There where two main forms of necromancy practiced during the middle ages in Europe for the purpose of this article we will only be dealing with the practitioners that used corpse in there rituals. The other form of necromancy is still in use today and information concerning that practice can be found in our modern necromancy section.
To be able to command the dead to speak was considered by many a practitioner of this art as the peak of there magical abilities. The ritual would commence nine days before the actual act of speaking with the dead occurred. During this time the necromancer and assistant would seclude themselves from human contact especially the contact of woman.
The starting of the ritual would be getting dressed for the occasion. For this, the people practicing this art would wear cloths stolen from graves. They felt it necessary to get as close to the dead as they could. If possible they would also sleep with the cadaver they planed to raise, but for this to occur a secure setting was needed like a sealed catacomb.
After the location was deemed safe and all precautions where in place to not arise attention to there actions the next item needed was food. The food eaten during this lengthy ritual was mainly unsalted dog meat. Now besides most people not caring to eat dog the main problem was the lack of salt. Remember these rituals where preformed in times when salt was used to preserve meats. Refrigeration was not known back then.
For the next eight days the practitioners would practice there rites, prayers, burn, and inhale hallucinogenic incenses, and do what ever else they seen fit to bring them closer to the spirits they desired to contact. The incenses they used for these rites where not only mind altering, but also deadly, and many a ritual would be ended permanently by inhaling these substances.
If by chance the necromancer did not die from botulism, or an overdose of narcotics the ritual would start around midnight. Elaborate circles where drawn around both the dead, and the place the participants planed to stand. Again more incenses where burned, and the body of the deceased was placed inside its circle sealing the spirit that the necromancer was attempting to raise from escaping. The necromancer and apprentice, or assistant would then enter there respective circle.
Prayers would be spoken for protection against the spirit of the dead, and prayers to force the spirit to reinhabit its former body. If all went successful the departed spirit would once again animate its body, and rise to meet those who have conjured it. This by no means was thought to be a pleasant experience for the spirit involved, and often the necromancer had to take steps to keep the spirit at bay.
Now that the practitioners where successful in raising a spirit the next step was to communicate with the dead. This was done with questions, and answers, for whatever the reason the spirit was forced back to the world of the living it was now when the necromancer would find out if the information sought after would be provided. More often than not the reasons then for speaking to the dead where for either, money (the location of hidden treasures), or knowledge only the dead could provide.
The spirit would then be released back to its realm at this point if the necromancer felt the information provided was accurate, and reliable. It was a common belief in the middle ages that a body was needed for its spirit to return to the world of the living. So as a reward for providing proper information to the necromancer the spirits discarded body would be destroyed so to never be used again in raising that spirit from its resting place. . . .
