History of Witchcraft in Europe
Growing up as a little kid, Halloween was one of the best holidays because of the free candy. Everyone dressed up as a witch at least once in their lives on Halloween. Hearing the word “witch”, the first thing that might come to mind is the movie ‘Hocus Pocus’ or ‘Halloween Town’. Little did they know, witches or witchcraft exists and they are not all black pointy hats and broom sticks. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, witch hunts originated. The witch hunts had goals to persecute the witches who practiced dark or black magic. The magic they practiced was known to worship the Devil and harm Christian belief. Witches were stereotypically known to be women. The common belief was that women …show more content…
Most theories were tied with feminist writers who were trying to empower women. The majority of the accused women were female, old, living alone, and poor (Pavlac 10). Women were so easily targeted because of all these things and it led to uproars and plays a big roll in sexism which we still see in society today. Historians researching witches claimed women were targeted because of demonology and patriarchal misogyny, social issues of sexuality, conflict, motherhood and charity refused, envy and guilt, economic motivations, and prevailing belief systems. The Hammer of Witches mentioned the ordeal of the red hot iron that was used in Furstenberg in the Black Forest in 1485 when a woman was suspected of sorcery (Bailey 856). Many female witches were healers who were a main source of health care in rural areas and when their cures failed it made them more vulnerable to charges because they caused a patient’s death. A lot of people had a desire to blame the unpleasant events on individuals with supernatural abilities. Which really does make sense but no one knew if they were using their abilities for good or evil. Any person chosen for blame seemed to be unable to prevent the accusation of reaching a court, lacking the necessary and immediate defense, which just so happened to be a problem most likely held by women. Therefore, that explains why so many people who were accused of witchcraft were
Growing up as a little kid, Halloween was one of the best holidays because of the free candy. Everyone dressed up as a witch at least once in their lives on Halloween. Hearing the word “witch”, the first thing that might come to mind is the movie ‘Hocus Pocus’ or ‘Halloween Town’. Little did they know, witches or witchcraft exists and they are not all black pointy hats and broom sticks. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Europe, witch hunts originated. The witch hunts had goals to persecute the witches who practiced dark or black magic. The magic they practiced was known to worship the Devil and harm Christian belief. Witches were stereotypically known to be women. The common belief was that women …show more content…
Most theories were tied with feminist writers who were trying to empower women. The majority of the accused women were female, old, living alone, and poor (Pavlac 10). Women were so easily targeted because of all these things and it led to uproars and plays a big roll in sexism which we still see in society today. Historians researching witches claimed women were targeted because of demonology and patriarchal misogyny, social issues of sexuality, conflict, motherhood and charity refused, envy and guilt, economic motivations, and prevailing belief systems. The Hammer of Witches mentioned the ordeal of the red hot iron that was used in Furstenberg in the Black Forest in 1485 when a woman was suspected of sorcery (Bailey 856). Many female witches were healers who were a main source of health care in rural areas and when their cures failed it made them more vulnerable to charges because they caused a patient’s death. A lot of people had a desire to blame the unpleasant events on individuals with supernatural abilities. Which really does make sense but no one knew if they were using their abilities for good or evil. Any person chosen for blame seemed to be unable to prevent the accusation of reaching a court, lacking the necessary and immediate defense, which just so happened to be a problem most likely held by women. Therefore, that explains why so many people who were accused of witchcraft were