Witchcraft in the 17th Century
Witchcraft in Europe during the 17th century was common. It mainly
took place in Germany, but also took place in England. Witches were
associated with evil; it was believed witches inherited magical powers
from Satan in exchange for the witch’s soul. Some of these magical
powers included outrageous claims such as flying, being able to
transform and cursing bad luck on others. It was extremely dangerous
to be accused of being a witch as the most common punishment was
death, often by beheading or even being burnt at the stake.
A large proportion of society in England believed in witchcraft, but
the reasons as to why a country which was developing a belief in
science and logic had faith in such a very much mythical based idea
still remains a question. It is easy to follow the theory that society
had developed a state of hysteria following the civil war in 1642 and
wanted to direct their anger at something, but it could be something
more than that.
Although England had developed this belief in science there were still
many unanswered questions about the world which was unexplainable at
the time. Perhaps then witchcraft was an answer for these mysteries
societies faced such as crop failures, disease and sometimes just bad
luck. By blaming witches for these events that occurred, it gave
people an answer and whether right or wrong, it was the only answer
the public had.
A typical ‘witch’ would usually be of lower class, a women usually
divorced with perhaps a deformity or women with a physical appearance
slightly different to other people. However records show a surprising
number of men with physi...
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...kins was present or not it is known that later that
year he created a pamphlet as a response to the criticism he faced
titled ‘Discovery of the witches’. This pamphlet was a point-by-point
reply to the critique; the content itself was full of lies and had no
sense of logic to it. Although Hopkins defended by this point in time
the public were becoming disillusioned and Hopkins did not continue
his witch-hunts.
So in conclusion witchcraft in took place in England for only a
short-period before the witch theory died out, however it was
obviously a very much widely believed idea created to answer the
questions irresolvable by society in that period. Although there were
more hangings and prosecutions in other parts of Europe, Witchcraft
was a very dark period in society where science and logic took a
serious beating.
In this paper, I will explore many aspects of the outbreaks of the witch accusations and witch trials which plagued England and the rest of Europe from approximately 1450 to 1750. Though numerous theories have been provided as to the reasons for these hunts and trials, there are three which are the most prevalent, and able to support themselves. These three theories are the topics of: gender, as a stepping stone towards the oppression of women; social class, as a relief of tension and stress formed by the socio-economic gaps between the wealthy and the poor; and finally religion, as a result of the encouragement to conform more steadily towards one religion. I chose to argue towards the third theory I have stated, that of the religious changes facing England at the time. Throughout the three hundred years that the perceived problems of witchcraft haunted this nation, the religious momentum swayed back and forth many times. My decision to support the religious theories attached to witchcraft may not be as traditional as most student’s. It was a decision based more upon the motives and not so hidden agendas that the theorists who were (obviously) not present at the times of the trials. Historical fact has been in debate for as long as history has been recorded, because everything written or spoken is rhetoric, and this impossible to escape from. Therefore, in order to defend my decision to choose religion, I will be adopting a new historicist point of view for the first few paragraphs of this paper.
The witch hunts in early modern Europe were extensive and far reaching. Christina Larner, a sociology professor at the University of Glasgow and an influential witchcraft historian provides valuable insight into the witch trials in early modern Europe in her article 'Was Witch-Hunting Woman-Hunting?'. Larner writes that witchcraft was not sex-specific, although it was sex-related (Larner, 2002). It cannot be denied that gender plays a tremendous role in the witch hunts in early modern Europe, with females accounting for an estimated 80 percent of those accused (Larner, 2002). However, it would be negligent to pay no heed to the remaining 20 percent, representing alleged male witches (Larner, 2002). The legal definition of a witch in this time, encompassed both females and males (Levack, 1987). This essay will explore the various fundamental reasons for this gender discrepancy and highlight particular cases of witchcraft allegations against both women and men. These reasons arise from several fundamental pieces of literature that depict the stereotypical witch as female. These works are misogynistic and display women as morally inferior to men and highly vulnerable to temptations from demons (Levack, 1987). This idea is blatantly outlined in the text of the 'Malleus Maleficarum' written by James Sprenger and Henry Kramer in the late fifteenth century. This book is used as the basis for many of the witch trials in early modern Europe (Levack, 1987). The text describes women as sexually submissive creatures and while remarking that all witchcraft is derived from intense sexual lust, a women is thus a prime candidate for witchcraft (Sprenger & Kramer, 1487). In this time period, men are seen as powerful and in control and thus rarely...
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…………………….
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.
Whenever we think of witches, we think of shriveled up ladies who wear pointy hats with a big black drape over her. But in England, in the Renaissance era, that is not always how they were distinguished out among the crowd. Many citizens were put on trial and even killed if they were accused of being witches. Many times, these people were falsely accused and therefore murdered wrongfully. Witchcraft was a problem starting around the mid-1400’s and influenced many writers such as Shakespeare, and although it is not a big problem in today’s society, looking back at how this affected the renaissance era in England is something that had a huge impact on their society.
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.
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft is a concise, 231 page informational text by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. Published in 1974, it explores the economic and social conditions present in the Salem village during the 1600s that led to the hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Multiple graphs and illustrations are present, as well as an average sized font, an abundance of footnotes typically on the left page, and a prominent voice from the authors. The book was written to serve as a more comprehensive informational piece on the Salem witch trials due to the authors finding other pieces written about the same topic to be inaccurate. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum wanted to create something that utilized
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.
Although witch trials were not uncommon in Puritanical New England, none had reached such epidemic proportions as Salem. In 1691 the mass hysteria began when several young girls dabbled in witchcraft and began acting strange. When villagers took notice the girls were seriously questioned and so they began naming people, mainly woman, who had supposedly bewitched them (Boyer, p66). Several other who had been accused were woman displayed ‘unfeminine’ behavior and those who
These skeptical interpretations of possession coexisted in New England society alongside the official Puritan view. Sometimes the possessed were not encouraged to name the witches responsible for their afflictions (not even by their own ministers); any names voluntarily offered by them were not taken seriously, and no one was formally accused. Other times, most notably during outbreaks, the possessed became important— if not the most important— sources of witch identifications. At all times, however, as we shall see, the possessed provided the most visible support for the clergy’s argument that the greatest danger of witchcraft lay in the power of witches to enlist others in the Devil’s
What do you think when someone calls someone a witch? What comes to mind? Do you think of the movie, ‘Hocus Pocus’ or do you think of the black pointed hats and the long black, slit ended dresses? What about witchcraft? Does the term “Devil worshiper” ever cross your mind? Do you think of potions and spells? For many, many generations, we have underestimated what the true meaning of a witch and what witchcraft really is. What is the history that hides behind it? Witches and witchcraft have been in our history since the ancient times. There is a little bit more than the ghost stories told on Halloween, the movies shown on TV and dressing up on Halloween.
In 1593, George Gifford, a renowned Puritan preacher from Maldon, Essex, wrote that the “maine ground of witchcraft” was the “covenant that is between Satan and the witch”. This pact involved the witch binding themselves “vnto [the Devil] by solmne vowe…[promising] to renounce…God…[and]…giue [the Devil] either [their] body, or soul, or both” in return for the gift of supernatural abilities. This view of witchcraft reflected the foundation of all demonological witch-beliefs: Devil-worship. The covenant between the witch and Satan formed the basis of demonological theory, not only in early Stuart England but also across much of early modern Europe. As Richard Bernard, a puritan preacher, wrote in 1627, “In this act only standeth the very reality of a Witch.” Nevertheless, whilst the idea of the covenant was prevalent across Europe, it was only one of several demonic activities believed to be undertaken by the witch during the continental Sabbat (the traditional ritual of Devil worship), which included night-flying, copulation with demons, and cannibalistic
Consequently, the evolution to witchcraft phenomenon began when two young girls began to experience fits and mysterious maladies in a small Puritan community. A doctor concluded that the children were suffering from the effect of witchcrafts. Under the compulsion of the doctor, the girls began to name the allegedly responsible for their suffering. After the allegedly of the girls, three women became the first Salem residents to be charged with the capital crime of witchcraft. Later on, only one of them confessed to the crime and subsequently aided the authorities in identifying more Salem witches. With the encouragements from adults in the community, the girls who were joined by other Salem residents, accused more local residents of witchcrafts.
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.
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.