Early modern Europeans were in the process of a religious reformation. Rather than calming the people, the Reformation heightened awareness of evil within the culture. As fears arose, new beliefs emerged. To combat these fears, people sought other means to fight evil, such as the benandante. Ironically, the very things people tried to protect themselves in this unpredictable setting where famine and poverty were commonplace was what increased the fear of witchcraft, leading to the death of many.
The Reformation within the Church and the development of good witches with the already ingrained ideas about women and human sexuality set the stage for a witch-hunt by increasing emotions. It was common for an accused witch to be hung to death. Frank Thayer Merril, via Wikimedia Commons. Between and , the Reformation had a significant impact on European countries and the way people perceived religion.
Due to increasing disagreements amongst the community and the Catholic Church, the Church needed to reform. One reformer responsible for the rise in fear of Satan was John Calvin who stated,. And many sorceries come from this condition. Communities wanted to purify their neighborhoods by getting rid of all evil, even if it meant putting their neighbor to death. They used the judicial system to advocate against any act that went against the Word of God.
The Malleus Malificarum was one of the biggest attributers to Witch killings. Although it was not just the poor women accused, they targeted women in general. The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the most notorious documents that reflect why early modern women were believed to be more susceptible to witchcraft. The Malleus Maleficarum backs this up by stating that,. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives.
The one fault in this line of thinking, according to the Church, would be that God does not make mistakes. Unfortunately, the focus became a view that women were primarily sexual creatures. Although the question arises, whose desire provoked the accusation, the witch, or the accuser? The vow of celibacy many clergymen were sworn to would have caused feelings of uneasiness around women, especially women they may have found attractive.
These same feelings may have been shared by married men who found themselves attracted to someone other than their wives. As reformers projected their feelings of guilt onto the more impoverished person in society, these men would have projected their feelings, either consciously or more likely unconsciously, upon women, by saying that women are lustful and seductive. Also, if someone suspected a woman of having an affair, a jealous wife may have accused her as well. They often pointed their fingers at aging women.
They used the excuse that they required carnal satisfaction since many were either widowed or had husbands who were not as capable of sexual intercourse. The witch-hunt does not have only one cause, nor could one ever specify a specific demographic.
Many things set the stage for a witch-hunt in early modern Europe. The early modern period was a confusing time. As tensions grew, so did the witch-hunts. The Reformation worked as a source to increase the pressures and awareness of evil. Because of the fear of human sexuality and preconceived notions about women, they targeted women. Through these tensions, the benandante was created, with hopes of bringing order to a confusing world. In the end, the benandante was viewed much like the witches they were initially designed to stop.
Although many of these factors played a role in the witch-hunts, the real culprit could most likely be that of human emotion. Part of the Reformation was also due to the increased readership of the Bible. During this time, scholars translated the vernacular of the Bible so the everyday person could understand it.
The death of children was often a trigger that fed on years of gossip and suspicion. Levack argues that the era of the witch-hunt ended in part because of its success. So many were swept up, including elites, that the elites could no longer believe that all the accused were guilty. Central state control over prosecutions and executions took over, limiting or eliminating executions and eliminating the use of torture.
Skepticism about confessions and the kinds of evidence, including spectral evidence and the testimony of children, also added to the decline. Finally, Europe developed a more skeptical attitude about whether any particular misfortune was actually supernatural and whether these marginal members of society really were the kind of people that the Prince of Hell would enroll in his grand plan for subversion.
This book is not a casual read. It is a textbook. Nonetheless for students of history, it should make a captivating read. Olivia Erickson. Humorous, informative, and well crafted. The arguments and lines of logic are easy to follow and in-depth.
I enjoyed the time taken to go over not only established thoughts on the hunts, and the logic behind those thoughts, but the outliers and the trials that go against trend.
La credenza nella magia e nella stregoneria fa parte di quasi tutte le culture del mondo Africa, America Latina, etc. In altre parole patto col diavolo, infanticidio, volo notturno anche cannibalismo.
Diciamolo: la componente della Riforma cattolica ha dato un forte contributo, ma non decisivo secondo lo storico, alla costruzione di tale fenomeno. Un saggio arricchente, bellissimo ed approfondito. Il libro tratta di tutti gli aspetti sociali, economici, religiosi, politici del fenomeno della caccia alle streghe in Europa. E' un libro ricco di numeri, di dati, un saggio molto ricco e approfondito in ogni aspetto, con spiegazioni su come ogni cambiamento nel fenomeno sia accaduto. A pensarci adesso, dopo essermi goduta la spiegazione della fine della caccia alle streghe in un ultimo capitolo molto interessante, non so come mai ci abbia messo tutti questi mesi a finire un libro su un argomento che tra l'altro mi interessa anche molto.
Probabile che abbia iniziato qualche altro libro e questo sia un po' scivolato nell'oblio. Displaying 1 - 10 of 43 reviews. Join the discussion.
Several sources focus on areas where witch hunting was most intense, such as eastern France and the Holy Roman Empire, while others cover areas in which few hunts took place, such as Norway and Italy.
The text incorporates recent studies that have been particularly influential in the field, including works by Stuart Clark, Robin Briggs, and Wolfgang Behringer. Contributions by scholars from the United States, England, Hungary, and Australia demonstrate that witchcraft research is truly an international enterprise.
The history of witchcraft and sorcery has attracted a great deal of interest and debate, but until now studies have been largely from the Anglo-Saxon perspective. This book shows how that approach has blurred our understanding and definition of the issues involved, and sheds new light on the history of witchcraft in England. What had thus far been seen as peculiar to England is here shown to be characteristic of much of northern Europe. Taking into account major new developments in the historiography of witchcraft--in methodology, and in the chronological and geographical scope of the studies--the authors explore the relationship between witchcraft, law, and theology; the origins and nature of the witch's sabbath; the sociology and criminology of witch-hunting; and the comparative approach to European witchcraft.
An impressive amount of archival work by all of the contributors has produced an indispensable guide to the study of witchcraft, of interest not only to historians, but to anthropologists, criminologists, psychologists, and sociologists. The European Witch-Hunt seeks to explain why thousands of people, mostly lower-class women, were deliberately tortured and killed in the name of religion and morality during three centuries of intermittent witch-hunting throughout Europe and North America.
Combining perspectives from history, sociology, psychology and other disciplines, this book provides a comprehensive account of witch-hunting in early modern Europe. Full weight is also given to the context of village social relationships, and there is a detailed analysis of gender issues.
Panicking local elites, rather than central governments, were at the forefront of witch-hunting. A final chapter sets witch-hunting in the context of other episodes of modern persecution.
This book is the ideal resource for students exploring the history of witch-hunting. Its level of detail and use of social theory also make it important for scholars and researchers. This fourth edition, incorporating new material and new findings, ensures that the book will continue to be of fundamental importance to students and their tutors as they grapple with this complex historical phenomenon. Intelligent, engaging, up-to-date, and highly recommended.
Fudge, University of New England, Australia "Witchcraft is one of the most, popular, fascinating, and difficult topics in early modern European history. The new edition incorporates new scholarship, but maintains the clarity of earlier editions. Moreover, it has a companion website with a wealth of accompanying materials that will facilitate both teaching and studying.
Extensive notes and bibliographies in the revised edition provide a road map to further reading and research at all academic levels. O'Neil, University of Washington, USA "The fourth edition of this outstanding work ensures the continuing currency of what is by far the best single-volume introduction to the early modern European witch-hunt. For general readers and students alike, it offers a clear, crisp, strongly-informed thematic study of the rise and fall of the witch-hunt and a skilful assessment of the continuing debate about the causes, motors and nature of the early modern hunt.
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