Superstitions affected the everyday lives of those living in the Elizabethan Era. Many people were afraid to leave their homes or go anywhere in fear of coming into contact with something dark or evil. One reason people were so afraid of so much was because many people were not very educated and did not have any way to understand what was going on during those times meaning they could not explain why farmers would have bad crop years, or what the cause of the bubonic plague was. These superstitions were not just recognized and thought about by peasants and the poorer classes, it was said that even the Queen believed in superstitions, as well as some scientists, astronomers, and doctors. Many of these superstitions did not originate during the …show more content…
Animals from frogs, cats, pigs, ravens, wolves, bats, and even mice. Closely associated with today’s beliefs the belief back then was that witches had cauldrons that they brewed their potions in.
Aside from the belief and superstitions in witches, the people of the Elizabethan era had many other superstitions. One would be “God Bless You” when someone sneezes. They did this because they thought when one opened the mouth to sneeze the devil had the opportunity to enter someone’s body and by saying “bless you” it warded off the devil. During this time period black was associated with evil and darkness. Because of this when a black cat crossed someone's path it was thought of as evil and it was a very bad omen. A black cat was also closely associated to witchcraft. The saying “knock on wood” also came from the Elizabethan era. Touching wood could guard someone from having bad luck and keep them safe from bad omens. Salt and pepper were very expensive during the Elizabethan Era and so to spill salt or pepper was thought of as a very bad omen and was very bad luck to do so. Walking under a ladder was thought to be very bad luck and was negatively associated with death because ladders were often used in executions. Another superstition was that one should not keep a peacock feather. Looking at a
Witchcraft started in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Superstition started when women were accused of acting strangely. These superstitions turned into trials, and later lead to mounds of hanged people. Most of the people accused were innocent, but the harsh judge rulings left them with nothing to live for. The only options for the tried, no matter if guilty or not, were to claim guilty, living the rest of their life in prison, or to plead not guilty and hang. Due to both consequences being equally as punishable, many people isolated themselves from society. Unfortunately, some people caused the uprising of the salem witch trials more than others did. In the play The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams single handedly attributed to the
Witchcraft had always fascinated many people and been a very controversial topic in North America during (seventeenth) 17th century. Many People believe that witchcraft implies the ability to injure or using supernatural power to harm others. People believed that a witch represents dark side of female present and were more likely to embrace witchcraft than men. There are still real witches among us in the Utah whom believe that witchcraft is the oldest religion dealing with the occult. However the popular conception of a witch has not changed at least since the seventeenth century; they still caused panic, fear and variety of other emotions in people…………………….
In the early years of America, people were mostly unaware of certain things. Sickness, for instance, was an important issue for people didn't know how to manage or cure such complex illnesses. The Puritans, during the colonial times, didn't have much information about certain things. They came to believe that certain unexplainable events were done by a powerful source of evil thus brought about superstitions. The infamous Witch Trials done at Salem, Massachusetts, which spread across the continent, was an example of people's injustice acts in response to superstitions. One of the major cause of the Salem Witchcraft trials was superstition, an "irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown" (www.encyclopedia.com). A lack of scientific knowledge led many people to be convinced that, witches were responsible to the death of an animal or a livestock: John Rogger "testified that upon the threatening words " of Martha Carrier " his cattle would be strangely bewitched."(Mather, p55) John Roger believed on superstitions; thus he proposed that Martha was a witch who was killing his cows. It is easy to see how the people of Salem were so vulnerable to the notion of witches taking over their town. Furthermore Tituba, Reverend Parris's slave, practiced ritual dance and "black magic" in her early years in Africa. She influenced most of the girls in town through her stories. The girls believed on superstitions which overall started the Salem Witch Trials and made it possible for the witch trials to occur for a long duration.
There has been a belief of witches for thousands of years. Europeans were very superstitious between the 1300s and 1700s. Tens of thousands of people were executed for being convicted of witchcraft, therefore, the colonists of modern day Danvers, Massachusetts, exposure to the beliefs caused them to brutally execute each other. (Blumberg and Linder).
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
vulnerable to the Devil’s blandishments. A lurid picture of the activities of witches emerged in the popular mind, including covens, or gatherings over which Satan presided; pacts with the Devil; flying broomsticks; and animal accomplices, or familiars. Although a few of these elements may represent leftovers of pre-Christian religion, the old religion probably did not persist in any organized form beyond the 14th century. The popular image of witchcraft, perhaps inspired by features of occultism or ceremonial magic as well as by theology concerning the Devil and his works of darkness, was given shape by the inflamed imagination of inquisitors and was confirmed by statements obtained under torture. The late medieval and early modern picture of diabolical witchcraft can be attributed to several causes. First, the church’s experience with such dissident religious movements as the Albigenses and Cathari, who believed in a radical dualism of good and evil, led to the belief that certain people had allied themselves with Satan.
Religious influence, the manipulation of fear, and the frightening aspects of witchcraft all are very influential to the popular belief of witchcraft during this time period. The popularity of witchcraft in this time period is important because it has shown how in the past when there is no logical explanation they would automatically blame Satan and say it was Satan’s doing. It also shows that history repeats itself because during the Cold War many individuals were accused of being communist even though there was no hard evidence proving this accusation; however, out of fear people will still be convicted, just like during the witch trials. Moreover, witch trials were not only influenced by many things but they have been influential; therefore, showing that they influenced things in our time
Every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr’d brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaky voice, or a scolding tongue… a dog or cat by her side, is not only suspected but pronounced for a witch. John Gaule 1646
Witchcraft was practiced and believed in, ages before Christianity first appeared. However, it did not fade away with the introduction of Christianity in the sixth century. Even though it was presented and seen as a crime it was not treated as one. The existence of witches and their terrifying abnormal powers in the Elizabethan-Jacobean period prompted the belief in superstitions like: Witches can fly, which clarified how they could get immediately to the desired and far destinations in a blink of an eye, they were also admitted to preserve Crows, Bats, and Mice in order to use them for malicious spells. Anne Boleyn, mother of Queen Elizabeth was surprisingly blamed for witchcraft because most people at that time believed that a sixth finger was developing on her fifth finger. Also, she had a noticeable and strangely looking mole on her neck. In the age of Shakespeare, witchcraft started to be considered more seriously as the authorities penalized anyone connected to this evil deed, viewing witchcraft as an insult to their Christianity. Scot Reginald defines witchcraft as
Scarre, Geoffrey and John Callow. Witchcraft and Magic in Sixthteenth- and Seventeenth- Century Europe. 2nd Edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001.
“If anyone, deceived by the Devil, shall believe, as is customary among pagans, that any man or woman is a night-witch, and eats men, and on that account burn that person to death... he shall be executed” (Charlemagne) When the words witchcraft or magic are spoken, most people think of the Salem Witch trials or the popular television characters that we have today. But do we really know what happened centuries ago that caused the creation of these ideals and these characters we have grown to adore? Witchcraft still has a tight hold on the mind of many and continues to influence the gap between the popular and elite cultures of today.
Humans have evolved to be superstitious, for the reason of self preservation; if there was a rustling in a bush, it is safer to always assume a predator is there and run, than to assume one is not there and stay. While this behavior was unquestionably an advantage for our ancestors, it has done a great disservice to humans in modern society. An example of superstition doing a disservice to society is the Salem witch trials, where innocent people were accused of being witches, and hung. Arthur Miller wrote a play, The Crucible, about this time. In The Crucible, John Proctor blazons courage, which lead to his untimely death.
...ches and witchcraft have been passed down through generations to generations. From way back to the 1200’s to today in the present times, that is how long witches have been around. As of the history of witches and witchcraft, stories were used to keep the history alive inside the stories written in ancient mythology to Walt Disney’s movies. Check your family history. What and who were they. Were they witch hunters or were they a witch? There’s more to the story of Halloween or All Hallows Eve than meets the eye. What story or legend will come next?
Although most of the stereotypes of witches can be traced to the Middle Ages, it does not mean that people during this time came up with the description of a witch without prior historical influence. In order to understand what happened during the Middle Ages to create the images of a witch that we know today, it is necessary to go back to pre-Christian times.
Psychological susceptibility to various faiths in the fact that human life is exposed to supernatural forces that affect a person's fate, and often prejudge its outcome, always existed in all human societies and cultures. One of the major determinants of this psychological susceptibility is superstitions that appear as the main engines of believe in the intervention of supernatural forces in human’s life. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica (2010) ‘superstition’ could be defined as ‘belief, half-belief or practice’, which does not have any rational explanation or basis. Despite this fact, according to Behringer (2004) the amount of believers in witchcraft and superstitions are significantly higher than in XVII century.