It gradually replaced the Old English word besom, though both terms appear to have been used until at least the 18th century. The word broom comes from the actual plant, or shrub, that was used to make many early sweeping devices. Bryan Lowder writes, this household task even shows up in the New Testament, which dates to the first and second centuries A.D. It’s not clear exactly when the broom itself was first invented, but the act of sweeping goes back to ancient times, when people likely used bunches of thin sticks, reeds and other natural fibers to sweep aside dust or ash from a fire or hearth. But the actual history behind how witches came to be associated with such an everyday household object is anything but dull.
Though a lowly household implement, the broom took on such glamour that it became the object of myriad superstitions, many of which are alive and well today. He was charged with an assortment of diabolical crimes, including making a pact with the devil and flitting about on a broomstick! A confession to these “crimes” was tortured out of him, after which he repented-but was still imprisoned for the rest of his life. Surprisingly, the first person known to confess to flying on a besom was a man! Guillaume Edelin was an Augustinian priest and the prior of Saint-Germain-en-Laye when he was arrested and charged with witchcraft, after publicly scoffing at the Church’s warnings that witches were running amok in the countryside, making pacts with the devil, and flitting about on broomsticks. A caption above the heads of the flying women identifies them as “vaudoises,” or Waldensians, members of a breakaway Christian sect that was declared heretical by the Holy Roman Church in the early 13th century. The first known depiction of witches flying on besoms can be found in the margins of the illuminated manuscript of the poem “Le Champion des Dames,” written in 1451 by Martin le Franc. One of the many accusations against her was that she had been spotted sweeping her neighbors’ doorsteps in an attempt to sweep their good fortune away from their houses and into her own. In Ireland, in 1324, a wealthy widow named Alice Kyteler was accused of witchcraft. In the modern broom-making community, besom typically refers to a broom with a long handle and a round brush, sewn or unsewn, and made with any of several materials, including twigs, broomcorn, and broom sedge, while the general term broom is the default for one that has been clamped and sewn flat for the purpose of efficient sweeping.īrooms and besoms have been associated with witches for centuries, and not just as a favored mode of transportation. Despite being introduced to Italy from Syria in the 15th century, broomcorn (Sorghum vulgare) would not become a common broom material until the early 19th century in America. Eventually, someone thought to add a handle to their sweeping bundle, and the broom as we know it began to take shape.īy the Middle Ages, the most common form of broom in use in western Europe was the twig besom.
The materials used in brooms would necessarily have depended on what was available to the individual broom maker, from twigs and husks to grasses and feathers. The earliest brooms likely consisted of leafy branches or bundles of twigs, held in the hand.
The humble broom is one of the oldest human inventions.