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 French devins-guérisseurs ("soothsayer-healers") and leveurs de sorts ("curse-lifters") the Italian fattucchiere ("fixers"), guaritori ("healers") or benandanti ("good walkers") the Dutch toverdokters ("magic-doctors") or duivelbanners ("devil-banners") the German Hexenmeister or Kräuterhexen (“herb witches”) the Irish bean feasa ("woman of knowledge"), banfháidh or fáidhbhean ("seeress") the Spanish curanderos ("healers") the Portuguese curandeiros/as, benzedeiros/as ("blessers") or mulheres de virtude ("women of virtue") the Danish kloge folk ("wise folk") the Swedish klok gumma ("wise old woman") or klok gubbe ("wise old man") the Slavic vedmaki ("warlocks") the Finnish and Karelian tietäjät ("knowers")
What do you call them in your language?
