The Definition Of Witchcraft In The Middle Ages

Witchcrafts were very common in medieval times. Thousands of people were being killed, murdered and accused for witch trials. Meaning of witchcraft is using supernatural powers or magical powers and witches were people who possess supernatural powers. According to book witchcrafts in Middle Ages by Jeffery Burton Russell “The most useful approach to definition of witchcraft is to recognize it as phenomenon: a human perception”. The opinion concerning meaning of witchcraft had being mottled and indefinite. According to Aristotelian scholars of middle ages, magic can only be conducted with support of demons, that’s why witchcraft was considered work of devil. According to book witch-hunt in early modern Europe by Brian P. Levack, when Europeans mentioned word ‘witchcraft’, they were referring to two types of …show more content…
First type was called black magic or maleficent magic; this involved killing of person, causing sickness by reciting spell or execution of cruel acts by using supernatural or deviant powers. Black magic was considered harmful, not favorable. Second type of magic was called white magic; it was considered beneficial and productive. It stands for good deeds like curing someone from diseases, growing of crops, preventing troubles or beating off evil spirits. However, the difference between theses two types of magic is hard to understand in some cases like when magician cure someone by making some other person sick or harm other person to save someone. To explain why witchcraft was performed, many theories have been put together from political, geographical, religious, social and economic perspectives. While all these theories explain the rise of witchcraft but it does not give suitable explanation of entire