known as "drinkers' Masses" and "gamblers' Masses," which lamented the situation of drunk, gambling monks, and instead of calling to [[Yahweh|God]], called to Bacchus and Decius. Some of the earliest of these Latin parody works are found in the medieval Latin collection of poetry, Carmina Burana, written around 1230. At the time these wandering clerics were spreading their Latin writings and parodies of the Mass, the [[ | There began to appear more cynical and heretical parodies of the Mass, also written in ecclesiastical Latin, known as "drinkers' Masses" and "gamblers' Masses," which lamented the situation of drunk, gambling monks, and instead of calling to [[Yahweh|God]], called to Bacchus and Decius. Some of the earliest of these Latin parody works are found in the medieval Latin collection of poetry, ''Carmina Burana'', written around 1230. At the time these wandering clerics were spreading their Latin writings and parodies of the Mass, the [[Cathar]]s, who also spread their teachings through wandering clerics, were also active. | ||
==Connection with witchcraft== | ==Connection with witchcraft== | ||
[[File:La Voisin Black Mass.jpg|400px|thumb|The Guibourg Mass by Henry de Malvost, from the book ''Le Satanisme et la magie'' by Jules Bois]] | [[File:La Voisin Black Mass.jpg|400px|thumb|The Guibourg Mass by Henry de Malvost, from the book ''Le Satanisme et la magie'' by Jules Bois]] | ||
A further source of late Medieval and Early Modern involvement with parodies and alterations of the Mass, were the writings of the European [[witch-hunt]], which saw [[witch]]es as being agents of [[the Devil]], who were described as inverting the Christian Mass and employing the stolen Host for diabolical ends. Witch-hunter's manuals such as the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (1487) and the ''Compendium Maleficarum'' (1608) allude to these practices, although they bore little basis in reality. The first complete depiction of a blasphemy of the Mass in connection with the witches' [[sabbath]], was given in Florimond de Raemond's 1597 French work, ''The Antichrist'' (written as a Catholic response to the Protestant claim that the Pope was the Antichrist). | A further source of late Medieval and Early Modern involvement with parodies and alterations of the Mass, were the writings of the European [[witch-hunt]], which saw [[witch]]es as being agents of [[the Devil]], who were described as inverting the Christian Mass and employing the stolen Host for diabolical ends. Witch-hunter's manuals such as the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (1487) and the ''Compendium Maleficarum'' (1608) allude to these practices, although they bore little basis in reality. The first complete depiction of a blasphemy of the Mass in connection with the witches' [[sabbat|sabbath]], was given in Florimond de Raemond's 1597 French work, ''The Antichrist'' (written as a Catholic response to the Protestant claim that the Pope was the [[Antichrist]]). | ||
The most sophisticated and detailed descriptions of the Black Mass to have been produced in early modern Europe are found in the Basque witch-hunts of 1609–1614. It has recently been argued by academics including Emma Wilby that the emphasis on the Black Mass in these trials evolved out of a particularly creative interaction between interrogators keen to find evidence of the rite and a Basque peasants who were deeply committed to a wide range of unorthodox religious practices such as "cursing" Masses, liturgical misrule and the widespread misuse of Catholic ritual elements in forbidden magical conjurations. | The most sophisticated and detailed descriptions of the Black Mass to have been produced in early modern Europe are found in the Basque witch-hunts of 1609–1614. It has recently been argued by academics including Emma Wilby that the emphasis on the Black Mass in these trials evolved out of a particularly creative interaction between interrogators keen to find evidence of the rite and a Basque peasants who were deeply committed to a wide range of unorthodox religious practices such as "cursing" Masses, liturgical misrule and the widespread misuse of Catholic ritual elements in forbidden magical conjurations. | ||
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In the 17th century, [[La Voisin|Catherine Monvoisin]] and the priest Étienne Guibourg performed Black Masses for Madame de Montespan, the mistress of King Louis XIV of France. Since a criminal investigation—''L'affaire des poisons'' ("Affair of the Poisons")—was launched and testimony from those involved revealed the details of this Masses. | In the 17th century, [[La Voisin|Catherine Monvoisin]] and the priest Étienne Guibourg performed Black Masses for Madame de Montespan, the mistress of King Louis XIV of France. Since a criminal investigation—''L'affaire des poisons'' ("Affair of the Poisons")—was launched and testimony from those involved revealed the details of this Masses. | ||
At this time, the Black Mass was a typical Roman Catholic Mass, but modified according to certain formulas (some reminiscent of the ''Sworn Book of Honorius'', or its French version, ''The Grimoire of Pope Honorius''). The priest utilized a woman as the central altar of worship, lying naked upon the altar with the chalice on her stomach, and holding a candle in each of her outstretched arms. The Host was consecrated in her vagina, and then used in love potions designed to gain the love of the King. To seal the power of the Mass, the priest [[sex magic|had sex]] with the woman serving as the altar at the end of the ritual. | At this time, the Black Mass was a typical Roman Catholic Mass, but modified according to certain formulas (some reminiscent of the ''Sworn Book of Honorius'', or its French version, ''The [[Grimoire of Pope Honorius]]''). The priest utilized a woman as the central altar of worship, lying naked upon the altar with the chalice on her stomach, and holding a candle in each of her outstretched arms. The Host was consecrated in her vagina, and then used in love potions designed to gain the love of the King. To seal the power of the Mass, the priest [[sex magic|had sex]] with the woman serving as the altar at the end of the ritual. | ||
==Modern Black Masses== | ==Modern Black Masses== | ||
[[File:LaVey Black Mass.jpg|450px|thumb|Anton LaVey performing a ritual Black Mass]] | [[File:LaVey Black Mass.jpg|450px|thumb|Anton LaVey performing a ritual Black Mass]] | ||
In spite of the huge amount of French literature discussing the Black Mass (Messe Noire) at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, no set of written instructions for performing one, from any purported group of Satanists, turned up in writing until the 1960s. As can be seen from these first Black Masses and Satanic Masses appearing in the U.S., the creators drew heavily from occult novelists such as Dennis Wheatley and Joris-Karl Huysmans, and from non-fiction occult writers popular in the 1960s, such as Grillot de Givry, author of the popular illustrated book ''Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy'', and H. T. F. Rhodes. | In spite of the huge amount of French literature discussing the Black Mass (''Messe Noire'') at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, no set of written instructions for performing one, from any purported group of Satanists, turned up in writing until the 1960s. As can be seen from these first Black Masses and Satanic Masses appearing in the U.S., the creators drew heavily from [[occult]] novelists such as Dennis Wheatley and Joris-Karl Huysmans, and from non-fiction occult writers popular in the 1960s, such as Grillot de Givry, author of the popular illustrated book ''Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy'', and H. T. F. Rhodes. | ||
Herbert Sloane, the founder of an early Satanist group, the Ophite Cultus Satanas, speaks of Satanists performing the ritual of the "Satanic Mass" in a letter he wrote in 1968 (see the article on his group), and in 1968 and 1969 also appeared the first two recordings of Satanic rituals, both entitled the "Satanic Mass." Soon after the band Coven released a Satanic Mass recording, the [[Church of Satan]] began creating their own Black Masses, two of which are available to the public. | Herbert Sloane, the founder of an early Satanist group, the Ophite Cultus Satanas, speaks of Satanists performing the ritual of the "Satanic Mass" in a letter he wrote in 1968 (see the article on his group), and in 1968 and 1969 also appeared the first two recordings of Satanic rituals, both entitled the "Satanic Mass." Soon after the band Coven released a Satanic Mass recording, the [[Church of Satan]] began creating their own Black Masses, two of which are available to the public. | ||
A writer using the pseudonym "Aubrey Melech" published, in 1986, a Black Mass entirely in Latin, entitled "Missa Niger" | A writer using the pseudonym "Aubrey Melech" published, in 1986, a Black Mass entirely in Latin, entitled "Missa Niger." (This Black Mass is available on the Internet). Aubrey Melech's Black Mass contains almost exactly the same original Latin phrases as the Black Mass published by [[Anton LaVey]] in ''The Satanic Rituals''. LaVey and Melech did not give their sources for the Latin material in their Black Mass, merely implying that they received it from someone else. | ||
==Language of the black mass== | ==Language of the black mass== | ||
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[[Category:Religious Concepts]] | [[Category:Religious Concepts]] | ||
[[Category:Occultism]] | [[Category:Occultism]] | ||
[[Category:Featured Articles]] | |||
[[Category:Rituals]] | |||