master doc - witchcraze evidence for essays

What was the first step of the inquisitorial process?

Once an accusation was made, judges and their subordinates investigated the crime and decided whether the defendant was guilty

How did the judges decide if a defendant was guilty?

By interrogating the accused and all available witnesses

How was guilt established for a capital crime?

The testimony of at least two eyewitnesses or the confession of the accused was required

Why were judges dependent on confessions for witchcraft cases?

The only people who could give accounts of sabbat attendance were alleged accomplices and it was difficult to find two eyewitnesses to maleficia

What were the rules regarding torture?

- The victim should not die from torture

- Certain people (eg. pregnant women and children) were exempt

- Judges should establish that a crime had been committed before allowing the use of torture

- Testimony taken in the torture chamber was not admissible as evidence - the prisoner was required to repeat the evidence freely

When were torture rules relaxed and why?

Witchcraft was seen as an exceptional crime after 1484

What power did judges abuse?

Judges could torture suspects for crimes that were believed to have been committed but for which there was no tangible evidence

How were the beliefs from witchcraft treatises confirmed?

By confessions made under torture

How high was the conviction rate when torture was used in prosecution?

95%

How high was the conviction rate when torture was not use in prosecution, eg. in England?

40%

How were chain-reaction witch hunts caused?

By further denouncements being made under torture

When did European secular courts become involved in witch hunting?

From 1560

Why did secular authorities have an interest in witchcraft?

It was believed that it could result in physical injury or be used for political purposes

How did specific laws or prohibitions against witchcraft backfire?

It publicised the crime and facilitated its prosecution

When did Church courts begin to get weaker and become subordinate to secular courts?

By the late 16th century - only the courts of the Inquisition in the South remained strong

How did the Southern Inquisition keep prosecutions to a minimum?

They were sceptical of witchcraft - papal inquisitors were among the first to recognise that violations against the procedural rules governing the use of torture had resulted in many miscarriages of justice

Where was sleep deprivation used instead of torture?

In England eg. Elizabeth Clarke in Manningtree was deprived of sleep until she confessed and named her familiars

What did the Carolina code state as the punishment for malevolent witchcraft?

It stated that it should be punished by fire

Which countries used burning as punishment for witchcraft?

Germany, Italy, Scotland, France and Scandinavia

What is an example of burning being used to punish witchcraft?

In Bamberg in 1628, Johannes Junius was beheaded and then burned after he was tortured into confession of witchcraft

spain - stastics

3.5k trials, 100 executions, 2 cases where torture was used

reasons for spains limited torture and executions

Predominantly catholic, so no religious strife and a judicial system that prioritized legal procedures and evidence, so no need for torture. strong inquisition that focused on maintaning order unlike other euro countries.

statistics for switzerland

5,000 executions, more executions per 100,000 people than anywhere else.

reasons for high witch huting in switzerland

weak central authority leads to fear of witchcraft. different mix of religion, culture and language (swiss german, french and italian) creates tensions between groups and results in local conflicts and intense hunts.

statistics for dutch republic

around 150 executions. torture was banned in 1594.

statistics for denmark

around 2000 trials, 50% of which ended in executions.

why was there no chain reaction witch hunt in Denmark?

a person convicted of witchcraft was not allowed to testify agaisnt someone else. helped control spread.

explain the role of torture in denmark

torture was only allowed to be used after a death sentence had be given, helped to limit conivctions and confessions

statistics for norway

around 500 trials. only 91 executions.

explain the role of torture in norway

there was an opposition towards the use of torture, which helped control volume of hunts, confessions and convictions.

statistics for poland

around 2k executed

reasons for hunts in poland

no centeralised judiciary system, couts could act independtly and use torture. the use of torture was unrestriced in poland.

stastics of russia

only 900 witches executed who were mainly men

explain why russia had different stastics to the majority of europe

there was a different religion (russian orthodox christianity)

statistics of scottland

around 1.5k executed, 3 witches executed in scottland for every 1 witch executed in england, (england’s pop 5x that of scotland)

reasons for witchunting in scotland

majority were started from above thanks to religion and belief (king james vi writes witchcraze book “daemonologie)

give an example of a witchunt in scotland

The North Berwick witchunts - 1590-91 - king james vi interviews suspects which ehances his belief and influences his ideas

statistics for england

500 executed.

explain the reason for a lower number of hunts in england

use of torture was prohibited

give an example of a witchunt where the majority of the accused were men

iceland - 110 men were accused witches. only 8% of victims were female.

give an example of a witchunt where the majority of the accused were women

bisphoric of basel (hre) - 95% of the victims were female. 181 women and only 9 men accused.