Witchcraft 3

when did most witch-hunts happen to thr west of river elba

1590-1650

when did most witch hunts happen to the east of river elba

after 1650

where is river elba

holy roman empire

where were most of the witch-hunts

holy roman empire, countries boarding the holy roman empire and german speaking countries

what was the peak years for witch-hunts

1620-1630s

what is an ecclesiastical territory

religious territory

holy roman empire: ellwancgen

400 witches died 1611-1618

holy roman empire: mainz. how many burnt, and how many killed

650 burnings, 1800 killed

how many trials were in the holy roman empire

20,000-25,000

how many were executed in the holy roman empire

20,000-25,000 trials and over half were executed

when did witch-hunts begin in the holy roman empire

1500

when did witch-hunts end in the holy roman empire

1750

where was the peak of witch-hunts in france and why

frontiers of the kingdom, further away from the control of the monarch and government

how many persecutions in france between 1500-1700

3000

how many executions in france 1500-1700

1000

when was the start of witch-hunts in france

1500

when was the end of witch-hunts in france

1700

what was the peak witch-hunts in switzerland

calvinist pays de vaud , 3000 execution between 1580-1620

how many were executed in switzerland in the calvinist pays de vaud

3000 between 1580-1620

how many witches executed in switzerland

10,000

how many executions in luxembourg

360 between 1509-1687

how many trials in lorraine

3000

how many executed in lorraine

2000

how many witches executed in the united provinces

less than 150 witches

why did the united provinces have low execution rates

because it was a united country and tortured was banned and they don’t believe in diabolism

how many people were executed in dalarna in sweden

200 people executed between 1668-1676

how many witch trials in denmark

2000

how many executions in denmark

1000

how many executions in norway

350

when did witch-hunts begin in eastern europe

1676

where were there very severe executions in easter europe

poland

how many executions did poland have

at least 1000 executed between 1676-1725

how many were executed in hungary

500

how many executed in southern europe

fewer than 100 executed in spain between 1580-1620

why did spain have low execution rates

centralised authority, well off country and lacked religious divisions

how many executed in britain

500 between 1500-1700

what were the peak witch-hunts for britain

east anglia: hopkins 1645-47, and scotland 1590-1707 ( 1500 executed )

how many were executed in scotland

1500 between 1590-1707

when did new england begin witch-hunting

1649

when did new england peak witch-hunting

1690s

where did ½ of europes population live in

germany, france, switzerland and the netherlands

where did more than ¾ of the executions take place

took place in the ½ of europes population, germany, france, switzerland and the netherlands

where were most of the executions at the start of the period

most executions were in france

where were most of the executions at the end of the period

most executions were in germany

where were the most executions

on the borders of south west countries

where was there more high levels of persecution

• smaller states

• torture permission

• belief in diabolism

• unstable political structure

why did smaller states have high levels of persecution

not influences by central judiciral system eg holy roman empire

were there. high or low persecutions in smaller states

high

countries that permitted torture

france, switzerland, low countries, holy roman empire

countries that didnt permit torture

denmark and england

example of a politically unstable structured country

holy roman empire

why did people begin to migrate to the urban cities

the black plague broke out in the countryside

where did most people live

in the countryside

who had higher literacy rates: urban or rural cultures

urban

reasons for the development of witch-hunts in urban and rural areas

• socio economic state

• beliefs in magic

• religious changes

• scientific change

• legal change

Developments of witch-hunts in urban cultures: socio economic state

• population grew

• people migrated to urban cities

• less people know each other → less likely to accuse people

  • but, a lot of accusations in urban places such as wurzbug, bamberg and trier → but then stopped as everyone started getting accused

• more authority and centralised power

in what urban areas was there high accusations

• wurzbug

• bamberg

• trier

Developments of witch-hunts in urban cultures: beliefs in magic

• literacy rates increases meaning less belief in magic as they were more educated

• women dont hold communities together → less women accusations

• but illiterate people still believed in magic

Developments of witch-hunts in urban cultures: religious changes

prince bishops try to promote protestantism in bamberg, wurzbug

Developments of witch-hunts in urban cultures: scientific change

• more enlightenment and change

• withdrawal of the elite

Developments of witch-hunts in urban cultures: legal change

more centralised control of authority

Developments of witch-hunts in rural cultures: socio economic

• poor women, wise women, cunning men accused

• everyone knows each other → more likely to accuse out of

  • jealousy

  • begging, due to bad harvests and high poverty rates

  • breaking social norms

  • epidemics

• people migrated out of rural areas to go to the urban areas as they had better working conditions

Developments of witch-hunts in rural cultures: beliefs in magic

• belief in white magic (wise women and cunning folk), but means you have to believe in black magic (maleficum)

• women look after the popular culture in communities → more likely to be accused

• illiterate → more likely to stick to traditional values

Developments of witch-hunts in rural cultures: scientific changes

isnt as impacted by enlightenment or change within elite

Developments of witch-hunts in rural cultures: legal change

• de centralised

• comitties 1550-1600, investigate claims → increase accusations

• pressure on authorities to find people quickly - saar 73 accusations, only 12 didn’t go to trial

• young commoners who dislike existing order usually run these communities → lead accusations

an example of pressure on authorities to find people - saar

73 accusations, only 12 didnt go to trial

who ran the communities in rural areas

young commoners who dislike existing order, therefore they lead accusations

why were village committees set up in rural areas

to investigate witchcraft claims

what did hugh trevor roper argue about witch-hunting and religion

argued that witch-hunting was motivated by catholic and protestant witch hunters determination to show their godliness at a time of religious conflict and to show that their opponents were witches → therefore minority religions were accused

evidence to suggest that witch-hunting was not motivated by religious divisions

• martin luther reformation in 1517, peak of witch-hunts wasnt until 1630s

• first witch-hunt 1428 switzerland

• ban de la rode: lutherans accused other lutherans

when was the first witch-hunt

1428

where was the first witch-hunt

switzerland

ban de la rode: religious divisions

refers to the accusations made by Lutherans against other Lutherans during the witch-hunting period, highlighting internal conflicts rather than purely theological disputes.

evidence that witch-hunting increased due to religious divisions

• more witch-hunts did take place in areas of religious schisms eg: germany, france, switzerland and poland

• low levels of prosecutions in countries where there was religious unity eg: spain and italy

• prince bishops : more secure prosecutions in areas of Germany that were ruled by prince bishops

  • trier

  • bamberg

  • cologne

examples of places in germany with prince bishops

• bamberg

• trier

• cologne

• wurzburg

arguements that showed high religious divisions didnt mean high prosecutions

high religious divisions in united provinces, yet very low prosecutions

germany had the most persecutions because

it had a very weak and fragmented political system due to religious conflict

argument against prince bishops

although these religious rulers encouraged persecutions, didnt mean that certain religious beliefs were targeted

% of female accused in iceland

8%

% of female accused in russia

32%

% of female accused in poland

96%

% of female accused in south western Germany

82%

feminist interpretation of why women were more likely to be persecuted + the counter

due to males trying to reduce competition in the healing world, and to try and eliminate knowledge of midwifery and birth control across europe for population control, but this was totally discredited as most women executed weren’t midwives or healers

why did historians believe women were more likely to be persecuted for witchcraft

• women are easier to decide

• women desire for destruction

• sexual desire in women

• domestic catastrophes

• patriarchal and misogynistic society

• threat to stability

women were more likely to be persecuted: weaker sex

women were viewed as the weaker sex meaning they were seen as more likely to succumb to diabolical temptation, as seen in the bible with Eve. also was believed that women are driven by lust and sexual desire

examples of countries that show women were not more likely to be targeted

iceland and russia

examples of countries that showed that women were more likely to be targeted

south western germany and poland

women were more likely to be persecuted: domestic catastrophes

when children died, or the food was poisonous, women were accused of witchcraft as people became more suspicious as there was no other way to pinpoint cause of death

women were more likely to be persecuted: threat to stability

most suspected witches were poor, and women sat at the bottom. HOWEVER, this is to do with economic status, not gender

how many victims of witch accusations were male

20%, this indicates that witch-hunting was a gender related campaign, not gender specific

women were more likely to be persecuted: marital status

% of unmarried witches was higher than % of marred witches, this was because single women were more likely to be seduced by the devil

what was a worldwide assumption about witchcraft and gender

that it was a female crime

who usually accused women

other women

how many more times were women more likely to provide witness for accused witches than for other crimes in Essex

15x

how old were women usually when persecuted

over 50

why were women over 50 more likely to be persecuted for their age

• previous reports

• competition for charity

• essentric or anti social behaviour

• men determined to silence them

• accusations linked to memory loss

• no longer contributed towards the economy

women persecutions: occupation

• midwives

• healers

• cooks

• old womens status and value in society dimished as they no longer contributed towards the economy

• eldery women had no one to take care of them

• % of unmarried witches was higher than % of married witches

were witches usually married or unmarried

unmarried

what did the number of unmarried women increase to in some places

1/3 of the population