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The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today. | The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today. | ||
==Cause of witch-hunting activities== | |||
Harvard professor George. L. Kittredge, author of the book ''Witchcraft in Old and New England'' stated, "Witch-hunting never flourishes unless the common people are eager for it." He believed that witch-hunting had nothing to do with actual acts of [[black magic]], but were motivated by a collective fear and anxiety found beneath the surface of certain societies at certain times. At its core, these violent acts were the result of male misogynistic attitudes and a desire to assert their power over women. | |||
This is borne out in the nature of the laws under which witches were arrested and tried. The criminal offense of ''maleficium'' required only that the witch in question caused sensations of fear and terror among members of the populace. Thus, if anyone felt uneasy about a particular woman's attitude or behavior, they only needed to claim they "felt afraid" in order for the case to proceed. Spells, [[familiar]]s, and [[diabolical pact]]s were merely accessories to the crime. | |||
''Maleficium'' permitted men of authority to hunt women like animals simply because they were viewed as an enemy of masculine power. | |||
==Early European witch-hunts== | ==Early European witch-hunts== | ||
The rise of witch-hunts at the end of the medieval period, taking place with at least partial support or at least tolerance on the part of the Church, was accompanied with a number of developments in [[Christianity|Christian]] doctrine, for example, the recognition of the existence of [[witchcraft]] as a form of [[Satan]]ic influence and its classification as a [[heresy]]. As Renaissance occultism gained traction among the educated classes, the belief in witchcraft, which in the medieval period had been part of the folk religion of the uneducated rural population at best, was incorporated into an increasingly comprehensive theology of Satan as the ultimate source of all ''maleficium''. | The rise of witch-hunts at the end of the medieval period, taking place with at least partial support or at least tolerance on the part of the Church, was accompanied with a number of developments in [[Christianity|Christian]] doctrine, for example, the recognition of the existence of [[witchcraft]] as a form of [[Satan]]ic influence and its classification as a [[heresy]]. As Renaissance occultism gained traction among the educated classes, the belief in witchcraft, which in the medieval period had been part of the folk religion of the uneducated rural population at best, was incorporated into an increasingly comprehensive theology of Satan as the ultimate source of all ''maleficium''. | ||
In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued ''Summis desiderantes affectibus'', a Papal bull authorizing the "correcting, imprisoning, punishing and chastising" of devil-worshippers who have "slain infants", among other crimes. He did so at the request of inquisitor Heinrich Kramer, who had been refused permission by the local bishops in Germany to investigate. Three years later in 1487, Kramer published the notorious ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (lit., ''Hammer against the Evildoers'') which, because of the newly invented printing presses, enjoyed a wide readership. It was reprinted in 14 editions by 1520 and became unduly influential in the secular courts. | In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued ''Summis desiderantes affectibus'', a Papal bull authorizing the "correcting, imprisoning, punishing and chastising" of devil-worshippers who have "slain infants", among other crimes. He did so at the request of [[Inquisition|inquisitor]] Heinrich Kramer, who had been refused permission by the local bishops in Germany to investigate. Three years later in 1487, Kramer published the notorious ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]'' (lit., ''Hammer against the Evildoers'') which, because of the newly invented printing presses, enjoyed a wide readership. It was reprinted in 14 editions by 1520 and became unduly influential in the secular courts. | ||
==Early Modern Period witch-hunts== | ==Early Modern Period witch-hunts== | ||
The witch trials in Early Modern Europe came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a major issue again and peaking in the 17th century; particularly during the Thirty Years War. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people), now became a sign of a pact between the people with supernatural abilities and [[the Devil]]. | The witch trials in Early Modern Europe came in waves and then subsided. There were trials in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a major issue again and peaking in the 17th century; particularly during the Thirty Years War. What had previously been a belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (which were sometimes used to protect the people), now became a sign of a [[diabolical pact|pact]] between the people with supernatural abilities and [[the Devil]]. | ||
To justify the killings, Protestant [[Christianity]] and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild Satanic ritual parties in which there was naked dancing and cannibalistic infanticide. It was also seen as heresy for going against the first of the ten commandments ("You shall have no other gods before me") or as violating majesty, in this case referring to the divine majesty, not the worldly. Further scripture was also frequently cited, especially the Exodus decree that "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), which many supported. | To justify the killings, Protestant [[Christianity]] and its proxy secular institutions deemed witchcraft as being associated to wild Satanic ritual parties in which there was naked dancing and cannibalistic infanticide. It was also seen as heresy for going against the first of the ten commandments ("You shall have no other gods before me") or as violating majesty, in this case referring to the divine majesty, not the worldly. Further scripture was also frequently cited, especially the Exodus decree that "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), which many supported. | ||