Oldest depiction of a witch on a broomstick

In 1451, a manuscript of Martin le Franc’s long poem Le Champion des Dames, a defence of virtuous women, was illuminated at Arras Cathedral. On one page of the manuscript was an illustration of two women, each only 3 cm high. One woman sits astride a broom and the other, a stick. This is the earliest known depiction of a witch flying on a broomstick. The inscription above the illumination reads ‘Des Vaudoises’. This refers to the Waldensians, members of an ascetic religious movement who were declared heretics in the 13th century, and often accused of witchcraft by the Church.

Some argue that the painting of a woman riding a broomstick in Schleswig Cathedral, Germany, is the earliest known example. However, we do not know if the painting depicted a witch. We also do not have an exact date for it; although often cited as earlier, it was likely produced in the late 15th or 16th century. The 1451 manuscript illumination of ‘Des Vaudoises’ is therefore the earliest datable example.

Prior to this, images of witches tended to depict them as sexualised and demonic. In the 1451 example, we see a shift in perspective. These women, wearing long-sleeved dresses and white head coverings, were modest and unremarkable. The humble broomstick placed the witch in a domestic setting, suggesting that they could look like any ordinary person – and were therefore all the more threatening. The image of a witch on a broomstick was further established by Dutch artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder in the 16th century, in his etchings ‘St. James Encounters Hermogenes’ and ‘The Fall of the Magician Hermogenes’. Bruegel depicted a witch flying out of a chimney on a broomstick, as well as a witch brewing a concoction in a cauldron on the hearth. These became common tropes in popular imagination, duplicated today in Halloween costumes and decorations.