Although the reputation of redheads went back for centuries, redheads are still seen as unfaithful, rude, and witch-like in today’s age. A manuscript from the 14th century states that redheads are hardly faithful in their friendship, the “Proverbs of Alfred” warns not to choose a red haired person as friend, and the "Secretum Secretorum" warns to not use redheads as advisors. All of these warning were issued due to the horrid reputation and stereotype that red hair people were betrayers who will stab you in the back, as seen with Judas. During the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe, many women with red hair were burned at the stake.” Approximately 45,000 women were tortured and murdered usually by burning at the stake or by drowning” (dfghj). From 1483-1784, thousands of so-called “witches” were stripped and searched for “marks of the devil”, which …show more content…
Out of everyone in Europe, the French had the strongest opinion and distaste for those with red hair. A 12th century French scholar often belittled his rival by constantly ridiculing his red hair, and a French Proverb states, “redheaded women are either violent or false, and usually both” (dfghj). Undoubtedly, the stereotype for red haired woman to be untruthful would have originated from Lilith, Eve, and so-called witched of the Dark Age. According to an old Russian adage, “there was never a saint with red hair”(ty). This was said because of how Satan, Lilith, Eve, and Judas had red hair and were far from being saints. These examples relate back to the persecution of redheads because of how they are treated and looked down upon. They were thought of as rejects and unholy to the point where many were accused of witchcraft. This lead to thousands of redheads being slain and burned at the stake simply because they were different than others, the definition of persecution
On August 3, 1979, a female was assaulted and raped in her apartment. Victor Burnette, 19 years old, was brought in as a suspect and the female said that he was the perpetrator. Burnette was convicted based on pubic hairs found at the scene. He spent seven years in prison and was released on parole in ’87. Two decades later, Burnette asked to have his case reworked using DNA analysis and was found to be not guilty. The serologist who worked his case was Mary Jane Burton. By the time Burnette cleared his name, at least five other people had been exonerated from their convictions due to Burton’s evidence. (“Victor”) Hair analysis has been a part of forensic science since the beginning. However, some have begun to question the reliability of
Randomly accusing innocent people of being devilish, atrocious witches is extremely far fetched and unusual for people to do today. However, in the 1690’s in Salem, Massachusetts, it was a daily occurrence. After seeing people do odd things happening at the time, people got scared and accused them of witches to get rid of them, send them to jail, and possibly kill them. Even worse, the accusers may have actually been sick or insane, or they could of been faking it to get revenge on their enemies.
Some existing Literature on Natural Hair The existing literature on ethnic and racial studies among African-Americans has focused on issues pertaining to beauty and body politics especially on natural hair. Spellers and Moffitt assert that the body politics that one assumes, guides how one relates to a particular political ideology in a particular society. Black natural hair is considered as a way by which the true identity of African women can be understood (Jacobs-Huey). It is a symbol of power among black women; it influences how people are treated by others.
...en accused on the premise of being heretics or using healing magic (cite, cite). Furthermore, women who were brought to court on allegations of witchcraft in Europe in the early modern times are often of low social-economic status, in contrast to men who are oftentimes of superior social-economic status. This is because men are often victimized in order to bring about financial gain through the confiscation of their property. Witchcraft in early modern Europe can definitely be regarded as sex-related, but was by no means sex-specific (Larner, 2002).
However, during the 16th and 17th century, being a witch was not a good or fun experience. Being a witch, or accused of being one, ended up in the execution of the accused. Many individuals were accused of witchcraft and executed because local officials and governors wanted to get wealthy as well as to clean up their community, they were women, and because the communities needed a scapegoat for all of the negative things that were happening at the time. Due to the fact that the communities during this time were so religious, the scripture may have been a major reason that so many people believed in witches and why a number of accusations, as well as executions, went up. There is little to no doubt that almost all of those executed were innocent of witchcraft even if they had been guilty of something else such as robbery or
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 in the late 16th century.
Stereotyping redheads or Scottish people usually does little harm. It typically leads to friendly kidding and good-natured jokes. Simple-minded stereotyping can be dangerous. The danger lies in exaggeration of differences in color, nationality, religion and language. We exaggerate the differences, ignoring what we share as human beings and become prejudiced. Prejudice is nourished by fear as it grows out of exaggeration. It is a profoundly negative emotion bearing the fruit of hatred.
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been found within agreement, there remain interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments, a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding, three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations, which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries:
The Salem Witch Trials occurred from 1692 to 1693. When two girls, aged 9 and 11, started having strange and peculiar fits, the Puritans believed that the cause of these actions was the work of the devil. The children accused three women of afflicting them: Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne. Tituba was a Caribbean slave owned by the Parris family. Sarah Good was a homeless woman. Sarah Osborne was a poor elderly woman. Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good pleaded innocent. Tituba admitted, “The Devil came to me and bid me serve him.” She described seeing red cats, yellow birds, black dogs, and a black man who asked her to sign his “book”. She confessed to signing the book. All three wo...
Witchcraft was relentlessly thought as the work of the devil with only sinful and immoral intentions. Julio Caro Baroja explains in his book on Basque witchcraft that women who were out casted from society and unable to fulfill their womanly duties became witches as a way to compensate for her failed life. They were thought to be a threat to society as they dwindled in evil magic. This misunderstanding may have originated from the literary works of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, in their published book, “Malleus Maleficarum”. Accusations of being adulterous, liars and dealing with the devil materialized because of the...
In many ways Françette Camont fit the description of a witch perfectly. And because she fit the stereotype There were many people that were women, older, widowed, and on the brink of poverty. But not all these women were put on trial for witchcraft. The problem with the stereotype is that it breaks down once the actual trial starts. If a person who doesn’t fit the stereotype confesses to witchcraft and more importantly for elites, to dealing with the devil than the person is going to be convicted as a witch.
Catholics were repulsed by red heads due to many facts. While there are several reasons why red-heads are distrusted by the Church, one of the main reasons was that Judas was believed to be a redhead, and he betrayed Jesus (Scott, 94). In medieval Germany, freckles were called “judasdreck” and both Jews and redheads were slurred as possessing “bad character at best and barbarity at worst.” In medieval times, people who had red hair would be described as "poil de Judas," which meant “Judas hair.” Red hair began to be seen as an insult throughout Europe. Witches would blaspheme the Virgin Mother by addressing her as "la rousse," the redhead. "During the Middle Ages, red was believed to be the color of the Devil," (Reilly, 6). While it is true that God punished Cain for killing his brother and gave Cain and his offspring "the mark of Cain," may medieval philosophers ponder if red hair is the mark of Cain. Christians saw red hair as a sign of several crimes. Christian Europe associated red hair with the crimes of heresy, and thus shunned red-heads (Scott, 97). During the Spanish Inquisition, redheads were sought out, because their hair color was a sign that they had stolen the fires from Hell. In particular, women with red hair were suspected and questioned because of their hair
Were the Witch-Hunts in Pre-modern Europe Misogynistic? The “YES” article by, Anne Llewellyn Barstow, “On Studying Witchcraft as Woman’s History” and the “NO” article by, Robin Briggs, “Women as Victims? Witches, Judges and the Community,” will be compared, and summarized.
For many centuries to the present day, Christians have lived in fear of witches. They were known as to be the devils child who only practiced black magic and thought of as the Christians “persecution”. Witches have been known to mankind since the 1200’s. Throughout the 1400’s, the examination of witches was more focus and moved from the Jews. In the church’s law, it was stated that the belief of existence and practices of witchcraft was “heresy”. Because of what the Christians believed, churches would then torture and hunt down anyone who they thought were witches and killed the many women and only a few of the men. They even made them make the confession of flying through the midnight sky, being in love with the devil himself, practicing black magic and even turning into animals.
There is something soothing about the color red. Although it is a strong color that warns of passion and anger, it is also the very thing that runs in humanity's veins. Red is the symbol that halts vehicles in their tracks. C'est la couleur de les coquelicots, les roses, et les épines. Red is the shade of the binder that wraps tightly around my chest, pacifying both my fraying mind and traitorous heart. As volatile as this color is, when it curls around my lungs it calms me: when it pushes down my chest I am at peace. Despite the comfort I find in red, the world is still very wary of these pigments. This is understandable, as this fear is born from a deficit of acquaintance, as well as a lack of understanding as to why this color exists in the first place. What is not understandable; however, is that people cannot seem to move past this discomfort. They see a sliver of red underneath the collar of my shirt, and lunge like sharks in the face of blood. They clamp down their jaws, and, no matter how hard I fight, they don't let go.