Why Did People React So Strongly to Witchcraft in History? Essays

In response to The Hammer of Witches and the papal bull issued by Pope Innocent VIII, major witch hunts broke out in Europe. Moreover, these were aided by new technology, the printing press, which helped to spread the mania, even across the Atlantic to America. It is not surprising that the witch hunt started around the13-15th century. During this time, Europe was overpopulated and in a poor condition with dirty streets, crime and diseases everywhere. There had to be a scapegoat for all of the mess which the church decided was witchcraft. A complex social matrix was created once an accusation was made: the accusers would try to prove the source of what had been troubling them, and ideally to gain control over that source by forcing her to back away and remove the

Before the 1500s, prosecution of witches was rare. Trials were conducted against those who were seen as suspects of “practicing harmful magic and occasional mass trials" (Bever, 2009, p. 263). These accusations were often made by children and that of their imagination. The decline; however, occurred not through the prosecutions but through its “suppressing roles” and the overall “decline in witch beliefs” (Bever, 2009, p. 285). The title of the article is “Witchcraft Prosecutions and the Decline of Magic” and it is written by Edward Bever. Bever is the Associate Professor of History, SUNY College at Old Westbury.

During the late fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries, thousands of individuals were persecuted as witches. It was thought that these individuals practiced black magic and performed evil deeds, the deeds of the devil. This all happened during a time of great change in Europe, during the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the consolidation of national governments. They were persecuted for a variety of reasons, but three major ones were religious reasons, social prejudices, and the economic greed of the people. Religious leaders such as Martin Luther and John Calvin influenced the ideas of their followers. Religion dominated the time period and it’s easy to see how many opinions

Furthermore, another cause for the witchcraft frenzy was religious uncertainty (Spielvogel 439). There were numerous witchcraft trials in the region where “Protestant-Catholic” arguments still fumed (Spielvogel 439). According to Spielvogel, “[a]s religious passions became inflamed, accusations of being in league with the devil became common on both sides” (Spielvogel 439). Additionally, another contributing factor to the widespread witchcraft hysteria was the escalating amount of trials and executions of alleged witches (Spielvogel 437).

The witchcraft hysteria of 1692 happened within the Puritan colony known as Salem Massachusetts. It’s important to know that the belief in witchcraft was carried over from their home country, England. In England, an act of witchcraft was considered treason against the Church of England, not to mention the king, who was the head of the church, so if one was to turn their back on the church also meant going against the king. Many acts against witchcraft were passed, the one dated closest to the Salem witch trials was the Witchcraft Act of 1604 that moved trials of the supposed witches from churches to actual courts. The fact that they were once held in churches rather than courts seems like a biased situation to me. The puritans were afraid of witchcraft so having the church conduct the trials of said witches could only mean that death was certain. The puritan faith to my understanding was a tough faith to follow, especially for women.

From the 1400’s to the 1800’s, around forty thousand individuals were executed for witchcraft, most of which occurred throughout central Europe. Constant religious and political upheaval caused elites to attempt to harness control over populations, which led to multiple laws being passed in regards to witchcraft. Torture was allowed and women and children were called to testify in the court room. Individuals who were seen to be outcasts on the outer edge of society were immediately targeted and easily suspected of sorcery. The Trial of Tempel Anneke: Records of Witchcraft Trial in Brunswick, Germany, 1663 gives its readers an inside perspective of the many different attitudes that existed towards witchcraft at the time. Because 17th century Brunswick townspeople were driven by deep Christian beliefs, they greatly feared all forms of magic, thinking them to come from the devil. Yet despite these fears, they did not completely reject witchcraft as they often sought out purported “witches” for magical solutions.

During the late 15th to 17th centuries, thousands of individuals were persecuted as witches, mainly older women. Throughout this era, it was widely believed that these individuals performed evil deeds of the devil and practiced dark, black magic. The events of the witch trials occurred in a time of great change in Europe. In a time of social, religious, economic, and political uncertainty or instability during the period of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and more political shifts and changes, citizens began to turn to supernatural scapegoats and superstition, which in a way revived the religious theology which had flared downwards during the Renaissance. Witches were soon hunted down and unjustly

From the late 15th century to the 17th century, a flow of fear for witches swept through Europe. This all happens during a period of change in Europe, such as scientific revolution and the Reformation took place around this time period. Germany has one of the largest executions and trials. A witch was an individual who mysteriously injures other people. Women mainly widows are often accused of practicing witchcraft.

When the group of girls were acting strange and got accused of being witches, everyone started pointing fingers. There was the paranoia that any person could be a part of a conspiracy that was created by the devil caused false accusations to be spread around. This paranoia was used to make false accusations on many innocent citizens because people were trying not to take the focus away from themselves. There was research that was done on those that were accused and what it showed was that most of the accusations were against middle-age women who had few or no children and were widowed. The accused witches “were of low social position, and because of some domestic conflicts, they were accused of other crimes and were considered abrasive” (Brinkley, 86). by other people around them. Once a person was accused of being under the influence of the devil, which is a big offence, they would start to be treated differently from the rest. It wasn’t the actual presence of Satan that caused this chaos, but the anxiety and fear of him that did.

The Rise of the Witchcraft Craze in 17th Century Britain Accusations of witchcraft date back to 900 AD, but killing following accusation reached a fever pitch in the late 16th century Europe, and late 17th century Britain. Germany and Scotland were the areas that were most heavily purged, with an estimated 4000 witches dying in Scotland and 26 000 dying in Germany (Gibbons). The Inquisition in Britain happened against a backdrop of new ideas competing with established traditions which created a sense of confusion and religious hysteria amongst the general population. A number of theories have developed from historians as to what sparked the witchcraft craze; ideas of the Reformation and rise of

The evidence of witchcraft and related works has been around for many centuries. Gradually, though, a mixture a religious, economical, and political reasons instigated different periods of fear and uncertainty among society. Witchcraft was thought of as a connection to the devil that made the victim do evil and strange deeds. (Sutter par. 1) In the sixteenth, seventeenth, and twentieth century, the hysteria over certain causes resulted in prosecution in the Salem Witch Trials, European Witchcraft Craze, and the McCarthy hearings. These three events all used uncertain and unjustly accusations to attack the accused.

The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be

Witch hunts blazed across Europe over the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries not just killing innumerable innocent people, but stripping women of much of the power they had once held, and changing society's perceptions of women all together. The economic hardships, religious rivalries, and troubled politics of the time made accusing your neighbors of witchcraft convenient. Where there was war and poverty, or merely bad luck, peasants would assume witchcraft and rush to blame an old, defenseless woman in trials which involved unbelievable cruelty and horrible sadism. As religion and the Catholic Church began to complement and perpetuate the increasing hysteria, European society as a whole could do nothing but

"I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" The Wicked Witch of the West...

There are very few famous male witches. Sure, there’s Harry Potter and Harry Dresden, but they’re wizards. After over 30 minutes of searching Google, I could not find a magical man who is explicitly labelled as a witch. Witches are almost always female, they have been throughout history – from the Bible and before, to the Greeks, to even modern literature. The real question, though, is why are witches always women? Why have magical women been revered and feared throughout history? Why are women witches? It’s because they’re scary.