Witchcraft

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Exodus 22:18 “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (KJV) Leviticus 20:27 “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard shall surely be put to death …” (KJV) Written in sixth century B.C.

Argued in the early 400’s that God alone could suspend the normal laws of the universe. Believed that neither Satan nor witches had supernatural powers. The medieval church accepted this view and felt little need to track down witches or investigating allegations.

Heretics believed that God and Satan both had supernatural powers and that they were at war. Propagandists for the church depicted these heretics demonstrating loyalties to Satan. The public’s understanding of Satan moved from that of a mischievous spoiler to a deeply sinister force.

Argued that the world was full of evil and dangerous demons. Sex and witchcraft become intertwined – women being the primary focus of temptation. Demons not only seek their own pleasure, but are intent on leading men into temptation.

Torture inflicted on heretics suspected of magical pacts or demon- driven sexual misconduct led to alarming confessions. Confessions included flying, meeting in Satan’s assemblies, casting spells on neighbors, having sex with animals, and causing storms.

Pope Innocent asked two friars to publish a report on suspected witchcraft. The result was Malleus Maleficarum – or Hammer of Witches. This dictated that Christians had an obligation to hunt down and kill witches.

Outbreaks of witchcraft hysteria led to mass executions in the early 1500s Reformation divided Protestants and Catholics the book On the Demon Mania of Sorcerers opened the door to use of testimony by children against parents, entrapment, and instruments of torture.

King James experienced a terrible storm before and after his wedding. 6 women admitted to having caused the storm. Being paranoid, he authorized the torture of suspected witches which were burned at the stake. The was the largest witch hunt in British history.

A reflection of the time is that Shakespeare wrote the play Macbeth in which strange, bearded, hag-like witches play prominent roles.

was the largest witch-hunt in French history. There were at least 650 arrests in one city alone. The number of trials began to drop sharply in the late 1640s. Holland, by 1648, was a tolerant society that had done away with punishments for witchcraft.

1682 – Temperance Lloyd, a senile woman became the last witch ever executed in England. Lord Chief Justice Sir Francis North investigated the Lloyd case denounced the investigation as deeply flawed. His criticism helped discourage further witch trials. This is when the witch- hunting shifted from one side of the Atlantic to the other - in Salem Massachusetts.