The Growth and Decline of the Persecution of Witches

What was Simmus Desiderantes Affectibus?

A Papal bull issued in 1484 that gave approval for an Inquisition led by two Dominicans - Kramer and Sprenger - in Germany against witches

Who issued Simmus Desiderantes Affectibus?

Pope Innocent VIII

What did the Papal bull do?

- It reiterated the powers that Pope Innocent VIII had given to the inquisitors, who were answerable to him, and called for the local ecclesiastical authorities to cooperate or face execution

- It specified that Kramer and Sprenger had powers for "correcting, imprisoning, punishing and chastening" suspected witches

Why can the papal bull be interpreted as largely political?

It could have been issued to assert the Pope's authority over the local clergy in German dioceses

When was Malleus Maleficarum published?

1486

Who wrote Malleus Maleficarum?

Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger

How did the Malleus Maleficarum imply that it was approved by the Pope?

The 1484 Papal bull was published in the preface of the book

When was Malleus Maleficarum condemned by the Catholic Church?

1490

What did the Malleus Maleficarum claim about witchcraft?

- It was the worst of all crimes, combining heresy with terrible secular crimes such as murder and sodomy

- It was difficult to trace, so legal inhibitions and procedures had to be abandoned

What evidence is there that the Malleus Maleficarum did not produce a rise in witch hunting?

- It's publication in Italy was followed by a notable reduction in witchcraft cases

- The decades following the 1470s were years of severe crises as the plague rampaged through Germany, Switzerland, and the eastern parts of Europe

- Kramer may have just exploited fears that were already strong

How many times was the Malleus Maleficarum reprinted before 1520?

13

How many times was the Malleus Maleficarum reprinted by 1660?

A further 16 times

Who wrote the Carolina Code and when?

Charles V in 1532

What was the Carolina Code?

Legal code applied throughout the HRE

Why wasn't the Carolina upheld?

There were no itinerant judges to uphold the law, or any procedures for regular appeals to the imperial supreme court at Speyer

What did the Carolina enforce about witchcraft?

Witchcraft causing harm or death should be punished by death by fire

Which treatise did the suffragen bishop of Bamberg, Forner, write in 1626?

A Display of Weaponry Against all Superstition, Divinations, Enchantments and Devil Worship

What did Forner's treatise claim?

It argued that the rise of Calvinism and witchcraft represented the final stage in the Devil's assault on Christianity and that witches were sent by the Devil to destroy the Catholic faith

Who wrote Cautio Criminalis in 1631?

Friedrich Spee

Who was Friedrich Spee?

A Jesuit priest who was a "confessor" during the torture and execution of witches

What did Cautio Criminalis criticise?

- The use of torture to achieve false confessions

- The use of "sorcery of silence"

- The use of torture for denouncements

- The torture and sexual assault of the accused

Who wrote A Discoverie of Withcraft in 1584?

Reginald Scot, an educated Calvinist layman

What did Reginald Scot believe in?

The sovereignty of God - hence it was wrong to attribute supernatural powers to witches, he also believed there was no biblical foundation for witch hunting

Who wrote Daemonologie?

King James VI of Scotland (King James I of England)

When was Daemonologie published in England?

1603

What were the effects of the King's treatise?

- The people of England became more acutely aware of witchcraft

- The authorities were more alert to witchcraft

What treatise did John Gaule, a puritan preacher from Huntingdon, write in 1646?

Select Cases of Conscience Touching Witches and Witchcraft

What did Gaule's treatise achieve?

It questioned the methods of Hopkins and questioned his legitimacy - this was widely read by the public

What was Hopkins's treatise called?

The Discovery of Witches (published 1647)

What did The Discovery of Witches claim?

- Insisted that witches were a threat to society

- Claimed that Hopkins and Sterne only visited places that they were invited to and applied their expertise to suspects identified by the locals

- Defended his actions by arguing the process of a prosecution depended on grand and trial juries under the guidance of a judge

Who wrote Wonders of the Invisible World?

Cotton Mather

When was Wonders of the Invisible World written?

1692

What did Wonders of the Invisible World do?

It defended the Salem Witch trials and the use of spectral evidence

Who wrote More Wonders of the Invisible World?

Robert Calef in 1700

What did Calef's response do?

Criticised Cotton Mather for his role in supporting the trials and accepting the validity of spectral evidence

Evidence that State-building led to an increase in witch hunting?

- In the 16th and 17th centuries, several European states grew in size and power, and rulers bought various territories over which they claimed jurisdiction under more effective political and legal control

- Rulers took a heightened interest in religious matters

- It is unlikely that there could have been large-scale witch hunts without the state's assistance or encouragement

Evidence that State-building did not lead to an increase in witch hunting?

- Only a few governments of strong states promoted witch hunting

- Generally, the central or higher courts did more to restrict a witchcraze than to encourage one

- Central judicial authorities were less likely to be engulfed by the hysteria that could affect local communities

- The worst witch hunts occurred where central authority was weak

What is the Functionalist interpretation?

- Witchcraft accusations were the result of interpersonal tensions between villagers

- Accused witches were usually unpopular, antisocial people, known for begging from their neighbours and cursing at those who turned them away

- Popular anxieties about the threat of witches forced reluctant authorities into action

What is the Feminist interpretation?

- Treatises often contained detailed misogynistic explanations for witchcraft

- The timing of the witchcraze has been linked to a growing concern about female conduct

- Most of the women persecuted were healers and midwives for the community

What was Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English's theory?

That female healers and midwives were persecute by the male medical establishment in order to eliminate female midwifery skills and extinguish knowledge about birth control in an effort to repopulate Europe - HOWEVER the majority of those accused were neither healers nor midwives - and midwives often helped witch hunters to examine suspected witches

What evidence dismisses the feminist interpretation?

- Witchcraft accusations were often generated by disputes between women

- In Essex, women were 15x more likely to give evidence in a witchcraft case than in other felony cases

How did ignorance and delusion lead to an increase in witch hunting?

- Both illiterate people and the educated elite believed that witchcraft existed and in the existence of the Devil

- The concept of maleficia was an explanation for the unexplainable

What was the mini ice age?

- It started in the 1560s and had a devastating effect on crops, particularly vines

- Wine producing areas of Germany saw intense persecution of witches

What was the impact of disease?

- The early modern period was an age of epidemic disease of a severity not seen since the Black Death

- The plague was the most feared disease and was most common in urban areas

- Witches in Geneva and Milan were blamed for "plague spreading"

Selfish motives for witch hunting?

- Relatives of the accused may stand to gain property

- Governments might wish to acquire a witch's property

- Some lawyers and officials may have been involved to make money

- Witch finders sometimes profited by offering their services to local communities

The impact of the reformation?

- Martin Luther and John Calvin shattered the unity of mediaeval Christendom

- They aimed to restore the Church to its early Christian purity and proclaimed the autonomy of the individual conscience and favoured a direct relationship between God and a person

- Protestantism became the dominant religion in many parts of Germany, Switzerland, England, Scotland, France, Hungary and Poland

The impact of the counter-reformation?

- It aimed to eliminate corruption in the Church, educate the clergy and strengthen the faith of the laity and reclaim its lost allegiance

What did the religious conflict between the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation lead to?

It made communities more fearful of moral subversion and more eager to rid their communities of corruptive influences such as witchcraft

How did the number of land-poor and landless peasant households increase?

In England, this rose from 11% of the rural population before 1560, to 40% after 1640

How did the population increase from 1550?

There was a population growth of 1% every year

How did England's population change from the 1540s to the 1660s?

3 million to 5.5 million

How many deaths were there in the English Civil War?

85,000 deaths in battle, 100,000 war related mortality for civilians

How much did food prices rise by in the 16th century across Europe?

400%

How did fear of the devil increase witch hunting?

- Calvin and Luther emphasised the devil's presence

- Parliamentary propaganda in England exaggerated the threat of the Devil to the creation of a godly commonwealth

What is Exodus 22:18?

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live"

What was Millenarianism?

A puritan belief that the second arrival of Christ was imminent

Wars that influenced the rise of the witchcraze?

- The Thirty Years War

- The English Civil War

- King Philip's War

- King William's War

How did the development of the economy lead to the decline of the witchcraze?

- Inflation levelled off

- Some improvement in real wages

- Less financial strain and not dependent on livestock for survival

- No pressure on resources

What was the result of the effects of warfare on civilian populations being reduced?

- Less strain on communities

- Authorities more focused on resolving local issues

- War driven inflation and food shortages disappeared

What was the result of plague pandemics being reduced?

Less loss within communities

What was the consequence of central judicial authorities exercising more control over lower courts?

This led to a decline in witchcraft prosecutions as local judges were often from the communities affected and hence saw judicial rules as a guideline in response to extraordinary threats

What was the consequence of sceptics writing about the use of torture and its shortcomings?

Authorities became more sceptical about the use of torture and enforcement of rules against torture became stronger

What were the consequences of judges becoming more sceptical of evidence produced in witchcraft trials?

With a higher level of scrutiny applied to evidence there was very little evidence upon which a witch could be found guilty

What were the consequences of the rapidly growing tendency to stress the sovereignty of God?

It led to the belief that if God was supreme, maleficia could only occur with His permission. If God is omnipotent, he could end the reign of terror of the Devil on Earth

What was the effect of a new spirit of tolerance in Protestant communities?

- The tolerance manifested mainly towards members of other denominations, but also spread to those suspected of witchcraft

- In the Dutch republic, witch hunting began to decline early, and the country is known for its early religious tolerance

- There was a decline in the commitment of God-fearing Christians to purify the world by creating a godly state

What was the effect of a coherent body of theological thought casting doubt on the existence of witchcraft?

- Without the community-wide belief in witchcraft, it was less likely that scapegoats would be blamed for local disasters

- Judges would be more likely to acquit those accused

What was the Scientific Revolution?

New way of thinking about the natural world based on careful observation and a willingness to question - it defied the generally accepted teachings of the Church

What did the scientific revolution promote?

Logical thinking, observation and experimentation, and it rejected blind belief without evidence

Ideas and impact of Francis Bacon?

The empirical scientific approach went against blind belief and use of spectral evidence

Ideas and impact of Thomas Hobbes?

- He stressed the importance of deductive reasoning

- His theory was government was instituted by men, not by God

- This denied spectral evidence and belief in witchcraft and demons as a whole

- Focus on secular rule, not submission to God

Evidence that the witchcraze was a rural affair?

- Magical beliefs were most durable among uneducated peasantry

- Accusations tended to rise in close-knit communities, where undesirable people cannot be easily ignored

- Reputations were established over several years and across generations

- Dependence on crops and livestock and sensitivity to the weather

- Authorities involved in community tensions

Evidence that the witchcraze was an urban affair?

- The practice of politically inspired sorcery

- Prosecution of plague-spreaders

- Collective demonic possessions in convents and hospitals