Witchcraft And Women : Evaluation Of Gender Theories

“ The belief that women were inherently inferior in intelligence, strength, and character was so persuasive that for men like Knox, a woman ruler was almost a contradiction in terms” (“Documents for Chapters 5&6”). In the 16th century, women were looked upon as a gender that should stay in the house and work, not have power and rule over a country. Discussing the govern of Queens during the 16th century, such as Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, allowed prejudices to be lessened but never completely be erased. No matter how these four notable ladies came into power, the accomplishments they overcame, achieved and wrote about proved to be great and substantial in making history as it is written today.

A woman’s alternative would be becoming a nun, giving up all social freedoms and dedicating your life to serving the poor and God. Women who were subject to this life received a much more thorough education than other women, in order to properly learn religious concepts and theory. Otherwise, a woman’s education was limited to basic reading abilities paired with instruction on how to do homely activities. A woman of this time period had utterly no voice in politics. Law was man’s law. The life of these women were controlled by the men who surround them, their opinions meaning little to nothing. The life of a woman in medieval times was bleak and varied little. Romantic literature was on the rise, full of damsels in distress that only further perpetuated negative stereotypes of women during these times. These romances were full of helpless women in situations only a man could get them out of, or else they would be doomed. Despite this cultural oppression of women in this time period, some strong female characters were erected in medieval romances. A perfect example of an abnormally strong and independent female main character would be Enide from Erec and Enide written by Chrétien de

For more than two hundred years, individuals were persecuted as witches throughout the continent of Europe, even though the witch hunt was concentrated on Southwestern Germany, Switzerland, England, Scotland, Poland, and parts of France. In a collective frenzy. witches were sought, identified, arrested, mostly tortured, and tried for a variety of reasons. The total number of witches tried exceeded 100,000 people. This essay is supposed to identify three major reasons for the witch craze in sixteenth and seventeenth century Europe.

What was the predominant image of women and women’s place in medieval society? Actual historical events, such as the scandal and subsequent litigation revolving around Anna Buschler which Steven Ozment detail’s in the Burgermeisters Daughter, suggests something off a compromise between these two literary extremes. It is easy to say that life in the sixteenth century was surely no utopia for women but at least they had some rights.

The notion of witchcraft has been around long before the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Different cultures have different images and stereotypes on what a witch is and what “magical” abilities he or she may possess. Many people however, did not look at these “magical” men and women as bad until the Holy Roman Empire began to look negatively on those people who were different, and opposed the norm set by the elites. Driven by fear, those living under the control of the Holy Roman Empire would began to blame other people for diabolical actions, or malicious activities. Women and some men, were tortured and tested in cruel ways in attempt of finding evidence or gaining a confession that the accused was a witch. Laws about how which were persecuted

To better understand the Medieval churchmen’s plight with witchcraft the subject of heresy must first be examined. According to St. Isidore of Seville (ca. 570 – 636), heresy, derived from the Greek word haeresis meaning choice, was given the name in view of the fact that each heretic, by their own will, decided to teach and/or believe in heterodoxic manners (Peters, 1980, pp. 47, 49). St. Isidore continues, stating, “These heresies have risen against the Catholic faith and have been condemned by the apostles, the holy Fathers, or the councils” (Peters, 1980, p. 50) Thus, heresy can aptly be defined as anything deviating specifically from the Catholic faith, not Christianity overall.

The witchcraft phenomenon of the Renaissance period was shaped by a wide range of cultural factors; witchcraft was not necessarily subject to a single cohesive idea or concept, and it was often instead a conglomeration of many different societal concerns, concerns which spanned through all spheres of society. Textual evidence from this period provides insight into the way in which witches were conceived, and how witches were dealt with, while visual images present a companion visualisation of the tensions, which influenced created the witch, and the imagery, which came to be associated with witchcraft.

Prior to the fifteenth century, rural European women were highly revered and respected pillars of rural community life; not only considered mothers and wives, but seen as community leaders, physicians, and sources of strength and wisdom. Women had a special and imperative role in rural life, and even those that lived on the fringes of society were well respected as the village healers and wise women. These old women would possess the wisdom of the ages and pass it on to others. This respect for women quickly deteriorated, however, during the witch hunts. The belief spread that women were morally weaker than men and driven by carnal lust, therefore making them more susceptible to being tempted by the Devil, and thus practicing witchcraft. (Levack p. 126) As people took this belief to heart, it is apparent that society would be affected indefinitely by such intolerance.

The Witch-Hunts of the 16th century in pre-modern Europe, was a very gruesome time in human history. Countless people were executed as they were accused of being “witches”, primarily women. Through the decades, countless historians have been puzzled trying to find an explanation and answer the following question, were the Witch-Hunts in pre-modern Europe Misogynistic? Anne Llewellyn Barstow suggests in her paper “On Studying Witchcraft as Women’s History”, that during this time women were indeed accused and executed based off misogynistic views. She points out how women were singled out and targeted by a male dominant population based on their vulnerability and status. On the other hand historian Robin Briggs argues in his report, “Women

Marie de France lived in a time when social graces were paramount to a good reputation, lordships and to securing good marriages. A woman was considered less valuable if she lost her virginity; a wife was subjected to her feudal lord, father, brother or son after her husband’s death. According to Angela Sandison’s article “The Role of Women in the Middle Ages”, this was because in the Middle Ages the Church and the aristocracy controlled public opinion and the legal system. These authorities of the times believed a woman’s place was in a submissive role to a man. In The Lay of the Nightingale, we will see how this social and religious hierarchy will impact the behaviors of the three people involved.

Voices of men have traditionally been the loudest, and therefore most important in history, especially in Medieval Europe where male academics and preachers had the most influence on the lower classes and upper classes. Those accused of witchcraft were disproportionately female, and the writing and sermons from this era clearly set the groundwork for misogynistic witch hunts which are to come in the Early Modern period. The works of Burchard of Worms, William of Malmesbury, Jacobus de Voragine, Bernardino of Siena, and Martin Le Franc each perpetuate different stereotypes of magic which all address the idea of gender in sorcery. While not all of these texts take explicitly misogynistic or misandristic positions, they give insight into whether or not gender was a main issue in determining who was or wasn’t a witch. However, it’s important to keep in mind whose voice is being heard in these texts: often well respected, upper class, or clerical men. As a result of these authors positions, they have influence far beyond their parishes and countries and, therefore, can define, both explicitly and implicitly, what ideas are “correct” about the behavior of women, specifically regarding witchcraft. Because these texts were written by men, there is a clear and distinct bias about women’s behavior and their possible involvement in the magical arts, however there are some notable variations that still establish harmfully unattainable ideal.

Women withstood a multitude of limitations in the medieval era. Due to the political, social, and religious restrictions women encountered, historians neglected to realize that they demonstrated agency. The female experience is something that has been overlooked until recently. Unfortunately, without the knowledge of how women found ways to exert their power, we are experiencing a deficit of knowledge in this period. Through the close examination of the primary sources: The Gospel of Mary, Dhouda’s Liber Manualis, and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the creative means of female force are displayed.

Prior to the 11th century the Catholic Church did not even acknowledge the existence of Witches. To accuse or take action against one suspected of being a "dark witch", Vampire or other supernatural being was punishable by cannon law. It was only towards the

“Despite their regional and religious differences, Renaissance Europeans held a uniform expectation of women: that they should be chaste, silent and obedient.” quoted Melissa Thomson in her book “Women of the Renaissance”.This book examines the Renaissance, defined by the author as the period from 1350 to 1650. Subjects discussed include the cultural, economic, and political circumstances of women. The novel consists of riveting new topics each chapter. It began with yawn-worthy topics such as marriage and religious life styles but later progressed into more exciting topics like women rebels and women as pirates and fighters. The most interesting chapter to me was women's success stories. For example Elizabeth Baulacre a successful business

In this piece I will be showing the role of women in the 18th century