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Difference between revisions of "Witch-hunt"
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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== | ||