Preview

Witchcraft In The Medieval Era

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
208 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Witchcraft In The Medieval Era
Medieval Witchcraft - White Witches, Wise Women and Cunning Folk
During the early and middle medieval era, up to the Renaissance period, the wisdom of the 'Wise women' or 'Cunning Folk' - the White Witches - were seen as helpful, if not invaluable, members of their communities. Their knowledge of the healing properties of various plants and herbs were often passed down through the generations. Their role was to provide help for people in need.

Medieval Witchcraft - Black Witches
The White witches were clearly distinguished from the 'Black' witches. The 'Black' witches were seen as those who practised the secret arts of medieval witchcraft in order to do physical or practical harm to others. This distinction between 'White' and 'Black' witches
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Comparing Evan-Pritchard's Pact With The Devil
    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparing Evan-Pritchard's Pact With The Devil

    Witchcraft is the root of all evil, it is an excuse for bad things going wrong to man. Evans-Pritchard learned this, first hand, living among the Azande people. The people did not try to account for situations of misfortune, instead they explained “particular conditions in a chain of causation which related an individual to natural happenings in such a way that he sustained injury” (Evans-Pritchard, 67). If someone in the village were to become ill and had received an injury prior to becoming ill, the explanation was witchcraft-it had nothing to do with the…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Witches Were Misunderstood During the Elizabethan Era Essay Example
    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Witches Were Misunderstood During the Elizabethan Era Essay Example

    For hundreds of years, the word “witch” has been associated with innumerable negative images. Witches were considered devil worshipers who committed scores of evil deeds toward society. By the 14th Century, a law was passed outlawing any practice of witchcraft or sorcery; anyone in Europe accused of witchcraft was subject to the torture and execution. In the 1450’s there was a breakout of violent persecutions against people accused of being witches. “During this time more than 100,000 people (mostly woman) were killed for allegedly practicing witchcraft” (Kallen 33) . Witches were viewed by the public as dangerous and uncontrollable menaces to society. They were believed to have relationships with the devil, this relationship was developed because of the church demonizing the witches in the 1450’s. During this time, people lacked medical knowledge about sickness and disease. When the witches were healthy during many of these wide spread diseases, the people believed they were the ones that cursed everyone with it. The people believed that witches could curse people that they did not like. In the city, It was common for old beggars to be on the side of the street asking for change but when people refused to give the beggars coins, they would angrily curse at the passersby. If the people that the…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    AP EURO Witches DBQ
    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages

    AP EURO Witches DBQ

    It was extremely easy to be accused of being a witch in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth century. During this time period, Europe was going through many changes such as the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the consolidation of many national governments. Although all of these changes were taking place, many people were stuck in their ways and did not approve of these new changes. The people that did not follow the social and political norm of the time were often accused of witchcraft.The most common reasons of persecutions of individuals as witches were if you were a female, if you were middle age and not married(widowed), or if you were not practicing Christianity.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Malleus Maleficarum: The Relation Between Witchcraft And Religion
    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Malleus Maleficarum: The Relation Between Witchcraft And Religion

    During on a time when the Church was in control of everything with Europe and where people are a superstitious cowardly lot, the idea of magic and witchcraft was something the Church have condemned as the influential work of the devil. During the 15th century, accusation of witchcraft started to rise and some within or related to the Church were jumping on the chance to prosecute any accused witches. One of these early prosecutors was Heinrich Kramer, an inquisitor who as expelled due to his senile actions. He would later be joined by German bishop Jacob Sprenger to prosecute those in question of dealing in witchcraft. And in 1487, Kramer wrote a treatise called the Malleus Maleficarum which was about his belief in witchcraft and how to refute any claims against its existence. While many sections of the Bible and other written work are featured, many of these sections are missing key parts or were manipulated to generate more evidence in favor of the…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of White Witches In The Elizabethan Era
    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Role Of White Witches In The Elizabethan Era

    Sometimes witches were seen as good, by making remedies that were believed to heal us. However, in 1591 when King James I of Scotland was king the witches were supposedly behind the plot to murder him. The attempted murder led King James I to his book Daemonologie, the study of persecution and punishment of witches.…

    • 182 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Salem Witch Trials Dbq Research Paper
    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Salem Witch Trials Dbq Research Paper

    Witches are known to be very dangerous, evil, and made deals with the devil. They were even killed, tortured and jailed, but nowadays we treat them completely differently. We invite them into our house, give them candy, and strike conversations with them, that is at least on halloween. In the late 1600s many older men and women were being caught as being “witches” in Salem, Massachusetts.These witch trials were being caused by young girls who were pretending just to get ergotism, attention, and eventually after one lie they got out control really quickly.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Salem Witch Trail Research Paper
    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Salem Witch Trail Research Paper

    Witchcraft is understood by being a religion that includes reverences for nature, and belief in rights of others and includes own spirituality. People that practice witch craft now focus on doing good things and helping others. They also refuse to be connected to the devil. Their beliefs go back to ancient times, long time before the advent of Christianity. In current culture witches have been confused with the belief they have black pointy hats, green faces with broom sticks. This is often how witches are portrayed in movies and…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Tempel Anneke Was Accused Of Witchcraft In The 17th Century
    • 1730 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Tempel Anneke Was Accused Of Witchcraft In The 17th Century

    Tempel Anneke was accused of witchcraft in 1663, not because of what she did for her community but because she was an elderly female in a man’s world that was set on freeing society of witches. The Christian church which was run by men viewed witchcraft loosely as a way to lump together all practices that could not be explained through the church. It was also demonized by the Church who had no good response to give its people. The Church believed it wasn’t coming from God, so it must be evil. This led to insecurities throughout towns and villages that feared a group of non-believers or witches wanted to destroy them.…

    • 1730 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The European Witch Craze Essay Example
    • 2250 Words
    • 9 Pages

    The European Witch Craze Essay Example

    The European witch craze started in the 14th century and lasted until the 17th century. Over this period of time there have been between 200,000 and 500,000 witches executed. 85% of those were women. The Change of the inquisition’s objectives determined the character and timing of these executions, also a big part of that played differentiation process within medieval society. Women began to occupy higher positions within European society. A part of it was the higher proportion of female leaders and their influence on the changing economic roles. On the one hand it was a great period of time for women on the other they had to face increasing pressures from society and unfortunately, men became threatened by them therefore they put them in a worse light and highlighted their negatives. These executions gained common acceptance within society. People developed demonological theories and studied it. Witch craft in the early period was mainly a means of allocating blame for disasters that couldn’t otherwise be explained. People believed that there was a war between god and the devil and devil sent witches to earth as a means of revenge and to punish the human race. Because there was no logical or scientific explanation for meteorological incidents or deaths people looked into religion. There are several questions I asked myself when researching the subject witch craze. Why did it start in 14th century? Why did it end in 17th century? Why were women the main victims? And why did people associate witches with demons?…

    • 2250 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Witches Were Pag Witchcraft In The Middle Ages
    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Witches Were Pag Witchcraft In The Middle Ages

    This is the biggest misunderstanding about witchcraft in the Middle Ages. A lot of people who were persecuted as witches were devout Christians, but superstitions against their professions were what got them in trouble. Most often among these professions, midwives got into a lot of trouble. Before people gave birth at hospitals, you went to a midwife when you were pregnant. You can still visit midwives, but for women in the profession during the Middle Ages, a stillbirth could mean downfall. The myth that witches were pagan women who lived in the woods is a gross exaggeration. After all, Christian views and pagan views were very linked in faith until about the late Middle Ages when people were scared of being—well—burned…

    • 375 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Witchcraft Trials and Misogyny Essay Example
    • 1700 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Witchcraft Trials and Misogyny Essay Example

    “All women as the “daughters of Eve” were allegedly more prone to sin. This sinfulness, in view of their closeness to nature, could well show itself in the perversion of nature” (Becoming Visible, pg.192). This was generally the view civilians shared in regards to the female gender, especially during the 16th-17th century, when witchcraft craze was at its all time high. Another example being, Kramer and Sprenger wrote that, in connection with other problems, women had “an insatiable carnal desire and an immoderate lust for power, which led them to enter into compacts with the Devil” (Becoming Visible, pg.193). With such a strong stance it was impossible for the witch hunts and trials to not have been misogynistic. Those arguing against the witch hunts being misogynist often use the excuses of it being more focused on socioeconomic status, political and religious reasoning and age influenced. And even then, when factoring everything in, evidence leading back to misogyny is overwhelming. Whether the women were accused of being witches for their socioeconomic status, age, behavior or religion, one thing’s for sure, it was almost always women.…

    • 1700 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Acceptance Of The Salem Witch Trials In 1692
    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Acceptance Of The Salem Witch Trials In 1692

    Back in the 1600s in Salem, Massachusetts more than 200 innocent people were accused of witchcraft. This fear of witchcraft swept throughout Salem. The people that were accused of Witchcraft had some sort of unusual characteristic about them that made them stand out from the others. “More people began displaying signs of affliction...Those from all walks of life,rich and poor,farmer and merchant,were now being accused. No one was exempt from being cried out as a witch”(Staff). People back…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Witch Dbq
    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Witch Dbq

    Women who didn’t act like “proper women” were outcast as witches. For instance, if a woman were not obeying her husband’s every command then she wasn’t playing the expected gender role, therefore she was a witch. Outcasts were different, otherwise they wouldn’t be outcasts. People who were exiled were weird in that they lived life their own way, making people judge and want to get rid of them. If a person who was considered an outcast were using herbs as medicine or staying out late and spending time alone, then they were persecuted as witches. A woman accused of being a witch said that she was pinpointed as being a witch because society saw her as different. She wrote, “some call me witch, and being ignorant of my self, they go about to teach me how to be one” (Doc 5) People were also persecuted for “suspiciously” being selfless. A report of Churchwardens in Gloucestershire, England claimed that a woman, Alice Prabury, “ useth herself suspiciously in the likelihood of a witch, taking upon her not only to help Christian people of diseases strangely happened but also horses and all other beasts.” (Doc 4) Women and men who were less fortunate were those most wrongly persecuted. From a regional and comparative witchcraft study done in 1970, it showed that from 1546-1680, woman who were the wives of laborers were more accused than wives of the wealthier men. (Doc 10) This was suspicious in that society and culture were doing the wrong thing, not those who were persecuted. Women were…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Power of Classical and Scriptural Witches
    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Power of Classical and Scriptural Witches

    The two biggest differences we have from the Classical witch and the Christian Ideal featured in their sacred texts, is definitely the connotation that either receives and, the powers they may or may not have. In the first, witches aren’t seen in a negative light; just as they are in the later doctrine (the word Witch was created by the Christian Faith later on.) Before, they were known as oracles, and in some cases, as humans gifted by pagan deities, or the deities themselves (the case with some of the Greek Goddesses and nymphs, like Hera, Aphrodite and such). Much like the Pagan Gods who were later marked with the Satanic brand, these women, who wielded said unnatural powers that could rival those of the new God (probably more of an incentive to consolidate his power, but this is merely a conjecture.) were cast out as the Devil’s work. Some of the people who received the brand of practicing witchcraft were necromancers, astrologers, enchanters, charmers, oracle and several others. With the new power that this religion had in the 15th century, it’s very clear how it would have been easy for them to create this image and cast these people and their beliefs out of the realm of what was considered acceptable. During this time the Inquisition was being carried out, so it was of utmost importance to reveal witches for what they were. The motive? In earlier days, perhaps to assure that no sort of Syncretism was ever utilized with Jesus and Apollo, God and Zeus, or to mix any kind of Pagan God with the Christian Faith. When we examine the Classical texts and the Bible, any issue would suffice, it become obvious how these two religions were and still are pretty opposite. The way the Gods are…

    • 1295 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Causes and Effects of Witchcraft.
    • 1873 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Causes and Effects of Witchcraft.

    Beliefs and practice of magic and witchcraft is a phenomenon that has captured the minds of millions since the beginning of history. These so called witches have caused fear, hatred, interest, widespread panic and variety of other emotions in other people from all over the world. Every society and civilization on this planet have all some form of witchcraft in their history, witchcraft itself ha e deep history of its own causing it to be recognized in literature and modern society.…

    • 1873 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics