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The Hidden History of the Black Mass: What are the untold stories behind this ritual?
The Black Mass is a ritual performed by various Satanic groups that is believed to have existed for centuries, and its modern form is a deliberate blasphemy and caricature of the Catholic Mass. Beginning in the 19th century, the Black Mass gained widespread attention in French literature, notably in Jules Michelin's Satanism and Witchcraft and Joris-Karl Huysmann's Yonder. The contemporary recovery began with H.T.F. Lord's book The Satanic Mass, published in London in 1954, and today various modern versions of the Black Mass have been developed by various groups around the world.
The influence of early Catholicism
The Catholic Church regards the Mass as its most important ritual, which can be traced back to the apostolic times. Its literature roughly follows the outline of the "Liturgy of the Word, the Offering, the Eucharist and the Blessing." But as early Christianity established and expanded, the early church fathers began to describe versions of the Mass performed by some cult groups. Some of these rituals were related to sexual acts. For example, the fourth-century heretic Epiphanius claimed that a liberal satyr sect called the Bobrites used menstrual blood and semen in the Eucharist ceremony. To symbolize the blood and body of Christ.
The irony and changes of Roman Catholicism in the Middle Ages
Within the Church, the ritual of the Mass is not static, and there are usually multiple private prayers at the end of the offering. This led to the emergence in France of many masses based on customer needs, which received the name "low mass", for blessing crops or livestock, or even cursing enemies. At the same time, in the 12th and 13th centuries, due to a surplus of clergy, the nature of these public masses began to become more informal and relaxed, culminating in some apparently immoral satirical masses, such as the "Feast of the Donkey", in which , the donkey is identified with the biblical character Balaam.
“The Devil’s Mass was actually a ritual that subverted the orthodox Mass. Many expelled clergymen tried to mock the authority of the Catholic Church during that time.”
The impact of witch hunting
In modern times, the fantasy of witch hunting began to arise in literature, and witches were regarded as agents of the devil. They were accused of reversing Christian rituals in the Black Mass and using stolen holy bodies to achieve the devil's purposes. Several relevant texts, such as The Witch's Hammer and The Witch's Brief Guide, mention these so-called Black Masses. During the 1614 witch hunts in the Basque Country, many accused witches vividly described how these rituals were not as mysterious or scary as they appeared, emphasizing the gap between positive and negative religious rituals.
The French Black Mass from the 16th to the 19th centuries
However, the intense discussion of the Black Mass in France from the 16th to 19th centuries aroused curiosity. The various details mentioned in the story of French Queen Catherine de' Medici, who is said to have performed a Black Mass, lack empirical support for the most part. As time goes on, especially in the case of Louis XIV's mistress Montespan, her relationship with the priest Étienne Guibaud and the sorceress Catherine Monveau, we have a deeper understanding of the specific form of the Black Mass. Understand that although many plots are inconsistent with historical truth.
The rise of the 20th century and beyond
As the 20th century dawned, scholarship on the Black Mass relied primarily on French and Latin sources, primarily from French authors. H.T.F. Lord's "The Satanic Mass" became an important text in the reimagining of the Black Mass, and the subsequent publication of "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey also mentioned the Black Mass as a symbol of Satanic rituals. After entering the 21st century, the Black Mass has further entered the public eye, and the public ceremony held in Oklahoma City in 2014 triggered fierce controversy and protests.
"The ritual of the Black Mass is now not only a subversion of traditional church rituals, but also a way for certain groups to make statements on a religious and cultural level."
As society's focus on religious issues deepens, the historical and modern significance of the Black Mass continues to evolve. Will people's understanding of this ritual change with changes in social concepts?
