Extent Inquisition Impacted Witchcraft Trials in Central Europe from 1199 to 1580

2103 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: History of the inquisition

Section A- Plan of Investigation

Thesis: To what extent did the Inquisition impact witchcraft trials in the region of Central Europe from 1199 to 1580?

This investigations seeks to evaluate the Inquisition in full but not limited to the effect on heresy, heretics, witches, and witchcraft. The sources used for this research investigation are the three written sources with secondary and primary material, which are listed as follows, Witchcraft by Robert Hart, Witches and Witchcraft Jeremy Kingston, and Witchcraft in Europe 400-1700 by Alan Charles Kors and Edward Peters. These books will be analyzed and evaluated based on origin, purpose, value, and limitation.

Section B- Summary of Evidence

The Inquisition founded in 1199 is a tribunal from the Christian faith of the Holy office to expose and punish religious unorthodoxy. ?From that time until its decline in the late 1600?s and the early 1700?s, the number of executions for witchcraft reached an appalling total of 100,000? (Hart, pg. 63). These executions from France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and other parts of Europe have a record number of considerable injustice, prejudice and cruelty. The Inquisition and the witch trials were all part of a time when the panic from the Holy Church was committing a harsh extreme to the cleansings of anything unorthodox. Educated people like lawyers, doctors, bishops, and scholars all participated in witch hunt. ?Some Historians have shown that the movement as a whole was a revival of the pagan superstition and cult whose origin lay in the ancient world, which cause a rebirth of learning? (Hart, pg. 65). The witch paranoia was an old chapter in history reborn during the 12 century causing the Great Witch Panic. The Christian churc...

... middle of paper ...

...did the Christian Holy Church of Europe. From time eternal it seems the Christian church has always been behind some sort of evil and murder for its sake. The twentieth century had seen racist and prejudices and the repression of racial minorities, the sick and handicapped. Man has a constant battle with himself between good and evil. Human nature is never as rational or compassionate as people want to believe. Instead of being guided by common respect and tolerance of those who are different, we seek to change what might threaten or challenge us.

Section F- Bibliography

3 Written sources,

Hart, Roger. Witchcraft. London: Wayland Ltd., 1972.

Kingston, Jeremy. Witches and Witchcraft. London: Aldus Books Limited, 1976.

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

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Witchfinders By Malcolm Gaskill

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    Witchfinders is a book by Malcolm Gaskill that looks upon strategies that were employed by two Christian crusaders in their quest to mitigate witches in England. The book explores England’s important story and the biggest witch hunt. In the book, Gaskill brings out issues relating to religious and social lives in a very fascinating way. The whole book brings to right ways that witch-finders used to support their brutality and bloodshed in the ancient England notably through biblical justifications. In the book either, the author brings out the demonic ways of the 1640s in East Anglia and through keen analyzes of the factors that are being stipulated in the book one can factor out the rotten society in the time and to some degree relate this to the current society and religious behaviors. The current paper looks upon the short and long term factors

    Read More

  • Were Pre-Modern European Witchhunts Mysogynistic?

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Were the witch-hunts in pre-modern Europe misogynistic? Anne Llewellyn Barstow seems to think so in her article, “On Studying Witchcraft as Women’s History: A Historiography of the European Witch Persecutions”. On the contrary, Robin Briggs disagrees that witch-hunts were not solely based on hatred for women as stated in his article, “Women as Victims? Witches, Judges and the Community”. The witch craze that once rapidly swept through Europe may have been because of misconstrued circumstances. The evaluation of European witch-hunts serves as an opportunity to delve deeper into the issue of misogyny.

    Read More

  • The Devil in the Shape of a woman

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book begins with a brief history of the colonial witchcraft. Each Chapter is structured with an orientation, presentation of evidence, and her conclusion. A good example of her structure is in chapter two on the demographics of witchcraft; here she summarizes the importance of age and marital status in witchcraft accusations. Following this she provides a good transition into chapter three in the final sentence of chapter two, “A closer look of the material conditions and behavior of acc...

    Read More

  • Witchcraft in North America between 17th and 21st century

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    Woodward, Walter “New England’s other Witch-hunt: The Hartford Witch-hunt of the 1660s and Changing Patterns in Witchcraft Prosecution” OAH Magazine of History, 2003. 8. Cavendish, Richard. The. “A History of Magic” New York, 1977 pg 69-79 9.

    Read More

  • the decline of witchcraft prosecution in the 17th-18th centuries

    1661 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the late 17th century and into the early 18th century witchcraft prosecutions had been declining. This trend was the result of a multitude of social developments which altered the mentality of society. One of the predominant factors in this decline was the Scientific Revolution, the most important effect of these advances was making society question concepts of witchcraft. Along with this new mental outlook, we see that the Reformation had a similar effect on social opinion concerning witchcraft and magic. These two developments changed societies view on the occult and this led to a wider scepticism concerning witchcraft, this favoured those who had been accused and therefore caused a decline in prosecutions. Beyond the two trends mentioned however, it is important to consider judicial reforms and an improved socio-economic situation which reduced tensions within society. These two changes were certainly not as influential as the Scientific Revolution and the Reformation but heavily altered the circumstances in which accusations were normally made. With the altered social attitudes and mental outlook these changes in living situations all contributed to bring about the decline in witchcraft prosecutions.

    Read More

  • Women in Early Europe

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Causes of the Salem Witch Trials

    2019 Words  | 5 Pages

    Godbeer, Richard. ""How Could They Believe That?": Explaining to Students Why Accusations of Witchcraft Made Good Sense in Seventeenth-Century New England." OAH Magazine of History July 2003: 28-31. Ebscohost.Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • The Role of Young Women in the Salem Witch Trials

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    Kocic, Ana. (2010). Salem Witchcraft Trails: The Perception of Women In History, Literature And Culture. Linguistics and Literature, Vol. 8 (Issue N1), 1-7. http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/lal/lal201001/lal201001-01.pdf

    Read More

  • The Salem Witch Trials

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Salem Witch Trials were a prime part of American history during the early 17th century. During this time, religion was the prime focus and way of life within colonies. This was especially true for the Puritan way of life. Puritans first came to America in hopes of practicing Christianity their own way, to the purest form. The Puritans were fundamentalists who believed every word transcribed in the Bible by God was to be followed exactly for what it was. The idea of the devil controlling a woman and forming her into a Witch was originated from people’s lack of awareness on illness, disease or simple hysteria. The Colonists lack of expertise on the methodical approach through sciences, left them concluding to a spiritual phenomenon.

    Read More

  • European Witch Hunt

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 founded within agreement there remains 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: A Sociologist’s Perspective,” share various opinions while developing their own theories. The comparison of these observations will focus upon why the witch trials occurred when they did, why did they stop when they did, why did the witch trials occur when they did, and who was persecuted and who was responsible for the identification and punishing of witches.

    Read More

  • Modern Witch Hunting

    1786 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the early modern period Europe experienced a phase of vicious prosecution of the people accused of the crime of ‘Witchcraft.’ There has been an estimated death toll of up to 50,000 people during these Witch-hunt crazes, although the exact figures are unknown. What is known is that overall 75-80% of those accused were woman although this varies in different states. In this essay I will discuss the role of gender in witchcraft and why the majority of people executed as Witches were women.

    Read More

  • The History of Witches and Witchcraft

    1338 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Werewolves of Society

    2828 Words  | 6 Pages

    Sidky, H. Witchcraft, lycanthropy, drugs, and disease: an anthropological study of the European witch-hunts. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 1997.

    Read More

  • Witchcraft, Magic and Rationality

    2268 Words  | 5 Pages

    Lehmann A. C. & Myers J. E. Magic, Witchcraft and Religion – An anthropological Study of the Supernatural (Fourth Edition) (Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997)

    Read More

  • Witch Hunt Essay

    2362 Words  | 5 Pages

    HIST303 Witch Hunting 1400-1700 Essay 1: Describe the nature of "witchcraft"and explain why it was threatening to Christianity. Prepared by: Sikiki Angela Lloyd Due: 4 April 2014 Student Number: 203139861 Image: The Witches' Sabbath.

    Read More

More about Extent Inquisition Impacted Witchcraft Trials in Central Europe from 1199 to 1580

Open Document