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Concept
Cunning folk
Summary
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, 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.
Names given to folk-healers and magic-workers in Europe include:
the Danish kloge folk ("wise folk")
the Dutch toverdokters ("magic-doctors") or duivelbanners ("devil-banners")
the Finnish and Karelian tietäjät ("knowers")
the French devins-guérisseurs ("soothsayer-healers") and leveurs de sorts ("curse-lifters")
the German Hexenmeister or Kräuterhexen (“herb witches”)
the Irish bean feasa ("woman of knowledge"), banfháidh or fáidhbhean ("seeress")
the Italian fattucchiere ("fixers"), guaritori ("healers") or benandanti ("good walkers")
the Portuguese curandeiros/as, benzedeiros/as ("blessers") or mulheres de virtude ("women of virtue")
the Slavic vedmaki ("warlocks")
the Spanish curanderos ("healers")
the Swedish klok gumma ("wise old woman") or klok gubbe ("wise old man")
In Scandinavia the klok gumma ("wise woman") or klok gubbe ("wise man"), and collectively De kloka ("The Wise ones"), as they were known in Swedish, were usually elder members of the community who acted as folk healers and midwives as well as using folk magic such as magic rhymes. In Denmark, they were called klog mand ("wise man") and klog kone ("wise woman") and collectively as kloge folk ("wise folk").
Official source
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