Witch trials in the (original) (raw)

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The paper explores the phenomenon of witch trials in Early Modern Europe, highlighting their socio-cultural context and the interplay of various factors that led to the witch hunts. It discusses the impact of religious beliefs, societal tensions, and the roles played by both educational elites and the general populace in perpetuating these trials. The discussion includes notable trials and variations in execution rates in Catholic versus Protestant areas, the evolution of legal and cultural responses to witchcraft, and the continued influence of these historical events on contemporary narratives and understandings.

The witch-hunt followed the course of the Protestant Reformation

Few periods in the history of Europe have seen such dramatic change as those decades within the Protestant reformation. From 1517 to the early 18 th century the religious heart of many European nations was challenged and changed by either the Protestant reformation or under the Catholic counter-reformation. Beginning with Martin Luther's (1483-1546) personal challenge to the Catholic Church and his relationship with god and following many years of change, bloodshed and warring was finally ended with a period of peace and almost prosperity that lead to a period of enlightenment. To reach this point though, Europe had to adjust to change and one of the unfortunate side effects of this change was the craze of witch trials, many of them under the guise of religious righteousness. Many of the innocent people put on trial or executed in the name of the witchcraft trials were victims of doctrinal insecurity and uncertainty created by the changes of the reformations. While the belief in witchcraft has played a part in Christianity since its origins, it was Luther and his challenge of the Catholic Church and the continuing Protestant reformation that we see an increase in the number of witch trials. Previously the thoughts of witches and magic were thought of as the beliefs of the superstitious and remnants of a European pagan past, through the reformation it evolved into an attack on the general population and the Church itself. The increase in witch trials were not so much as a result in the belief that there was an increase in the amount of witches, but more so the Devils power was controlling more of the population under the new view of Christianity created by the reformation. However the Protestant reformation was not the singular cause for the witch persecution as trials did occur pre-reformation, be it on a much smaller scale, and that factor's such as environment, weather, economy and food supply need to be recognised as contributing to the sudden rise in witch trials. In a period now known as the mini ice age, the weather in the 16th and 17th century was extremely turbulent. The climatic change of the period effected the growing of crops and livestock yields due to flooding, drought, hailstorms and long periods of ice and snow 1. This did not just have an impact on the directly affected food stock levels but also upon the economy with the prices of wheat, meat and grain severely affecting those that relied on food stores or had business in selling such products. There was the belief that witches could manipulate the weather and Malleus Maleficarum (1487) mentions that crops can be destroyed and plagues created by witches " they could raise the most violent hailstorms and destructive winds and lightning … could cause barrenness in men and animals… could at times kill whom they would by lightning; and could cause many other plagues 2 ". The Malleus Maleficarum became the first widespread document following the invention of the printing press that related to the finding and prosecution of a witch, as a result became one of the first widespread articles linking witches to changes in weather which would have effected popular belief at a vital time of climatic change. Lower temperatures, linked to decreased sun spot activity, added to the constant layer of snow and ice over much of northern Europe during the years of reformation. The advance in 1590 of the Grindelwald glacier threated to destroy a town in Switzerland, wolves and bears become more prominent as they too become hungrier as a result of the weather and are seen more and in some cases attack people 3. These events gave the illusory common people the opportunity to accuse their neighbours of witchcraft for climatic change, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and hatred which allowed witchcraft trials to flourish

Traditions and Trajectories in the Historiography of European Witch Hunting

History Compass, 2006

Witchcraft and witch hunting formed a social and intellectual tradition in early modern Europe. Arguments persist as to what extent that tradition was invented. This article reviews the schools of thought and directions within the study of European witchcraft in the period between 1450 and 1750. The contributions of modern scholars from the nineteenth century up to the present are reviewed. Key arguments, important publications, and representative research, together with teaching resources are covered. This historiographical review focuses on three issues: the understanding and exercise of power across the social, political, and religious cultures of early modern Europe; the prevailing problem of inconsistency hindering the development of a single explanatory model; and thus the advantage of micro-history.

The Salem Witch Project; Witch Hunting in a Secular Age

A brief paper exploring the paralels between the witch hunt in Salem (17th century) and McCarthyism (20th century). The main focus lies on the Salem Witch Hunt and the papers begins and ends with relevant quotes from Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men.

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