Witch Hunts 17th century Europe

Witch Hunts Between 1400-1700 70,000-100,000 people were sentenced to death for practicing “harmful magic”. The witch craze reached its peak between 1550 and 1650. It happened throughout Europe and North America, although to different degrees in different places.

Witch Hunts The Inquisition did try and punish witches, but that was not its main concern. It aimed to end religious heresy as a whole. The Church wanted to stamp out irreligious teachings and believed that many people were Satanists and Pagans, an idea that is only marginally supported by fact. Most of the trials and executions were in fact, held by civil courts, not Church courts.

Witch Hunts “There have been many outrageous claims, such as a trial that resulted in the execution of 400 women in one day in France. It never happened. Prior to 1975, historians had mainly used "witch hunting manuals, sermons against witchcraft and lurid pamphlets on the more sensational trials...historians frequently used literary accounts of these cases, not the [trial documents]... themselves." Unfortunately, these sources were often unreliable because their purpose was to scare the public into thinking that the witch threat was much greater than it actually was. Systematically study of the burning times, using actually court proceedings, only began circa 1975. There were a few witchcraft cases in the 14th and 15th century. But it was the period from 1550 to 1650 where most of the trials took place.” www.religioustolerance.org

Witch Hunts “The courts did not specifically target only women. The gender balance varied with location. In Iceland, over 90% of the accused Witches were men; in some countries in central Europe, over 80% were women; overall it was probably about 75% women. The severity of the persecution was not uniformly spread among all Christian countries. It was primarily concentrated in Eastern France, Germany and Switzerland, and appears to have been correlated with Protestant - Catholic friction. Many countries largely escaped the burning times: Only four Witches are known to have been killed in Ireland. Very few were killed in Eastern Orthodox countries -- only ten in Russia.” www.religioustolerance.org

Witch Hunts So, how can you tell who is a witch? According to the Malleus Maleficarum , (which was the most widely used source, even though it had initially been denounced and banned by the Church) witches; Are mostly women because that gender is more impressionable, more perfidious, more carnal, more vengeful, and (intellectually) more like children than are men. God, being male, has mostly preserved men from heresy Kill, bewitch and induce plagues in animals Stop cows from giving milk Cause impotence, sterility, abortions and miscarriages Ride at night on broomsticks to meet in the forest to engage in sexual orgies Drink the blood of unbaptized infants. Devour infants' bodies, or convert them into soup, or bake them in an oven, or convert their bones into ritual instruments. Offer their own children to demons Kill or place curses on people by simply looking at them, saying a phrase, causing lightning to strike them, blowing in their face, pushing pins into a wax doll made in the image of the victim, etc. Beat, break, stab or step on a crucifix whenever they can.

Witch Hunts Ride through the air on the back of a goat or a staff “A second reference text was Francesco Maria Guazzo's Compendium Maleficarum, which was written about 1620 CE. He described how Satan worshipers: Ride through the air on the back of a goat or a staff Anoint themselves with magical oil and fly on their own Anoint themselves with a cream or make a certain sign, and immediately become invisible Appear to change shape from human to animal and back Change people and animals from male to female and back Swear homage and obedience to Satan Received a Satanic brand on their bodies Rejoice, dance, eat and drink in the presence of Satan who appeared at Satanic orgies in the form of a hideous and deformed black goat Suffocated, pierced and killed their own infants, cut off their extremities, and cooked the remains.”

Simulation Cool Witch Hunt Simulation