Witchcraft Dbq Essay

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

Periods of religious, social, and economic turmoil often provoke extremist movements. This is particularly true in regards to the European “Witch Craze,” an era from the late fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries characterized by mass hysteria towards individuals suspected of practicing “witchcraft.” However, several external factors throughout Europe served to precipitate the persecution of these individuals, a vast majority of which were female. One such factor was the Protestant Reformation, a movement led by influential religious figures such as Martin Luther in Germany and Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, who attempted to reform the corruption and abuses of the Roman Catholic Church, thus inadvertently leading to the formation of Protestant religions within the Christian faith. This act of dissent amplified religious tensions throughout Europe, therefore intensifying religious sentiments, such as the fear of satanic worship. Additionally, during this time period, Europe was faced with immense hardships in the form of natural disasters, famine, war, and devastation of the Black Plague, which not only created an apprehensive environment in which many sought out an explanation or scapegoat for their misfortunes, but significantly damaged Europe’s economic stability, thus causing people to go to extremes in order to support themselves economically. These factors were a lethal combination, creating a general climate of terror and doubt throughout Europe. To this end,

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

Witch craze in Europe during: the period of the Protestant Reformation, Catholic Counter-Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the consolidation of national governments from about 1480-1700

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.

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.

Witch hunting was the persecution and possible execution of individuals considered to be ‘witches’ loyal to the devil. It was an all too common occurrence from 1603-1712 all over Europe. However in order to understand why this happened the context must be taken into account. It was a time of change, the Renaissance - the rebirth of culture, ideas and attitudes to living. The Reformation had also only been implemented in England in the last 80 years back from 1603, when it had previously been catholic for centuries. The English civil war from 1642 to 1651 is argued to have played a part in the intensification of the witch hunts in England due to the peak in executions whilst it was on going. Some historians have taken the view that in time of crisis certain groups can be victimised like in wars, famine, disease outbreaks and changes in society structure.

During the 1500’s to 1600’s, Europe suspected women of witchcraft due to the strange, unknown deaths of children, livestock, and unexpected illness. These women stood as outcasts and were typically poor,

The Rise of Witch Hunts in Europe During the Early Modern Period Tens of thousands of people were persecuted and put to death as witches between 1570 and 1680 – known as the great age of witch-hunts. Europeans had an extensive range of magical beliefs and practices, mainly due to the Christian belief that magic exists. The elite believed in magic as fervently as the most ignorant peasant. It was believed that some members of the society sold their soul to the devil giving them power to inflict pain on others and take part in supernatural performances.

Witchcraft as a practice goes back to antiquities, while during Medieval Europe, the church did not believe in any supernatural power other than God so the church at that time did not show any concern about witchcraft (Durrant). It is during the 13th century that emerges the heresy opposing the Catholic Church and demons capable to work against God's will, from here the position of the church started to change from neglect and disbelieve in witches power to an obligation to hunt and kill witches, Malleus maleficarum ("Hammer of Witches") published to encourage those ideas and created guidelines to the court and its judges and how to deal during trials in such cases (Peters). The witch trials and all related horrific stories were not in

The idea of psychological pressures being a cause of the witch-hunt remains a contested explanation, as it assumes using psychoanalysis that people then had the same mentality as humans now. Psychoanalytical approaches explore what shapes psychological behaviour such as the impulse to believe in witchcraft. The background before witchcraft was acknowledged is key in giving insight by exploring in depth the psychological reasoning behind the changes at this time. The economic structure of the medieval period was based on an agrarian system where both men and women served an equal purpose in the fields and domesticated jobs such as servants, as there were no gender specific jobs. There was a growing feeling of competition in the years leading

A. Background:
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In every part of the world in, every age and from our earliest childhood, we are bombarded by stories of witchcraft and the supernatural. These stories are imbedded not only within our culture, but within our religion as well. Surreal stories are rumored across the country of, black magic, possessions, and haunting etc. Many other cultures too inhibit similar attributes related to the supernatural.

The use of witchcraft and magic became a taboo in early modern Europe. Most individuals living in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries believed that these witches could connect with a different realm to influence the world they found themselves in, the natural world. There was no way of pointing out a witch and so these arbitrary guidelines made by looking at stereotypes that outcasts had, led them early modern Europe into the witch hunts, where unfair trials meant the lives of innocent individuals were lost. Through the documents found in The Trial of Tempel Anneke, the use of witchcraft and other forms of sorcery were sought after to aid in time of need, but the actual practice of witchcraft and use magic were frowned upon by Christians who linked this practice to Satan and would culminate with the witch’s death after an unfair trial.

Black magic, voodoo, witchery and Satanism are all various meanings, or supernatural practices or beliefs that refer to the term witchcraft. There are many different definitions referring to the term witchcraft, but the most commonly accepted definition was provided by Evans-Pritchard 1937. (Oxford 2017) He distinguishes between witchcraft and sorcery by their technique, and defines witchcraft as an inherited ability to cause misfortune or death. The user of witchcraft is considered to be evil or dangerous. Prior to the Enlightenment witchcraft was used as a way for people to explain the unexplainable.

Social Anthropology seeks to gauge an understanding of cultures and practices whether they are foreign or native. This is achieved through the studying of language, education, customs, marriage, kinship, hierarchy and of course belief and value systems. Rationality is a key concept in this process as it affects the anthropologist’s interpretation of the studied group’s way of life: what s/he deems as rational or plausible practice. Witchcraft and magic pose problems for many anthropologists, as its supernatural nature is perhaps conflicting to the common Western notions of rationality, mainly deemed superior. In this essay I will be exploring the relationship between rationality and witchcraft and