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Research/Historical Figures/Map of Witch Trials
“In the early modern period, from about 1400 to 1775, about 100,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and British America " Between 40,000 and 60,000 were executed, almost all in Europe.
In Europe as a whole, more than 70% of those accused of witchcraft were women.”
Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches)
Published in 1487
Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer
3 Sections:
- what witches are and what they do
- how to identify them
- how to witch trial, aka properly punish and eradicate them.
Excerpt
- “the natural reason that women are more susceptible to evil than men “is that she is more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many carnal abominations. And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives.”
Signs of a witch- Witch's marks: The book claimed witches had a mark of the devil, which could be a mole, birthmark, or insensitive patch of skin. To check for this, a needle or knife blade would be used to prick the mark; if the person felt no pain or saw no blood, they were considered a witch.
- Inability to cry: Accused witches who did not cry during their trial were automatically believed to be witches.
- Inability to say the Lord's Prayer: A suspect's inability to recite the Lord's Prayer correctly was seen as evidence of a demonic pact.
- Flying on a broomstick: Witches were said to fly on broomsticks, so seeing someone doing so was an obvious sign of witchcraft.
- Talking to oneself: Speaking alone was considered a suspicious behavior that suggested a pact with the devil.
- Baldness: Witches were said to have bald heads and wear wigs, which might lead them to scratch their heads frequently.
- what witches are and what they do
- how to identify them
- how to witch trial, aka properly punish and eradicate them.
Excerpt
- “the natural reason that women are more susceptible to evil than men “is that she is more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many carnal abominations. And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives.”
Map:
National Archive UK
Joan Guppie: Certificate.
(Catalogue ref: E 163/17/5) Witch trials: Report on trial of Effam Mackallean. (Catalogue ref: SP 52/47 f.66)
(Catalogue ref: E 163/17/5)
Historical Figures
Merchant
Massachusetts
Minister, businessman, and plantation owner
Parris beat Tituba until she confessed herself as a witch, and John Indian, her husband, began accusing others.
The delusion spread, and many were apprehended, most of whom were imprisoned. During the 16-month duration of the Salem witch trials phenomenon, 19 persons were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death.
Parris declared that "as in our text there was one devil among the 12 disciples 'Disciple (Christianity)'… so in our churches, God knows how many Devils there are," encouraging antagonistic villagers to locate and destroy 'witches'."
Blacksmith
Archive of specific name list missing
Herbalist
Cologne, Germany
First female Postmaster in Germany
Catelogue of the German National Library idn=129746681
She had inherited the postal office from her father Jacob and worked as perhaps the first female postmaster in Germany. They were in a conflict in the Imperial court with Count Leonhard II von Taxis, who wished to create a central post office. From 1626 to 1631, a great witch trial was held in the city of Cologne. Rumors pointed out Henot, and the commission of the archbishop arrested both Henot and her brother in January 1627 and accused them of having caused several cases of death and sickness in the convent by use of magic. She was imprisoned and denied bail and protection.
Henot was the victim of a conspiracy by the authorities of
the city.
"In October 1626, during an exorcism at St. Clare's Convent (the same convent where her sister and daughter lived), she was accused of witchcraft. On January 9, 1627, she was arrested and subjected to "painful interrogation," which is to say torture. She was condemned, strangled, and burned at the stake."
It is very likely that envy played a role in her denunciation as
a witch.
Brewer
Edinburgh, Scotland
Shopkeeper
In 2022, Nicola Sturgeon issued a formal apology for the 'historic injustice' on behalf of the Scottish Government to those accused of witchcraft between the 16th and 18th centuries.
From the Stone Age to the 1700s, ale – and, later, beer – was a household staple for most families in England and other parts of Europe. The drink was an inexpensive way to consume and preserve grains.
They wore the tall, pointy hats so that their customers could see them in the crowded marketplace. They transported their brew in cauldrons. And those who sold their beer out of stores had cats not as demon familiars, but to keep mice away from the grain.
A study at Stanford University found that while 17% of craft beer breweries have one female CEO, only 4% of these businesses employ a female brewmaster.
In medieval England, “alewives” (female brewers) were often socially marginalized.
Some male brewers may have used the fear of witchcraft to reduce competition from women brewers. As brewing was commercialised, men used accusations and gendered rhetoric to push women out.
Psychic
Edinburgh, Scotland
Spiritualist
The last person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act 1735
Press cutting from the Helen Duncan witchcraft case
HO 144/22172
She conducted séances where she claimed to summon spirits, produce ectoplasm, and communicate with the dead.
During WWII, in 1942 during a séance, she stated that the battleship HMS Barham had been sunk.
This information was secret at the time, known only to the families of the dead and the military.
MI5 and the Admiralty feared she might be obtaining or spreading military intelligence.
Sentenced to nine months in prison