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Witch-hunting explanations (Social and economic changes (Thomas &…
Witch-hunting explanations
The reality of witchcraft
Some of those accused did practice harmful magic
Feminist Interpretations
Women in the medical profession were targeted by men in an attempt to remove contraceptive knowledge and repopulate Europe
But - most accused weren't healers or midwives
Few Historians see witch hunts as a by product of misogyny
Selfish motives
Financial gain
Most weren't lucrative due to the low economic status of the accused
Social and economic changes
Class conflict
Marvin Harris
Witches were used to distract responsibility from the church and state
Unconvincing as most accusations came from below
'Mini Ice Age'
Wolfgang Behringer
the earl 1560s saw a devastating impact on crops
Economic hardship led to demand for scapegoats
Disease
Witches were blamed for plague spreading
Thomas & Macfarlane recognise the impact of changes
England's population doubled between 1540 and 1660
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Rise in prices
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decline in real wages
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Growth of towns
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Break up of the traditional village
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Counter-arguments
interpersonal tensions were no more intense than at previous times
Behringer's correlation is only true in Germany
New research suggests that witch-hunts declined in Germany in the 1630s during plague and the Thirty Years War
Functionalist interpretation: pressure from below
Alan Macfarlane & Keith Thomas
In England accusations were the result of interpersonal tensions
Hunts were used to eliminate anti-social members and release tensions
The Early Modern State
Levack argues it's no coincidence that witch hunts occurred during times of state building
Rulers took a heightened interest in religious matters
eg. Scotland
The good citizen became a good christian
Large scale witch hunts are unlikely without the assistance of a secular ruler
Challenges
Most witch hunts began in localities
Higher courts did more to restrict than promote witch hunting
In reality - witch hunts occurred where central authority was weak
Impact of Reformation & Counter Reformation
Concerns:
The Bible
'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' Exodus 22:18
The Godly State
led to legislation against moral offences (sodomy, fornication, adultery etc.)
Fear of the Devil
The Reformation
Aimed to restore Christian purity and encouraged literal translation of the Bible
Meant that Protestantism became the dominant religion in Germany, Switzerland, the Low Countries, England, Scotland , France, Hungary and Poland
Begun by Martin Luther in 1571
The Counter Reformation
Aimed to eliminate corruption within the Church, educate the clergy and strengthen faith
Links
Hugh Trevor-Roper (1961) links the Reformation and the witch hunts (happened at the same time)
Witch hunting began before the Reformation
There is some correlation between severity of witch hunting and areas of religious division
Most witches were accused and prosecuted by members of the same faith
Ignorance and delusion
Creates a barrier to the whole period
Society operated in a different cultural reality to our own
Most Europeans believed:
Witchcraft existed
confirmed by 'free confessions'
The Devil existed and wanted to turn mankind away from God
Anthropological interpretations
Some attempts made to compare present day with early modern
Now treated with skepticism
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