Witchcraft: The Murder Of King James VI

1796 Words4 Pages

The European witch-hunts that took place from 1400 to 1800 were complete monstrosities of justice, but the brutality seemed to have been concentrated more in certain parts of Europe than other parts. This is especially true in the British Isles during the witch trials of 1590-1593, where Scotland, a country with a fourth of the population of England, experienced three times as many executions as them. Before these particular trials, England and Scotland were both only mildly involved in the hunts, but a Scottish witch’s confession in late 1590 unveiled a plot to kill King James VI by creating a storm to sink his ship. This confession led to the implementation of others and quickly festered into the widely publicized hunts throughout Scotland …show more content…

He published the results of his study in his book Daemonology in 1597. King James, a stanch Calvinist, throughout his book used his religious knowledge to prove that witchcraft existed, and how the secular courts should punish the accused. He wanted to make sure that the general public took the threat of and belief in witchcraft as seriously as he did. The introduction to Daemonology illustrates his serious alarm in the witch epidemic. “My intention in this labour, is only to proue two things, as I haue alreadie said: the one, that such diuelish artes haue bene and are. The other, what exact trial and seuere punishment they merite: & therefore reason I, what kinde of things are possible to be performed in these arts, & by what naturall causes they may be, not that I touch every particular thing of the Deuils power, for that were infinite: but onelie, to speak scholasticklie, (since this can not bee spoken in our language) I reason vpon genus leauing (sic).” The “seuere punishment [that] they merite (sic)” is almost always death. James claimed that witches ought to be put to death according to the law of God, the civil and imperial law, and the municipal law of all Christian nations. Witchcraft is a crime so abominable that it may be proved by evidence, which would not be received in other cases. That the testimony of young …show more content…

I definitely recommend this site.

Kors, Alan and Edward Peters. Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001.

Levack, Brian. The Witch-hunt in Early Modern Europe. UK; Longman, 1995.

Pollack, Nicole. Newes From Scotland. From the website, http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/aug2000.htm
This is the source I used most because it contained the entire “Newes From Scotland” article about my witch. The section of Kors and Peters that deals with Scotland is material directly from “Newes From Scotland,” which is a primary source. Great website.

Sands, J. Sketches of Tranent in the Olden Time. From the website, www.elothia-museums.demon.co.uk.htm
This site was helpful because it not only included passages of James VI’s Daemonology, but it helped explain them. It was a serious website.

www.sacredtexts.com
This was a great site because it contained a copy of King James’s Daemonology, as well as other texts from the witch-hunts. The primary sources that were accessible really helped my

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