Witches In The 1500's

The purpose of this book was to examine the history and social life of Salem Village to try to figure out what was the cause of the events that occurred there. I believe that the authors achieved their objective at least they did to me. Boyer and Nissenbaum's explanation for the outbreak of witchcraft accusations in Salem hinges on an understanding of the economic,

The persecution of witches started in the fourteen hundreds and carried on into the seventeen hundreds. This persecution happened only in the Catholic and Protestant Countries. They were not just endorsed by the churches, but the entire craze was caused by the churches; which gave its full support behind the cause. While the persecution of witches effected every type of person the most effected people where older women, poor, and usually considered outsiders by their society.

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.

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.

The American weakness in times of trouble is the instinctive act of finding a scapegoat. Stemming from the Calvinistic religious beliefs of the Puritans who immigrated to America, anything that strays from the predestined lives of these puritanical people is the result of sin. The ideas of "original sin" and "predestination" are at the heart of Calvinism. Thus, the Calvinist Puritans have their lives planned out for them by God before birth and anything that disrupts that plan must be eradicated. It was on the basis of this stringent religious way of life that the witch-hunts on 1692 came about. The accusation of people, beginning in Salem, Massachusetts and quickly spreading throughout the Puritan community began because the Puritans

over 50% were female, and of those of known age over 50% were over 50

Witchcraft, the practice of magic with the use of spells, herbs, and satanic work, was fairly prominent in Elizabethan England. The Elizabethan Era reign lasted from 1558 to 1603, and was during Queen Elizabeth's reign. Witches and witchcraft were usually the target of blame during this time, because they were the outcasts. Witches, the Chelmsford Witch trials, and many superstitions are all based off of witchcraft.

There are many assortments of beliefs on who was more likely to be accused of witchcraft in the 16th century. I personally believe that women, particularly widows, and the poor were the first and most likely to be accused of witchcraft in their communities rather than the rich or people with authority. In these male dominated societies in the 16th century women were not very respected. Arthur Miller's The Crucible and The European Witch Hunts wrongly accused many people from the outskirts of society of witchcraft, causing fear of many people's lives.

Witchcraft in the 17th Century Witchcraft in Europe during the 17th century was common. It mainly took place in Germany, but also took place in England. Witches were associated with evil; it was believed witches inherited magical powers from Satan in exchange for the witch’s soul. Some of these magical powers included outrageous claims such as flying, being able to transform and cursing bad luck on others. It was extremely dangerous to be accused of being a witch as the most common punishment was death, often by beheading or even being burnt at the stake.

It was finally summer break and Lila Jefferson was glad that she gets a break from the harsh homework of Magicae Academy. Although the name sounds pretty cheesy, magicae (pronounced like magic-eye) being the Latin word for magic, it was a great school. The teachers were some of the most talented in the United States and taught spells according to the Elemental or Mental spell they excel at.

The idea of witches and witchcraft has always been a frightening one to past cultures and can still be today. The change that took place after religion was

With time, the stories of these witches, and all the “harm” they had done spread all over the world. In today’s time stories of witches are told to scare people, Almost everyone has heard a “spooky” story about a witch. Witches are everywhere. In fairytales, fantasy and satire, they appear time and again as a versatile synonym for evil and transgression, but did they really mean harm? Or was that just a story the people of Britain made up because they were scared. think about it. When has a “witch” ever came

Witchcraft in Early Modem Europe was perceived with mixed attitudes by the society. People in the 16th and 17th centuries accepted witchcraft when it worked to help them, but saw it as a satanic practice when it failed. Although it was socially acceptable for people to seek for advice or help from witches, it was taboo for witches to use magic as it was linked to devil worship and other beliefs that went against the Christian faith. Furthermore, women accused of sorcery were often unable to receive a fair trial as demonstrated by the leading questions that were posed and the acts of torture that led to forced confessions. During a period of religious and political turmoil, the Trial of Tempel Anneke illustrates the fact that society was not so much concerned with the truth, but rather convicted these women because of their marginalized role in society caused by social disposition. Furthermore, it can be suggested that while it was acceptable for people to inquire about magic, the law heavily punished those who would practice witchcraft.

Witchcraft in the 1400s going on to the 1700s gained massive popularity due to subsequent factors. Some of these factors included hallucinogens contained in the “oyl” women used to anoint themselves, manipulating the hysteria and using it as a form of social control to make people conform to the norms of the society and lastly, using it to explain misfortunes that afflicted the people of the community and the neighboring ones.

A woman was once looked upon as a healer, ancient persist, mid wife, therapist, cook, sever of goddess, a positive figure, etc. As time went on, women were not seen as they were originally portrayed. Women were eventually viewed as a witch. Each culture had a different perception on what a witch looked like, but each represented the same thing. In essence, the witch craze brought about the “dark side” of a female. Some causes of “witch craze” in the fifteenth century would include hallucinations, people not wanting to be tortured and people needing something to blame misfortune on.