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Causes of the Witch Hunts
Description
A-Levels Extended Essay Mind Map on Causes of the Witch Hunts, created by claire.elizabeth on 04/06/2013.
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extended essay
a-levels
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claire.elizabeth
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Resource summary
Causes of the Witch Hunts
Political Causes
A way to control the masses
Snowballing affect
Not a direct cause but continued the craze
Met the demand of the populace
Ruler could demonstrate his power
Prevented pressure bubbling through the masses
Politically safe
No one from the upper classes was implicated
Witchcraft became an act of heresy
A way of politicians discrediting their opponents
Confused boarders meant that there were more 'outsiders' who were the typical victims in the witch trials
Princ-Bishops could consolidate their power
Fragmentation of political authority-panic got out of hand
Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn
Saw women as weak
Believed that female lust would undermine social&religious order
The officials' fear of heresy
No powerful members of society opposed the witch hunts
Politicians sought to exercise an increasing moral authority
Witchcraft legislation was often accompanied with measures to regulate morality
Social Causes
Revenge
Beggars denied charity would accuse neighbours of witchcraft
The Church was not longer providing for the poor
Suspicion led to neighbours denouncing each other
Suspicion about 'mysterious' event
Malleus Maleficarum
Judges more aware of the presence of evil
Caused people to acknowledge witchcraft
Allowed judges to prosecute without proof
Poor records of practising Christianity
Pressure from the populace
Trials usually emerged out of complex disputes within local communities
Lack of scapegoats; in Spain the Jews were the scapegoats therefore the witch hunts were more controlled
Economic Causes
Peaks in witch trials coincided with period of famine, and natural 'disasters' or war
Need for scapegoats
Religious Causes
Religious reform attracted more women BUT they were more suspicious of women
Role of women was more defined in the Protestant church therefore people who diverged from this role were automatically suspicious
Mass unrest and suspicion between Catholics and Protestants
Religious divide
Anti-Semitic movement in the 17th century led to Jews and witches being grouped together
Malleus Maleficarum transformed witchcraft from a diabolical conspiracy to overthrow the established church
Linked to the Christian obsession with the devil
Catholic belief in the miracle of Mass made it easier for people to belief in witchcraft
Protestants believed the Pope was the Antichrist
Catholics viewed Lutherans and Calvinists as agents of the devil
The regions that were hardest hit were the areas with the most disputes between Protestants and Catholics
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