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Reasons for the Rise Key Evidence (Gender (For (Women considered more…
Reasons for the Rise Key Evidence
Gender
For
Women considered more likely than men to be seduced by the charms of the Devil based on the example of Eve in the garden of Eden
Particular concern about growing numbers of unmarried women not under the supervision of a man- widows usually made up 10-20% of the total but could rise to 30%- men more likely to die in war- perceived as a threat to social order
Link between the role women played in midwifery and their persecution as witches- writing in 1973, Ehrenreich and English argued that the witch hunts were part of a plan to prevent women practising traditional forms of medicine to give a monopoly to male doctors
Against
About 20% of those accused were men
In Russia about 900 witches, the majority of whom were male,
Rowlands writes that midwives were far more likely to assist in the prosecution of infanticide than to find themselves accused of using witchcraft to kill the infants they delivered
Social and economic
For
England's population doubled between 1540 and 1660 putting more strain on agriculture and resources- prices increased
Most women poor and dependent on men- women were mostly widows, spinsters or single, because of war- Margery Sparham in East Anglia- husband away fighting which it was claimed made her more vulnerable to the Devil's advances
Against
Central Authority
Religion
For
Bible states 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live'- used by preachers and judges to justify campaign against witchcraft
Salem form of theocracy that was devoutely Puritan and strove for moral purity- Bridget Bishop came under attack for working in an inn where gambling took place
Martin Luther and Calvin stressed the Devil's presence- Luther saw his whole life as a struggle against Satan- spurred Protestants to act against witches
Against
Early years of the reformation, the period from 1520-60 witnessed very few witchcraft prosecutions
In France witchcraft prosecutions declined during the wars of religion and were at their height during periods of peace
Witch hunting began nearly a century before the start of the reformation in 1517
Treatises
For
Malleus Maleficarum- 1486- reprinted over 20 times- based on investigations of 2 Dominican friars- Kramer and Sprenger- lent new urgency to eradication of witches saying it was the worst of all crimes
Papal Bull of 1484- Pope Innocent VIII declares witchcraft to be a crimen exceptum (an exceptional crime)- allowed torture in cases where evidence difficult to find
Jean Bodin's On the Demon Mania of witches (1580)- one of Europe's most finest thinkers- regarded witchcraft as major threat and urged Christians to resist Satan's forces
Against
Johann Weyer's The Deceptive Tricks of Evil Spirits (1563)- famous 16th century critic- claimed the killing of witches was nothing but a massacre of the innocents- claimed maleficia of witches could be explained by natural causes
Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1584- attack on witchcraft persecutions- could find no biblical foundation for witch hunting
Malleus Maleficarum published 100 years before the majority of large scale witch hunts
Plague and disease
Weather and climate
Reality of witchcraft
Ignorance and delusion
Pressure from below
Pressure from above
War
Reformation and counter reformation and religious conflict
Claimed Witchcraft most severe in countries or regions where either large religious minorities lived within the boundaries of a state or the people of one state adhered to one religion and the people of a neighbouring state adhered to the other
Fear of the devil
In both Catholic and Protestant circles there arose a zealous commitment to purify the world by declaring war against Satan and witches
For Catholics Protestantism seen as the work of the devil- spurred them to act against witches
The Bible
Reformation established bible as sole source of religious truth for most Protestants
New insistence on literal intererpretation of the scriptures
The Godly State
England- Adultery Act- 1650 imposed the death penalty for incest and adultery and imprisonment for fornication
Some of the most intense witch hunts took place in German principalities governed by Catholic prince-bishops who pursued witches in an attempt to purify society and promote their own image as defenders of the Christian faith