Witchcraft

Witchcraft

became another concern during this period, mainly as a result of the many religious/political changes taking place
1. Monarchs passed laws about witchcraft- Henry 8th and Elizabeth 1st
  1. whilst James 1st wrote a book about it in 1597
    1. did not like witches because he thought and wrote in his book that their 'detectable slaves of the devil'
the first serious witch hunts and trials took place in 1565 with 90% of those accused being women
1. in 1604 witchcraft became a crime punishable by hanging, with anyone suspected being 'ducked'
  1. after 1650 the number of witch trials declined
    1. this was partly the result of more rational and scientific approaches to the natural wolrd
In the middle ages accusations of witchcraft had been dealt with by the church court which had tended to give relatively light sentences
1. This was because ordinary people, who were too poor to afford the services of a doctor , relied on local 'wise women'
  1. These women using a combination of herbal treatments and magic charms, tried to cure illnesses of both human and animals
2. In the 1500s, in the middle of all the religious changes, it was made a criminal offence, punishable by death and was tried by ordinary courts
  1. There was no sudden increase of witchcraft but over the next 200 years up to 1000 people who were mainly women were executed as witches
lasted from the middle 16th century to the early 18th century
1. During that time hundreds of people were arrested on suspicion of being a witch
  1. They were interrogated, suffered what amounted to torture and many were executed
    1. Many died in prison as a result of their treatment
People believed witches were in league with the devil and blamed them for trivial things like the milk going sour or more serious events such as bad crops and unexplained deaths
1. Most were accused by their neighbours and the most vulnerable women were often childless, old widows living in poverty
Matthew Hopkins was the Witchfinder General
1. Paid for every witch he found
2. For detecting witches, hopkins looked for familiars (pets given by the devil to perfom evil acts or a distinguishing mark such as a wart or a hairy chin (mark of the devil
A swimming test was used to prove a woman was a witch
1. A priest would bless a river of pond, the accused was then thrown in
  1. If she floated she was guilty because the water had rejected her, is she sank she was innocent and dead
example of women being given unequal treatment
1. if a woman was convicted of killing her husband it was seen as petty treason because men were seen as the womens' king
  1. she would be burned at the stake rather than hanged
2. Women accused of scolding (nagging) were sentenced with the ducking stool and sometimes accidentally drowned
3. Women were often victims of crime but found it hard to get justice
  1. all legal officals were men and courts considered women to be less reliable witnesses than men
There were concerns about witches during the 17th century
1. the civil war had caused disruption and uncertainty in people's lives
2. wages had declined and few jobs were avaliable
3. Priests were no longer seen as having a special connection to god
4. Ordinary people found it difficult to understand all the scientific and political changes of the time
5. Superstitions still existed in rural areas
6. Religious changes had altered views
  1. Puritans (pure form of the protestant) were always on their guard for the devil
7. Stories and pamphlets about witches were popular and fed on the fear that already existed
8. Being a medium (physic) was classed as being a witch
  1. There was a medium named Helen Duncan who was arrested because people believed witchcraft was a crime
    1. She was treated badly because she was a part of witchcraft
9. When serious events happened the woman closest would get the blame
10. It was thought that witches let animals drink their blood, and if she had some spots on her body than that proved she was

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