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History Alevel - The Witchcraze > key terminology > Flashcards

Flashcards in key terminology Deck (25)
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1
Q

maleficium

A
  • an “evil deed”
  • by 1580 this was understood as an act of witchcraft
    designed to harm
2
Q

sacrament

A
  • a ceremony carried out to attain spiritual grace

- eg: Holy Communication

3
Q

devil’s mark

A
  • a mark on the body of someone who had entered a

convent with the devil

4
Q

cunning folk

A
  • general carried out good days

- eg: folk healers etc

5
Q

assize circuit

A
  • courts that travelled around in six circuits around the

country, usually hearing serious cases

6
Q

justice of the peace

A
  • a public official appointed to administer the law at local
    level
7
Q

privy council

A
  • private council of the monarch
8
Q

vagrant

A
  • a beggar or someone who would wander looking for
    work
  • by the 17th century it was someone who could work but chose not too
  • could be punished by whipping etc
9
Q

dissenter

A
  • a member of the non-established church outside the church of england
10
Q

idolater

A
  • someone who worships false idols
11
Q

non-conformist

A
  • a protestant who does not conform to the established practices of the church of england
12
Q

calvinist

A
  • a follower of john calvin

- protestant reformation, very strict

13
Q

heretic

A
  • someone who disagrees with the teachings of the church
14
Q

polymath

A
  • a person with wide knowledge and learning who specialises in a number of different subjects
15
Q

occult

A
  • mystical, supernatural or magical powers and practices
16
Q

culture

A
  • how people express ideas/beliefs that are important to them
17
Q

renaissance magus

A
  • a man of deep intellectual and spiritual qualities, who was in possession of polymatic and occult knowledge
18
Q

familiar

A
  • a demon supposedly attending and obeying a witch

- often said to assume the form of an animal

19
Q

diabolic pact

A
  • a deal with the devil, according to traditional christian belief about witchcraft
  • the pact is between person and satan, or a lesser devil
20
Q

sabbat

A
  • a secret meeting between witches
21
Q

neoplatonism

A
  • a body of varied, and in some way contraindicatory elements as a way of thinking and helped foster the acceptance of reality of the spiritual world
22
Q

natural philosophy

A

the study of the natural world

23
Q

empiricism

A

the belief that knowledge can only come from experience - seek our evidence to formulate theories

24
Q

inductive reasoning

A

reasoning based on evidence

25
Q

deductive reasoning

A

when a conclusion is made based on something already known or assumed