submitted an FOIA request when I was only one (I’m eleven now) and have finally received a copy of the notorious Vox in Rama issued by Pope Gregory IX in 1233. It’s a sober reminder of our fragile connection to the humans and the horrors of mindless superstition and hysteria against cats, especially black cats.
Below is the relevant section of the Vox in Rama (thanks to the translation from the excellent book Classical cats: the rise and fall of the sacred cat) that falsely associates the black cat with Satan (or an incarnation even). The “shining man” (Lucifer) is described as half-cat. These false accusations were effectively a death sentence for all black cats, who were subsequently massacred for centuries on end by benighted humans. Many humans were also victims of this centuries-long carnage.
At this time, a black cat (gattus niger), the size of a small dog, with an upright tail descends backwards down a statue which is usually at the meeting. The postulate first kisses the cat’s rear, then the master of the sect, and then other individuals in order who are worthy of the honor and perfect. Those who are imperfect and those not regarded as worthy, receive a word of peace from the master. Then, each member takes his place and after singing some songs, they face the cat in turn (ac versus gattum capitibus inclinatis). The master says, “Save us” (parce nobis) to the cat, and the one next to him states this. Then those present respond three times and say, “We know the master,” and four times they say, “and we ought to obey you.”
When this is done, they extinguish the candle, and proceed to perform the most sordid acts of dissipation; no distinction is made between strangers and family members. If the numbers of men in the meeting exceeds the number of females, they are led to ignominious passions. Burning with desire in turn, the men perform shameful acts with men. Similarly, the women change their rightful nature for that which is against nature and perform damnable acts with each other. When these most nefarious sins are completed and the candle is relit, each one returns to his proper place.
Thereupon a man proceeds from an obscure corner of the meeting, for they do not withdraw themselves from the most damnable of men. They say that the upper part of his body shines with rays brighter than the sun [i.e. he is Lucifer, the Lightbearer], the lower part is hairy like a cat (hispidus sicut gattus). His light illuminates the whole place. Then the master takes part of the clothing of the postulant and says to the shining one, “Master, I give you this gift from me.” The shining man responds, “You have often served me well and may you continue to serve me well. I commit to your your care the one whom you have dedicated.” Having said this, he straightaway disappears.
If this sounds like some lewd, erotic fiction loaded with paranoid fantasies meant to demonize and defame cats, you would by quite right. The fallout from this risible fiction was that the persecution of cats continued for centuries; very few all-black cats survived in Western Europe as a result of this mass murder of them because of their association with devil worship and witchcraft. Any human “evidence” to support these preposterous claims were extracted via torture, of course. To add to the carnage of cats, even innocent humans were falsely maligned and accused of being witches or devil worshipers and killed. In another bizarre chapter, the entire cat species was so purrsona non grata that Pope Innocent VIII officials excommunicated all cats—a truly ludicrous action that further doomed cats.
In modern times, it has clearly become decidedly uncool to commit such heinous crimes against cats, but dastardly traditions die hard and reappear as innocuous festivals that symbolically reenact the ancient crimes against cats. The Kattenstoet, a parade “devoted to cats” that is held regularly in Ypres, Belgium, is one such example. A jester throws down stuffed cats from a tower down to the crowd followed by a mock cat (witch) burning. Similar mock depravities also occur in the Fastelavn carnival tradition in the form of cat piñatas (officially known as “Beat the Cat Out of the Barrel”).
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It’s hard to tell what’s running through the minds of these crazy humans. (Are cats cute or should be tortured? They can’t seem to make up their mind.) Let’s not allow the past cruelty against cats to move from the present symbolic form back to the real. We can only imagine the horrible fate of the “stuffed cats” and “barrel painted cats” when they were real. Of course, I speak in solidarity with all other animals (and even humans) who suffered persecution at the hands of unenlightened humans. Purrhaps, the humans haven’t yet come to terms with our fierce, independent spirit.
Sources
- I did not really submit an FOIA. Vox in Rama translation is from Engels, Donald W. Classical cats: the rise and fall of the sacred cat. Routledge, 2018.
- Brooke-Hitching, Edward. Fox Tossing: And Other Forgotten and Dangerous Sports, Pastimes, and Games. Simon and Schuster, 2015.
- Tao Tao Holmes. Ritualistic Cat Torture Was Once a Form of Town Fun. Atlas Obscura, January 8, 2016.
