week 11: witchcraft Flashcards
How common were witchcraft trials in the early modern world?
Witchcraft trials were rare compared to other crimes, even though belief in witchcraft was widespread.
What does studying witchcraft reveal about early modern society?
It reveals ideas about good and evil, the devil’s role, legal systems, gender, sex, power, and social structures.
What is Ronald Hutton’s The Witch: A History of Fear (2017) about?
It explores fear, witchcraft, human nature, and the human need to believe in supernatural forces.
What was the “diabolical pact” in witchcraft beliefs?
It was the idea that witches made deals with the devil, often involving familiars as intermediaries.
What manual influenced witchcraft interrogation and beliefs?
Malleus Maleficarum; it described witches’ sabbaths, sex with the devil, flying, and promoted deep misogyny.
How were familiars involved in English witchcraft cases?
In England, the devil was rarely seen directly; instead, familiars (often animals) acted as go-betweens for the devil.
How did German witchcraft cases differ from English ones?
German cases described vivid direct encounters with the devil, like riding pitchforks, feasting with the devil, and food turning moldy.
Give an example of an English witchcraft case involving a familiar.
In 1566, Elizabeth Francis confessed to making a pact with a white cat named Satan, which supposedly came from her grandmother.
What happened to Elizabeth Francis’s requests to her familiar?
She asked for sheep (symbol of wealth) and a husband, but both “wore away to nothing”; she also allegedly killed a neighbor out of revenge.
Why was belief in witchcraft almost “necessary” in early modern society?
It helped explain disasters like colder climates (Little Ice Age), bad harvests, rising prices, and high death rates.
How did colonisation affect witchcraft beliefs?
Indigenous tribes explained new epidemics (smallpox, plague) through witchcraft; some of these ideas were brought back to Europe.
What percentage of those executed for witchcraft were women?
About 85–90% were women.
How many witch trials and executions occurred?
Around 440,000 trials and between 30,000–60,000 executions.
How did the Protestant Reformation affect witchcraft trials?
Witchcraft trials slowed during intense crackdowns on heresy.
What was the “Spanish Road” in relation to witchcraft persecution?
A key region where the majority of witch trials and executions took place.
How did rulers use witchcraft accusations?
As a political tool to control religious dissent and consolidate power.
What were key factors in witchcraft prosecution?
Religious changes, social crises (poverty, harvest failures), and legal systems enabling prosecution.
What did Martin Luther say about witches?
He supported executing witches, referencing “thou shall not suffer a witch to live.”
North African witchcraft notes:
The Sun of Knowledge (Shams Al Maarif). Claimed as heretical, form of witchcraft, occult book.
Settut (ⵙⵜⵜⵓⵜ). Powerful witch from Amazigh mythology.
European travelers (like Leo Africanus) describe North African communities with “sorcerers”.
Ottoman Cairo, women accused of using love magic.
Traditional Amazigh tattoos (called tifinagh symbols). Tattoos on the forehead were often believed to protect the “third eye”. Tattoos on the hands and feet protected during daily labour. Geometric shapes (like crosses, diamonds, stars) were protective signs.
European colonisers and Arab Muslim scholars often misinterpreted Amazigh tattoos. They sometimes saw them as “pagan”, “sorcerous”.
Perception was influenced by fear and misunderstanding. tattoos as a sign of “barbarism”. Seen as “marks of the devil”.
