Witchcraft In The Early Modern Era

The early modern period, was a time plagued by large scale witch-hunts and trials across Europe. During this period the classification of a witch changed, and the attitude towards those who practiced witchcraft shifted away from the medieval ideas of white and black magic, to a vision that all magic not given by god, must have come from Satan there therefore be evil. The way that witchcraft was brought to the attentions of the courts, and the way it was punished varied greatly across Europe. Witchcraft reached its height in different countries at different times within the early modern period. The witch craze was at its height in Britain during the 16th and 17th centuries, although the case of Britain is different in many ways to other countries …show more content…
The entire nature of witchcraft in Scotland was much closer to that in continental Europe than Britain in the 16th and 17th centuries. The way in which cases arose was one of these differences. Cases of witchcraft in Britain were brought to the attention of the courts by the alleged victim. The cases were sporadic and did not lead to mass accusations. There was no witchcraft epidemic in Britain, and there were no large scale witch-hunts, with the exception of the case of the Witchfinder general, Matthew Hopkins in East Anglia. In other parts of Europe witch-hunts were common, and mass accusations normal. For instance the case of the German super hunts, from 1586-1639. An estimated 50,000 accusations were made, accounting for 25% of all European accusations. Cases of witchcraft in Britain were driven from below, and not from above. The government did not organise mass witch-hunts in Britain, most accusations were made by neighbours. In Scotland during the same period large scale witch-hunts lead from above occurred in the 1590s, 1629, 1649 and in 1661-2. James VI king of Scotland, played a large part in the Scottish witch hunts. He published a book in (DATE) on the subject of witchcraft Daemonologe in which he outlines his opinions on the issue of witchcraft. He states in the book that no age or sex should be spared, and that no witchcraft can be considered as good. He also sanctions the …show more content…
More women were persecuted for witchcraft than men, making up 80% of accusations. The idea of misogyny as a main reason for witchcraft accusations is prominent in writings on all European countries, but some historians have gone a step further. Alan Anderson and Raymond Gordon have suggested that the reason witchcraft in Britain was different to that in other countries, was because women were held in higher regard. They state that there were fewer accusations of witchcraft in Britain, because the driving force behind most accusations was the hatred of women, and because there was less misogyny in Britain, there were less cases of witchcraft. This makes sense, if you believe that misogyny was the leading factor in witchcraft accusations, however as Sharpe suggest, it is not that simple. Other factors, such as breakdown of the traditional village and urbanisation were also apparent in British society. The conditions needed for witchcraft were apparent in Britain, although the result differed to that in wider

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