сн. viii The Power of Witches over External Things

(...) because he had to go out that night: but when they still continued to press him and insist upon it as their right, he knew that he was overpersuaded; yet, as he had said, he himself went out. When he came home in the morning and happened to go into his garden, he found it all devoured by caterpillars and slugs, and the whole garden filled with such animals: but he bore all in silence, recognising the usual traces of that ungodly Assembly.

In the year 1323 Frederick Duke of Austria marched against the Emperor Louis of Bavaria, and was defeated in a great battle between Ottingen and Moldova, and was captured by Louis, who placed him under guard in his fortified citadel. Meanwhile a witch promised his brother Leopold in Austria that he would by his art bring back Frederick within an hour if he should have a sufficient reward; and the Prince made liberal promises. The demon then flew to Frederick in Bavaria, and entered his prison in the form of a pilgrim, saying: "If you wish to be freed from captivity, mount this horse, and I will take you safe into Austria to your brother Leopold." The Duke asked: "Who are you?" But he answered: "Do not ask who I am, for that does not concern you; but mount this horse which I bring you." But when even this most valiant Duke was seized with horror and protected himself with the sign of the cross, the evil spirit disappeared together with his black horse, and went back empty to him who had sent him; in reply to whose complaints that he had not brought the captive home, he told all that had happened.

Among the Swedes Ollerus attained to such fame in arms by means of his magic art that, as Saxo Grammaticus (Hut. Dan. 3) says, he was thought to be divine. The same author writes as follows (Book 5) of the Danish pirate Oddo: "He sailed the seas without any ship, and by raising up storms often wrecked his enemies' fleets. He was a foe to merchants and a friend to barbarians. He embarked upon a war with the Normans; and by his spells so deluded his enemies' eyes that they thought they could see the flashing of the Danish swords at a distance, so that when it came to hand to hand fighting they were so dazzled that they could not see to fight, and were thus defeated by magic.

Bishop Martin Kromer * writes as follows of the memorable victory of the Tartars over the Poles: "In the year 1240 the Poles joined battle with the Tartars near Legnitz and pressed them strongly and were putting them to rout. In the extreme rear of the Tartar army there was, among other banners, a notable one bearing a picture of the letter X, while at the top was a hideous bearded black head. As the standard bearer strongly waved this banner, it exhaled a dense and horribly stinking cloud of smoke, which not only hid the barbarians from the Poles, but even killed the Poles with its overpowering stench. The Tartars had done this by their spells; for they were much addicted to consultation with soothsayers and diviners, especially in war but also in peace, in order to foreknow the future. When they saw that the Poles were in a panic, the barbarians roused themselves and charged them, and put them to rout with great slaughter. So great a number of Christians was killed in that battle that nine huge sacks were filled with the ears that were cut off, one from each dead man.

The Chinese, according to Juan Gonzales de Mendoza,f worship the (...)