Changing Attitudes to Witchcraft

When did the fear of witches and witchcraft begin?

Days of the Old Testament

When did this fear ‘peak’?

Early Modern period

What new fear began in the Middle Ages?

Diabolical pacts

Define a ‘diabolical pact’

A pact made with the Devil - a witch who enters the pact usually offers their soul in exchange for wealth or power

What are the key events/individuals that led to the decline of witchcraft?

• Understanding of the natural world

• Scientific revolution: Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton

• Human understanding and knowledge: Bacon, Hobbes, Locke and Royal Society

• Fraudulent cases: questioned the reality of witchcraft

When did the the practice of witch-hunting die out?

1700

When was witchcraft legislation repealed in Britain?

1736

How many executions were there in England and Scotland?

No more than 1,000 executions in England with several hundred more in Scotland

Why was Salem a ‘stand out’ case?

Craze had already diminished considerably in Europe and North America colonies

What was the ‘Little Ice Age’?

A period of distinct cooling that caused widespread agricultural catastrophe

What is maleficium?

Latin word meaning an evil deed - 1580, understood as an act of witchcraft designed to cause harm, witches were capable of committing evil acts against witches

What did the German Dominican Friars write?

1486, Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches)

Why was this particularly different to the concept of maleficium?

Belief that witches held a covenant with the Devil, obsession for witch-hunters

Acted as guidebook for witch trials - precise steps to secure a conviction of a witch

1580, belief was well established

How is Malleus divided? Identify the 3 parts.

• Effect of witchcraft, explains why women are more likely to be witches than men

• Explains different types of witchcraft and types of investigations to be carried out

• Carefully chosen refences to Scripture to justify the unusual legal proceedings that were deemed necessary

What impact did the Reformation have on the relations between Catholics and Protestants?

Suspicion between the Catholics and Protestants led to further distrust and accusations

Why is Martin Luther (1483-1546) a crucial figure in the Reformation?

1517, openly criticised Catholic Church’s focus on salvation through good works and rituals rather than faith alone - begun the Protestant Reformation

When did the Protestant Reformation ‘take hold’ in England?

16th Century, Henry VIII broke away from Church in Rome and Elizabeth established a Protestant Church settlement in 1559

How was Protestantism different to Catholicism?

Individual relationships with God through prayer was more important than sacraments of the Catholic Church

What was Puritanism?

Extreme form of Protestantism, viewed outward celebrations of faith as ungodly and distracting

Why might this be important for the study of British witchcraft?

Leading witch-hunters were Puritans

What were ‘familiars’?

Supernatural creatures associated with witches as representatives of the Devil, also known as imps

What forms would familiars take?

Animals: dogs, cats, toads, mice, flies and wasps

Sometimes took shape of a man

How did familiars use the ‘Devil’s Mark’?

A mark, usually a scar, mole or blemish on the body of a person who entered into a covenant with the Devil

Familiars would feed on the witches and assist them by carrying out acts on their behalf

Define the term ‘Cunning Folk’.

Often called folk-healers, distinguished from witches as generally carried out good deeds

What is the difference between a witch and cunning-folk use of familiars?

Harmless fairies rather than demons, witches were thought to be protected by their familiars

Identify the three ways familiars attached themselves to the witches:

• Spirit or familiar would appear when the witch was alone, urging them to make a pact with the Devil or cause harm

• Familiar could be given to someone else, e.g. pass from mother to daughter - Widow Bridge and Margaret Ley (her sister) were accused in Liverpool in 1667, claimed they had been given spirits by their mothers

• Accused witches were in personal or financial difficulties, Devil promised them a familiar to make them rich or take revenge on their enemies

What were familiars designed to do?

Cause harm to others or damage property

1682, Bideford witches saw an unknown cat jump through window of one of the accused - familiar didn’t belong to the witch

How common were witch-trials in Britain before 1550?

Relatively rare

What were the key features of the 1542 Act Against Witchcraft?

Made conjuring of spirits, witchcraft and sorcery to cause harm to others, property or to discover what had happened to stolen goods a capital offence (punishable by the death penalty)

Who passed the Second Act in 1563?

Elizabeth I

Why was this Act seen as ‘more severe’?

Crime to invoke evil spirits whether maleficium was involved or not

Why might this Act be seen as ‘more leniant’?

Death penalty only imposed if act of witchcraft resulted in death of a person

Injury or death of animal led to being given imprisonment of 1 year

How did the legal approach to witchcraft differ to that of continental Europe in the 1563 Act?

Diabolical pacts had not entered English consciousness, focus on harm caused by witches

What was the name of the book King James I wrote?

Daemonologie

What were the main features of the 1604 Act?

• Death penalty retained for killing of person

• Reintroduces for second offence in lesser kinds of magic, e.g. destroying livestock or good, or attempting to kill someone

• Offence to consult with, or feed, any evil spirit

What is meant by the term ‘assize circuit’?

Courts that travelled in ‘six circuits’ around the country, heard most serious cases

What is the ‘home circuit’?

Covered Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex between 1558-1736

How many people were convicted of witchcraft on this circuit?

200 people

If discounting Hopkins’ hunt, only 7 people found not guilty of causing damage to people or property in their Home Circuit

Identify those who would be most likely to be accused of being a witch:

• Physically deformed or visually stood out

• Withdrawn or socially awkward

• Often older women

Identify the 5 tests that were employed in witch-hunts:

• Scratched in order to break a spell by drawing blood

• Swimming test: binding suspect’s right thumb and left toe (and vice versa), secured with ropes and thrown into river 3 times, if floated they were guilty as they were rejected by water, if sank there was a scramble to rescue before they drowned

• Recite the Lord’s Prayer

• Body inspected to find marks, included warts, moles or extra nipples

• Watching: deprivation of sleep and forced to go hungry - favoured by Hopkins

Under what circumstances did people become witches, according to claims made at witch-trials?

Why was the 1604 Witchcraft Act so severe?

Why do you think older women were particularly vulnerable to accusations of witchcraft?

What was the mindset of the British people in the 16th and 17th centuries towards witchcraft?

Entrenched in the mindset of individuals, increasing number of dubious cases and development of scientific/rational thought led to development of sceptical attitudes

When was witchcraft legislation repealed?

1736

Who was the last person executed for witchcraft in England, and when did it happen?

Alice Molland in Exeter in 1684

What crime was Alice Molland accused of before her execution?

Murdered 3 people in 1682

How many people were executed in Paisley, Scotland, in 1697?

10 people

Who was Janet Horne, and why was she executed?

Burnt in a tar barrel in 1727, accused of changing her daughter into a flying horse

What physical condition did Janet Horne’s daughter have, and how was it used as evidence against her?

Daughter had deformity in hands and feet, nieghbours suggested it was result of the transformation

Approximately how many people were executed for witchcraft in Britain?

1500 people

In what year was a final attempt made to bring a suspected witch to trial in England?

1717

What happened to the case in Leicester in 1717?

Rejected by the court

What major legal change occurred in 1736 regarding witchcraft?

Repealed the 1604 Witchcraft Act in England and Scotland

How did Scotland react to the repeal of the 1604 Witchcraft Act?

Many clergy protested as the belif in witchcraft was still widespread

What did the new Witchcraft Act focus on punishing?

Fraudulent cases

What was the maximum penalty under the 1736 Witchcraft Act?

1 year imprisonment

What key statement did the 1736 Act make about magic and witchcraft?

Were not real

How did popular beliefs in witchcraft persist even after the legal changes?

Ordinary people continued to believe in witches

What happened in Long Marston, Hertfordshire, in 1751?

John and Ruth Osborne attacked by angry mob, accused of harming cattle and people

Mob of 4000 people dragged them to a pond and Ruth died and John was beaten to death

Who was Thomas Colley, and what role did he play in the attack?

Chimney sweep and ringleader of the mob, arrested and executed for the murder of Ruth Osborne

How might the continued belief in witchcraft reflect broader social or religious attitudes?

Limited legal reform affect

What does the case of the Osbornes suggest about the dangers of mass hysteria?