Why were Women Witches? (original) (raw)
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Why were so few men accused of, and prosecuted as, witches?
This essay will analyse why few men in the early modern society were accused of witchcraft. We will be looking closely at individual trials that took place in Germany. The three major reasons are the concept of 'female weakness', the general fear of women who embody the stereotype as the ‘female other’ , a woman who opposes to the role of mother and wife. Then, we will discuss the inequality between both sexes. This essay was an assignment for the course 'HI1523: Renaissances and Reformations' held at the University of Aberdeen.
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
The gender and social structure of society, economic conditions and the impact of Christianity following the Reformation and Counter-Reformation were among the reasons why witchcraft became a crime in Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries. By examining the characteristics of those who were accused of witchcraft and the religious and economic conditions of the period, it becomes apparent that the criminalisation of witchcraft was a result of dominance of the strong over the weak and vulnerable.
Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 2003
Analyses concerning the gender of the witches in Europe in the 15th-18th centuries show an unanimous female dominance. According to European statistics-as much as it can be r econstructed from the records of the trials-the percentage of men accused of witchcraft was 80-85%. The question " why witches are women " cannot be answered with a simple explanation based on a single factor. The witch-accusations were not homogeneous at all, and, what is more, the co n cept of the witch was made up of several components in the background of the different witchtypes. There are many kinds of social conflicts and ideological clashes acting as factors inducing witch-accusations. These factors emphasize the female side of the witch-stereotype and increase the number of female reputed witches. Thus, in connection with the different types of Early Modern r ural witchcraft, the answer to our question is briefly the following: the majority of the witches was woman because the majority of the accusations was based on conflicts that could develop in the f emale spheres of private and communal life. Another important point is that the accusations were supported by a " female " witch-ideology and mythology: with certain kinds of conflicts and certain witch-types, this female mythology could become in itself a factor inducing witch-accusations. These two " female " factors-the social and ideological i ncentives of the witch-accusations-could function hand in hand and thus inevitably lead to the female dominance in witch-accusations. The joint fun ctioning of these factors-and their reinforcing effect on each other-resulted in the far higher pr oportion of female witches.
WOMEN-AS-WITCH STEREOTYPE IN EARLY MODERN EUROPE
Iksad Publishing House , 2022
According to many historians and anthropologists, female deviance and authorization have been significantly expressed through witchcraft. The crime of witchcraft was charged against women, who were supposed as undermining the social agreement of patriarchal control. As a medieval delusion, witchcraft has been seen as an idea that progresses varied from cultural context to cultural context and finally stopped undergoing their most significant changes and rifeness at the time of Early Modern Period, both in the old and in the new world. Thus, the stereotypical witch image represents societies' misogynistic fear of women's deviances and evil since Early Modern England, Continental Europe, and New England. The oral and graphic dialogues and its performance surrounding the oppression of witches are competed as being the result of a dialectic communication concerning the different heights of early modern society, especially concerning the conventional scenes of the learned Christian religious and secular academic experts, as well as heterodox non-Christian faith at the ordinary people level. Unluckily, the craze of witchcraft track in seventeenth-century England, Continental Europe and New England was primarily powered by the domination of Christian religious and demonological rumors and agreements, directing to more humongous extent women, women-as-witches. From Continental Europe to Colonial New England, three types of witches can be classified: the English Popular Witch, the Continental Demonic Witch, and the Colonial Puritan Witch. The paper's objective is to discuss women as witchcraft images since medieval Europe through a documentary methodological analysis that reflects a stereotypical classification.
The Woman-as-witch stereotype in Early Modern England, Continental Europe and New England
inter-disciplinary.net
Witchcraft is construed by many historians and anthropologists as the most extreme expression of female deviance and empowerment. Charges of the crime of witchcraft were time and again levied against women who were imagined as eluding or subverting the social conventions of patriarchal control. Besides this, more than mere inherited medieval superstitions, witchcraft beliefs were also ideas that evolved, varied from cultural context to cultural context and ended up undergoing their biggest changes and pervasiveness during the Early Modern Period -both in the Old and in the New World. Thus, the Early Modern Period's stereotype of the witch is viewed by many scholars as the ultimate representation of society's misogynistic fear of female deviance and evil.
Women, Society and Law: from Roman Law to Digital Age, 2022
Witches bring to mind magic, secrets, and power. The fi gure of a witch is highly associated with the effi gy of an old woman living in a little, obscure cottage with her black cat and a fl ying broom or a teenage girl saving the world. That stereotypical image does not emphasise the actual historical impact of the witch trials in the Early Modern Ages and the role of women in society afterwards. Women were four times more likely to be accused than men. The gender nature of the crime of witch persecution might remind a disease of the 17 th century, a female-transmitted virus. The hypothesis shall be answered-was the witchcraft madness caused by a fear of women or were the women scapegoats of the patriarchal system? The assessment ought to be scrutinised based on religious, socio-cultural, and economic reasons. Moreover, the trials of New England counties like Salem, Yorkshire, and Suff olk may familiarise one with the legal reasoning standing behind the prosecution. Therefore, the analysis showcases religious impact on the witch trials via Malleus Malefi carum written as a result of Pope Innocent VIII's bull. It focused on the presence of sin already in a woman's nature (alleging original sin committed by Eve) and implemented the idea of women as the devil embodiment. Witches became a tool in the Catholic-Protestant confl ict unifying sides against one enemy. Economically, this race between Protestants and Catholics was crucial for Early Modern England because the money was held by the Church. Food shortages and the little ice age needed a scapegoat. The socio-cultural aspect seems to be the most signifi cant one, as when something unwanted happened in the domestic corner, a child falling ill or milk acidifying, witchcraft was the fi rst idea pointed at a woman. The environment of a household is the only powerful position due to child-rearing and feeding. All in all, women were supposed to be obedient, so each example of rebellious acts or disagreement with men was treated as a symptom of bewitching.
The Gendered Narrative of Witch-Hunting Through the Centuries
Colonists used the belief of witchcraft to grapple with psychological tensions and concerns that had developed out of trying to make sense of their new external worlds, ultimately embedding witchcraft into the cultural belief system of the United States. Accusations of women practicing witchcraft in New England were mainly due to the strict moral doctrine that Puritans adhered to that had created gendered societal roles, and fears concerning the inability to attain salvation. Witchcraft in the United States, which was originally used by early settlers as a scapegoat and form of suppression for outspoken women, in turn today has been reclaimed as an archetype of power for those who are often marginalized by society.
Incantations: The Gendered Epistemology of Witchcraft
From pestilence to impotence, from tempests to plague, many of the denizens of Renaissance England thought Satan and his ever-present minions, the witches, to be lurking behind every ill. The mass hysteria and inquisitions that ensued in the Middle Ages executed countless thousands and continued throughout the early modern period. Of course the majority of the European populace followed the teachings of the Church and its leaders, but there were also those in this period who didn't fall so easily into this tradition of belief. There were skeptics and satirists who questioned the dogma of their era and, as early as the 16 th century, produced philosophical and theatrical writing that called into critical account beliefs and practices regarding the systematic victimization and persecution of countless people, especially unmarried, older women. Be that as it may, cynics and believers alike could not help but be affected by the legends, folktales and sermons (not to mention witch-hunts) surrounding them, perhaps none more so than the actor and playwright.