Witch persecution in Europe is a historical exploration that has various elements. The most common are theological, cultural, social, and economic. Human society has evolved over centuries, but the facts of history continue to be subjects of debate. This paper looks at the social and theological elements that have been part of witch persecution in Europe. The direct involvement, outcome, and legacy of each element will be considered. The theological part appears to be the central element upon which the other elements found their expressions in witch hunting across Europe.
Social Element
The social construct of the communities emphasized patriarchy and social inequality. It is a more conventional position that women were disadvantaged, and witchcraft or sorcery is gendered. Discourses on the contextualization of witch hunting vary. Accusations of people as witches have social characteristics. The rich-poor divide aggravated the charges using social norms as the basis. Alms begging and the inability to achieve certain needs became common in most of Europe. It is considered that witch hunting was a community phenomenon because, during the time that it was widespread, many people involved lived in villages. The social construct against an individual who disturbs public order is such that in local communities it might lead to accusations. In communities, personal conduct is constantly evaluated against acceptable standards. Marked conflicts and competitiveness with a member of the community may be an opportunity for an accusation.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
A greater attribution of malefic powers was to women. Research evidence demonstrates that about 90% of individuals accused continentally were female. A significant number of these women were senior females, and some of them were widows. Singlehood was demonized because the accusers thought that the absence a male figure in a single woman's life suggest that she is incapable of withstanding the trickeries of the Devil (Waite, 2003). The social inequality increased the precariousness of the female because they occupied the lower rung of the social ladder. Their vulnerabilities reinforced their nonconformity to social norms and wrong perception by their fellow community dwellers. Senile and senior women became victims of possessing witchcraft powers because of their age and conditions.
Men were not entirely left out of witchcraft accusations and maltreatment even though the society was patriarchal. In most instances, the men are husbands of accused women, or children of the same. It was a perception that those who practice witchcraft transfer the art to their offspring. However, men were accused of engaging in sorcery and other forms of witchcraft. Many people in that era found an association between a husband and a wife involvement in witchcraft. Men were mostly viewed as religious dissidents while women were mostly perceived as witches. The social institutions began treating people from the point of heresy (Waite, 2003). This portrayal of heresy also shaped and created the platform for the characteristic pattern of prosecution that followed.
Population increase in Europe, death, outbreaks of plagues, famine, pestilence, rural-urban migration, local and international wars may have contributed to the witch craze phenomenon. It remains challenging to determine the extent of social effects in the decline of accusations (Levack, 2006, p.275). Prosecutions ended because of the formal repeal of institutionalized laws that created opportunities for witch-hunting across Europe and judicial institutions withdrew from allowing trials. The legal establishment decided that the witchcraft crimes could not be legally proven, and many denied the credibility and reality of such a crime (Levack, 2006, p.276).
Thus, men and women, especially elderly and single women became sources through which society could attribute evil of unknown origin. When people encounter misfortunes, in village communities, they look for the widow, elderly and frail man or woman as the cause. This attitude has led to the neglect and maltreatment of this category of people. It also reveals the stereotyping of widows and the elderly in many communities as people with witchcraft powers.
Theological Element
A strong religious background underlies the persecution of those accused as witches and wizards. The early Christians depended on the Bible as their authority. It holds for them a symbolism and instructions from the God they worship. Upon those foundational instructions, sorcery and witchcraft were condemned. The Bible condemns witchcraft in Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Specifically, in Exodus 22:18, it states, “you shall not permit a sorceress to live." The belief and subsequent effects concerning witchcraft spread as Christianity spread across Europe and other parts of the world. The doctrine about the Devil reinforced the understanding and perception that the Devil is not merely a superstition element but a spiritual entity with powers to influence people and effect changes among living beings. These Christian belief systems became entrenched in the demonological doctrine of the Devil. The Devil was perceived as the ultimate source of every malefic powers and witchcraft was accepted in Christendom as heretical teachings (Levack, 2006, p. 114, 125).
On December 5, 1484, Pope Innocent VIII released a papal bull that officially recognizes and accepts the doctrine and existence of witches. The papal bull gave authorization for the institutional and inquisitorial action against witches. The content of the bull is what many have used as a contemplative resource on the type of treatment that those accused received. In the papal bull is the instruction to do anything that is needful to annihilate witches and wizards. Crimes such as the performance of abortion and offering of contraceptives are among the things that these individuals stood accused. The Malleus Maleficarum by Kramer and Sprenger, published in 1487 was the product of the papal bull, a document of papal authority. The book, not the most historical record but was the most standard of such authority (Konnert, 2008, p.52). Kramer and Sprenger’s book and the papal bull roused private and institutional attack on those accused of witchcraft. This publication is the theological basis for the ensuing two centuries of widespread witch-hunting in Europe.
The era of Christian reformations brought greater divide on doctrines and beliefs, and witchcraft is one. Demonic exorcism elicited a strong disagreement on scriptural interpretation by the reformers and leaders. The teachings of Jesus gave followers the impression and understanding that these spiritual entities dwell and interact with humans. These indoctrination and interpretations were systemic in the Christian faith practice (Strauss, 1978). There was an integration of social systems into Biblical interpretations. For example, the Protestants and Catholics wanted stronger control over women. They believed that women are weaker and easily tempted by the Devil, therefore, becoming witches. A greater number of witch accusations came from the undercurrents of village community life and conflict; persecutions usually require official approval based on a belief system that witches are in alliance with the devil.
The consequence of these incidences is that many people, the sick, elderly, and most women were tortured, and burn to death. A mere conspiracy led to the killing of several innocent women. The defenseless in the society found themselves at the wrong side of a socially and theologically orchestrated witch-hunting campaign. The persecutions depict the power of intolerance, prejudice, and bias.
The legacy concerning this intolerance and inhumanity is that women and some men were killed to pacify the fear of the devil and not the fear of God. The trials of witches and it cessation has not eliminated profiling and stereotyping of races and gendering. Even after witch trials discontinued, people continued to define the ‘other' in terms that are exclusive to their religious inclinations. The judicial system believed in the existence of witches but doubted the pacts they had made with Devil. The abated crisis of witch hunting is a combination of the theological and judicial disinterest in the subject (Konnert, 2008, p.56). Reasoning and science prevailed. Doubt and the inability to produce evidence caused judges and magistrates to acquit many who were brought to the courts. The modern court began discrediting the accusations (Levack, 2006, p.130). However, the distrust did not eliminate the legacy that such intolerance and prejudice inculcated in the minds of people.
In sum, various factors explain the witch-hunt in Europe. The most common, the social, cultural, theological, and political elements. The religious element seems to be the more influential cause of the witch-hunt. Patriarchy created a social inequality in the society during the period when accusations and persecutions were high. The rich-poor divide is the outcome of that social construct. Women and the elderly were primary targets for witch hunting. Although, men were part of the persecution their numbers did not corroborate historical facts. Their numbers were much lower, showing a disparity in witch hunting. Social factors such as deaths, plagues may have influenced the witchcraft phenomenon. The Papal bull gave authorization for the elimination of witches. Stereotyping and profiling are consequences of witchcraft hunting. Theological divisions and indoctrination fueled the witch hunting in Europe. The legacy is that intolerance, prejudice, and bias have not been eliminated even with the cessation of witch accusations and persecutions in Europe.
References
Konnert, M., (2008). Early Modern Europe: The Age of Religious War, 1559-1715, North York, Ontario, Ch. 2, Social Relations and the Structure of Society, Witchcraft and witch hunts. Higher Education of Toronto University Press.
Levack, B., 2006, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe. (2nd ed). London & New York: Longman.
Strauss, G. (1978). Luther’s House of Learning: Indoctrination of the Young in the German Reformation . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Waite, G. K., (2003). Heresy, Magic, and Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe . Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan.
