n.
An assembly of 13 witches.
[Perhaps from Middle English covent, assembly, convent. See convent.]
Dictionary:
cov·en (kŭv'ən, kō'vən)
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| English Folklore: coven |
In medieval English, this word, a variant of ‘convent’ and derived from Latin conventus, ‘assembly’, had no link to witches; it meant either a gathering of people (number unspecified), or a community of thirteen monks and their abbot, modelled on Christ and his apostles. However, in Scotland from about 1500 it was occasionally applied to a witches' meeting, possibly by association with the similar-sounding word ‘covin’, meaning a plot or a group of plotters; in 1662 a Scottish witch, Isobel Gowdie, said in her confession that ‘ther is threttein persones in ilk coeven’. A second example of this usage occurs in the deposition of a Northumbrian girl called Anne Armstrong, a witness in a witch trial in 1673; she spoke of witches attending the sabbath in ‘coveys’ of thirteen (Sharpe, 1996: 279). The term remained rare until it was picked up by Sir Walter Scott in his Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, 1830.
In 1922 Margaret Murray launched the theory that witches were always organized in groups of thirteen where the leader impersonated the Devil, and alleged that trial records showed several such groups, including five in England. When checked by historians, her figures turned out to be wrong; she had manipulated information in her sources to achieve the desired number. Though the idea of organization by covens is now rejected by scholars as unhistorical, it is widely taken for granted in fiction and journalism; it is also central to the organization of the Wicca movement.
| WordNet: coven |
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
an assembly of witches; usually 13 witches
| Wikipedia: Coven |
A Coven or covan is a name used to describe a gathering of witches or in some cases vampires. Due to the word's association with witches, a gathering of Wiccans, followers of the witchcraft-based neopagan religion of Wicca, is described as a coven.
The word was originally a late medieval Scots word (circa 1500) meaning a gathering of any kind, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. It derives from the Latin root word convenire meaning to come together or to gather, which also gave rise to the English word convene. The first recorded use of it being applied to witches comes much later, from 1662 in the witch-trial of Isobel Gowdie, which describes a coven of 13 members.
The word coven remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promoted the idea, now much disputed, that all witches across Europe met in groups of thirteen which they called 'covens'.[1]
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In Wicca and other similar forms of modern neopagan witchcraft, such as Stregheria and Feri Witchcraft, a coven is a gathering or community of witches, nothing like a congregation in Christian parlance. It is composed of a group of believers who gather together for ceremonies of worship such as Drawing Down the Moon, or celebrating the Sabbats.
The number of persons involved may vary. Although thirteen has been suggested[who?] as the optimum number (probably in deference to Murray's theories), any number above and including three can be a coven.[citation needed] Two would usually be referred to as a working couple (in any combination of sexes.) Within the community, many believe that a coven larger than thirteen is unwieldy, citing unwieldy group dynamics and an unfair burden on the leadership.[2] When a coven has grown too large to be manageable, it may split, or "hive". In Wicca this may also occur when a newly made High Priest or High Priestess, also called 3rd Degree ordination, leaves to start their own coven. Wiccan covens are generally jointly led by a High Priestess and a High Priest, though some are led by only one or the other. In more recent forms of neopagan witchcraft, covens are sometimes run as democracies with a rotating leadership.
An intermediate view is often portrayed in fantasy stories and popular culture. In this usage, a coven is a gathering of witches to work spells in tandem. Such imagery can be traced back to Renaissance prints depicting witches and to the three 'weird sisters' in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. More orgiastic witches' meetings are also depicted in Robert Burns' poem Tam o' Shanter and in Goethe's play Faust. Movie portrayals have included, for example, Rosemary's Baby, The Covenant, Underworld (2003 film) and Underworld: Evolution , The Craft and COVEN. In television, covens were portrayed in the U.S. supernatural drama, Charmed.
'Coven' can be a term used to describe a group or community of Sanguinarians, especially those who communicate only over the internet. It almost certainly derives from Wiccan usage of the term. The concept of vampire covens has appeared in horror and fantasy literature such as Twilight [the Olympic coven and the Volturi coven]
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Coven |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - heksesabbat, samling
Nederlands (Dutch)
heksensamenkomst
Français (French)
n. - bande/réunion de sorcières
Deutsch (German)
n. - Hexensabbat
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - σύναξη μαγισσών
Português (Portuguese)
n. - assembléia (f) de bruxas
Español (Spanish)
n. - aquelarre, asamblea de brujas
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - häxmöte
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
女巫大聚会, 十三女巫大集会
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 女巫大聚會, 十三女巫大集會
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) اجتماع ساحرات
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - קבוצת מכשפות, כנס מכשפות
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