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Rosalia - the Evil Black Witch of the Harz, Part Three

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Rosalia – The Evil Black Witch of the Harz

By Gary Bateman

PREFACE

Author’s Notes on “Rosalia – The Evil Black Witch of the Harz”

Introduction and Overview:  This epic narrative poem on “Rosalia” is pure fiction—but it is a creative reality though in the deep poetic recesses of my mind, however; I should note to you that there is indeed a tradition of Witchcraft and Sorcery in the region of the Harz Mountains here in Germany which definitely dates back to medieval times.  People who live there have some fun with Halloween and Walpurgis Nacht parties each year in Bad Harzburg and other towns within the Harz.  Though the witch thing is a friendlier proposition in today’s “modern world,” it was certainly not this way centuries ago when those accused of Witchcraft and Sorcery met a rather gruesome fate when they were convicted of doing evil things and consorting with “The Devil.” Moreover, throughout the text I have sprinkled a few witchcraft-oriented terms in the German so the reader can get feel for the Germanic setting for the poem.  The “Cliff Notes” I’ve cited below will ensure that these few German terms are precisely explained and defined in their English equivalent meanings.  Any other terms in Latin, for example, will be defined and explained as well.  The time and location setting for this epic narrative poem is the early 16th Century in the Harz Mountains in Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, with the principal events occurring in and around the vicinity of the Brocken Summit which is the highest summit in the Harz mountain range and in Northern Germany.    

Academic Source Attribution:  The source attribution on the subject of the Black Arts for “Rosalia” came from:  Richard Cavendish, The Black Arts, (New York:  The Putnam Publishing Group, 1967), passim throughout book.  Mr. Cavendish's scholarly book on this subject was quite helpful while I was doing my research on this epic narrative poem.  I wanted to make sure that the information I was presenting was at least in line with the common terminology used and associated with this rather arcane subject area.  I also conducted on-line internet research on a number of related topics within the Witchcraft genre to get a more in-depth feel for this fascinating topic. 

Dramatis Personae:

Rosalia—The Evil Black Witch of the Harz

Aurelia—The Princess of the Light and The Precious Child of God

Monseigneur Wolfgang Augustus Hardenberg (Regional Catholic Church Monseigneur in the Harz at Cloister Marten)

Rosalia’s Hell-Spawned Minions

Monseigneur Hardenberg’s Priests from Cloister Marten

Jehovah —The Almighty Lord God

Jesus Christ—Son of God

Archangel Gabriel and His Force of Heavenly Angels

Lucifer—The Dark Angel and Ruler of the Underworld

Author’s Cliff Notes – Answer Key for Challenging Words and Foreign Phrases in the Text:

Title of Poem: “Rosalia—die boese Hexe aus dem Harz”   (Note: This is the actual title of this epic poem, and in English, it means: “Rosalia—The Evil Black Witch of the Harz.”)

Prologue:  “Brocken summit in the Harz.”  Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz Mountains.  It is part of the ongoing Witchcraft tradition today in the Harz.

Rosalia’s Entrée to the 16th Century:  Entrée in the Section II title here means “Entrance.”

Vocabulary Terms:  (in order of text presentation throughout the poem)

Scaurous:  An adjective that refers to “with large ankles.”

Schnauzkrampf-like mouth:  “Schnauzkrampf” is a noun that refers to “a mouth that looks more like a snout.”

Die Hexerei:  German noun for “Witchcraft.”

Nefandous:  Adjective for “unmentionable” or “unspeakable.”

Black Mass Satanist Prayer:  The lead-in for this unholy prayer starts with the words, “Our Father, which wert in heaven . . . ,” meaning, of course, “Our Father, which was in heaven . . . ,” with wert being the Old English form of was.

Nefast:  Adjective for “wicked.”

Malleus Maleficarum (1486):  This term from the Latin means, “Hammer of Witches.”  This medieval document was written by two Catholic inquisitors in 1486, and then they codified it and passed it down within the Church hierarchy.  This particular document reflected the Church’s “then” present knowledge of witchcraft and sorcery.

Cloister Marten:  The regional catholic monastery located in the Harz.

mirabile visu:  a Latin term or expression for “Wonderful to behold.”

Burg Worlerede:  A fortress castle very near to Cloister Marten in the Harz.

Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Schoeningen, Germany (September 20, 2014)

Rosalia - The Evil Black Witch of the Harz, Part Three Vespers’ Prayer Preparation for Black Mass In preparation for the ritual Black Mass at midnight, Rosalia recites the following prayer incantation which must be rendered latest at 6:00 pm on the eve of the Black Mass. This is a six-hour process that lasts until midnight when the actual Black Mass ceremony formally commences. The Vespers’ Prayer incantation by Rosalia reads as follows: We Pray In The Name of Our Father Lucifer, Which wert in Heaven: Boil, Boil plague-ridden rats and toads in oil, With a pair of gleaming snake eyes too. Mix in fresh hen’s blood and a rabbit’s paw, With a touch of horse dung and a lizard’s tail too. Add six cups of Vitriol and a tablespoon of Goldwater. Stew, Stew this Stygian alchemic brew for ne’r six hours During Vespers for Our Midnight Black Mass on All Hallows’ Eve. Serve this unholy sustenance to Our Coven at midnight, As we pray in Great Lucifer’s name for his guidance In defeating Jehovah’s forces of good and light. We do this in the name of Great Lucifer—The Dark One. We seek Blackness, Darkness, Degradation, and Negation— As Our Coven has the power of His Power as granted By His Unholiness when the full moon’s shadow Crosses the face of the Earth. Rosalia’s Sacrilegious Activities and Mask of Deception Rosalia was very self-aware of her bewitching and beguiling activities, and her seasoned ancient command of the instruments of evil and debauchery, whether by plan or at will, to execute her nefast activities against all who were innocent and unsuspecting. Her negative actions left an indelible stain and a wicked scar of evil on the spiritual psyche of all of her victims. Rosalia was also vividly aware of the Church’s knowledge of witchcraft and sorcery, as written, codified and passed down by two Catholic inquisitors in the Malleus Maleficarum published in 1486. The power of her profane instruments of witchcraft found many of their original associational relationships with certain sacraments and church procedures, but were later corrupted and brought to the dark side to aid the Devil’s work. What was once good, could become instantly impious, if the witches focused their negative efforts and pagan power on corrupting and harming mankind. And so, Rosalia understood and appreciated the power and the knowledge of the Catholic Church concerning matters of witchcraft and the witches’ devotion to evil. The Church was not unaware of Rosalia’s evil activities, but they were confined presently to a local area and were not of a larger regional nature—at least for the time being. With this in mind and being so informed of the Church, and with the power and influence of the Dark One, Rosalia continued her ruthless, evil crimes and her heartless, blasphemous activities during periodic nocturnal visits in bucolic villages in the Harz countryside. It was during these so-called “evening activities” that Rosalia’s dark-side mask, that is, her true witch’s countenance shone through and presented her ghastly Gorgon-grimaced face to her chosen victims—men, women, children—with no quarter given. This was Rosalia’s true self, her “evening mask,” but yet her true self. Yet while during the day, as part of a masterful chameleon-like deception, Rosalia would appear to unsuspecting people in her “daytime mask” as a beautiful and charming blonde-haired, blue-eyed lady of young adult age, with a kind and genial spirit who worked in a local Inn in a village close to the Brocken. This was Rosalia’s perfect cover for plotting and conducting her wicked and unholy activities. Rosalia naturally commanded the insatiable power of the black arts which allowed her to maintain her “normal appearance” for as long as she chose—and yet, she could summon her real dark appearance on a moment’s notice, but preferred the night when her dark-side powers were at their greatest pitch, whereby she could command whatever hell-spawned demons or earthly elements she needed to help and support her evil intentions and deeds. With the daily reality of this “perfect deception,” Rosalia, with her coven of disciples, could strike with impunity throughout the numerous villages in the Harz countryside, consummating their evil intentions and horrible deeds in the name of God’s fallen angel. Rosalia’s goal was to deceive, corrupt and destroy the eternal souls of as many men, women, and children as possible, while ensuring the maturation and permanence of her power, and the unholy glorification of her master—Lucifer. Who could ever imagine that a young beautiful blonde lady who innocently worked in a local village Inn could be one of vilest black spirits in the history of witchcraft? Could Rosalia and her hell-spawned soulless minions be stopped and brought to justice for their terrible actions and deeds? Who would dare challenge Rosalia’s power and the evil she sought to inflict on mankind? End of Part Three Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved, Schoeningen, Germany (September 20, 2014)

Copyright © | Year Posted 2014




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Date: 8/19/2015 5:28:00 AM
I am utterly enthralled by this scary composition, Gary. You are an inspiration! Thank you for sharing your work, and I look forward to reading more a little later! Btw, the Vespers' Prayer is awesome. The use of dates and specific times and places makes this fictional piece sound even more real and terrifying. Always, Laura
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Gary Bateman
Date: 8/19/2015 10:33:00 AM
Laura, Also I tracked my dates with Rosalia to coincide with the general persecution of witches and warlocks in Europe and Great Britain during the 15th and 16th centuries. And you'll note the date of the "Malleus Maleficarum," which was codified in 1486. The Harz region that I live near here in Germany is historically famous for ancient and medieval witchcraft. Each year they throw big parties in some of the cities on Walpurgis Nacht and on All Hallows' Eve. Read and Enjoy . . . Cheers, Gary
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Gary Bateman
Date: 8/19/2015 10:27:00 AM
Hello Laura, I am very pleased that you are reading Rosalia! The Vespers' Prayer, along with everything else, was entirely my own fictional invention. (If by chance, you should pick up a paperback copy of my new book, "Conversations with My Muse," at Amazon.com), you'll find a longer, deeper, and more refined version of Rosalia that should be mistake free. The one posted on PS is more of a (Beta Version) that I initially completed during Sept 2014). The same too with some of my other poems where I did some final rewrites before actual publication. BTW, my planned second book will have at least 5 short stories with 3 of them on dark topics (Witchcraft, Mephistopheles, and Ghouls). And Halloween is coming soon!! Cheers, Gary
Date: 2/2/2015 7:34:00 AM
Just finished part three this morn. And already I am cheering for justice and Rosalia's painful demise! Terrific narrative write my friend. Super 7 from me...
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Gary Bateman
Date: 2/2/2015 5:19:00 PM
She will lose -- but I leave the door open at the end of epic for her to come back. Maybe a sequel . . . in the future. Thanks Robert!! Best Wishes, Gary

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