Bedknobs & Broomsticks (and a wheel or two!): Cultural Impact of the Inquisition.

In the 1500s and 1600s, the idea of demonic magic began to take hold in Europe. One must understand that for many, life in Europe during this time was full of chaos - religions were breaking away from the Catholic church, battles ensued between neighbors of different religions, crops failed, etc. Stability was no more and the majority of people needed to find a reason to justify life turning upside down. Their justification? That it must be some foreign operative outside of their control - thus the devil has come to test and punish them.

The 14^th and 15^th century (due in part to the Plague) see new definitions of Satan as the devil who walks on earth harming people through floods, plagues, death, etc. Many begin to believe that in order to accomplish these tasks, Satan must have had human help. Thus men and women begin to find themselves on trial for witchcraft.

Definition of witches:

Were ancient
Anti-Christian heretics
Practiced maleficium (evil magic, harmful magic)

Initially those suspected of witchcraft were tried for other crimes, but that changes as the idea of witchcraft evolves.

Witchcraft emerges as "diabolical" - to be a witch in early modern Europe, it requires you to practice maleficum and be diabolical, meaning in league with the devil. The new definition requires people to rethink their idea of contact with the devil, expanding it to include the radical supernatural. So just what is "radical supernatural"? Think flying. Flying becomes an important aspect as it explains how the witches reach their secret meetings and most importantly, WHY none of these meetings were ever seen/discovered.

To be a witch, it was crucial to have a pact with the devil, this becomes a legal document which now shows that the witch broke the law and can now be held accountable. The "Devil's mark", typically a mole or freckle, is seen as evidence of this pact. Witches must attend Sabbat (a creation of the 16th century) as it was believed that witches must worship the devil collectively. Sabbats provide evidence of conspiracy.

Why does this matter? As the witch hunts gain steam during this time, the hunt itself becomes a largely judicial process. With the shift into the inquisitor method, evidence must be gathered and be given in front of a judge and jury. There were secret interrogations (in every nation but England) as confessions became of the utmost importance. Torture was used for interrogation as well as for punishment.

Did you know? The Rule of Three.
Though there were rules dictating the total number of times a person could be tortured, there were no rules regarding how long a torture session could last. A session could last well over a week and still count as one time so long as it was continuous, once a break in the session occurred, it had to be counted as a new occurrence. There were rules that governed torture:

To be used only if guilt is fairly certain
Should not result in a person's death
Pregnant women were exempt as were children and the elderly
Leading questions were not allowed
One could only be tortured 3 times
Witches could be tortured longer than others with greater pain inflicted because it was believed the devil protected them from pain

Witchcraft moved from being a religious crime to a secular one.

Reasons for the witch craze:

Reformation caused massive upheaval
Socio-economic problems - large population growth, price increases, social unrest
Printing press and increased literacy spread the word

The hunts happen at different times for different reasons, and most areas in Europe are not affected.

Demonology = the science of witchcraft. Many religious men were also demonologists, they studied the idea of demons and hell in order to better understand and spread their religion. Two Dominican monks, Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer, who were demonologists as well as inquisitors wrote the Maleus Maleficarum - Hammer of Witches. The Maleus Maleficarum was a handbook on how to identify, try, and punish witches. It was reprinted 8 times before 1500, and was composed of all known facts of witchcraft.

However, many of the local authorities highly disliked Sprenger and Kramer, found them too extreme (most demonologists were not radical, were more well-rounded scholars). When conducting the Inquisition in Tyrol, they were actually forced to leave the city and all of the women who had been arrested were released.

So who was accused of witchcraft?

75-80% were women with 20-25% being male. There were, however, regional differences - in England for example only 20 - 30% of those accused were women. In other areas up to 95% of the accused were women.
Rural areas were more likely to try witches, urban areas are less likely to believe in superstition and magic.
Over 50
Single
Lower class/poor (drain on society)

Why?

It was determined women were weaker than men thus the women were seen to be the devil's preferred target.
In reality: there was an increase in older widowed women who had no family to support them. They were seen as a drain on society and this was a way to eliminate them.

Triggers for witchhunts (as they happen sporadically)

Personal misfortune (death of a loved one, infertility, romantic failure, theft, death of an animal, crop failure)
Communal misfortune (widespread fire, crop failure)
Scapegoat
Free confessions

Why does it decline?

Decline doesn't happen everywhere at the same time. There are judicial changes as the years progress. More and more have been accused and the accusations are no longer regulated to the poor, isolated women in society. Instead more and more are being accused in order for the accuser to gain in some way (politically, financially, etc). With that shift, the courts adjust and begin to demand more evidence. Now it was no longer enough to accuse, you must prove they are a witch in order to have the person go on trial. That proof must demonstrate harmful magical intent. The witches mark is no longer accepted and torture is deemed unreliable. The identity of accusers was no longer private and there were stiff penalties for false accusations.

Other reasons for decline:

Early stages of Scientific Revolution are beginning, universe is mechanical and there is no room for witchcraft.
Religious conflicts are ending, life is becoming more stable, religion becomes rational rather than emotional.
Socio-economically speaking, life is improving as people are better off than they were before.
People are becoming more accustomed to seeing large numbers of widows and no longer feel threatened by their presence.

Document Discussion

Its time to take a closer look at the: Persecution of Witches Click on the link below and be sure to read the three documents carefully. As you read consider the following:

What does this tell us about who was accused, why they were accused and what happened once they were on trial?
What is the POV of these documents?

Click here to read the documents.

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