Witches
To Christians, witches were believed to aligned with Satan, as the only way to get Godly powers was to circumvent God. The New Testament condemned witchcraft. Some held the belief that Christianity was eternally engaged in a battle against the Devil, who was aided by his secret army of witches. In total, hundreds of thousands of people were executed, imprisoned, banished, tortured. Most of those affected were women, but there were regions where men were more heavily prosecuted, such as Iceland.
Malleus Maleficarum, "The Hammer of Witches"
The Malleus Maleficarum ("The Hammer of Witches") was a handbook written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. The book outlines how to identify a witch, why a woman is more likely to be a witch than a man, how to catch a witch, how to put a witch on trial, how to punish a witch, among other things.
There were three elements are necessary for witchcraft: the evil intentions of the witch, the help of the Devil, and the Permission of God. Based on these elements, the book was divided into three sections. The Malleus Maleficarum details witches' crimes: infanticide, cannibalism, casting evil spells, the ability to steal penises--the list is extremely long. The book then goes on to describe instances of witches committing these crimes.
Even the title of the book promotes the book's assertion that women were more likely candidates for witchcraft. The title uses the feminine form of the latin word for "witch", rather than the masculine (and sometimes gender neutral) word. The handbook asserts that women were more likely to be witches because women were inherently weaker, had less faith, and were more carnal than men.
The advent of the printing press enabled the book to be wide spread. Between 1487 and 1520, twenty editions of the Malleus Maleficarum were published, and another sixteen editions were published between 1574 and 1669. There are scholars who believe that the Malleus Maleficarum was not as influential as earlier historians believed.
There were three elements are necessary for witchcraft: the evil intentions of the witch, the help of the Devil, and the Permission of God. Based on these elements, the book was divided into three sections. The Malleus Maleficarum details witches' crimes: infanticide, cannibalism, casting evil spells, the ability to steal penises--the list is extremely long. The book then goes on to describe instances of witches committing these crimes.
Even the title of the book promotes the book's assertion that women were more likely candidates for witchcraft. The title uses the feminine form of the latin word for "witch", rather than the masculine (and sometimes gender neutral) word. The handbook asserts that women were more likely to be witches because women were inherently weaker, had less faith, and were more carnal than men.
The advent of the printing press enabled the book to be wide spread. Between 1487 and 1520, twenty editions of the Malleus Maleficarum were published, and another sixteen editions were published between 1574 and 1669. There are scholars who believe that the Malleus Maleficarum was not as influential as earlier historians believed.
The Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials happened in 1645 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Salem Witch Trials were the result of the convergence of many historical circumstances. Fear acted as a catalyst for the confluence of these circumstances: the people of Salem’s fear for the future, fear of change and fear of the unknown. The Trials themselves were even triggered by fear, the incendiary event being young girls trying to ease their apprehension about the future with fortune telling. What happened in Salem is a microcosm of how simultaneously unifying and ostracizing fear can be.
In the broadest sense, Salem was fearful for the future because Salem existed in a newly discovered continent surrounded by strange-looking, often hostile, people who did not speak English. No model existed for the American colonies, so predictions about what was to come were difficult. On a smaller scale, people in Salem were beginning to gain economic mobility, which threatened the social order. This meant that people changed their given station in life and therefore their predicted futures. In this way, fear of the future was directly related to fear of change. Salem to veered into uncharted territory in more ways than just social mobility. Women also contributed to the social upset by beginning to assert themselves by marrying people from outside the village, being hostile and having people over late at night, among other things. As women pushed the limits of their traditional roles, it became clear that social constructs in Salem were changing. It is this change which had many Salem factions concerned. Those who diverted from the Salem groupthink were turned into social pariahs, many of whom were accused of being witches.
Salem’s groupthink was propagated by the church. Salem was a rigid Puritan society, a religion ever fearful of going to Hell. In this way, the church in Salem was united by fear. One type of fear was fear of evil-doings caused by the Devil. The Devil was present in stories told by Salem ministers as well as in popular fairytales told to children. Bad things that could not be explained (such as crop failures) were blamed on Satanic magics. The church was supposed to be a safe haven from evils, but its sanctity was breached when “witches” were found among the congregation. The threat of witchcraft brought the congregation closer together as they accused people and assembled for trials. For the accused, facing a group of people who regarded them in the same light may have ben part of what caused so many “witches” to confess. Since fear of “the others” led to accusations and fear of “the group” led to confessions, what comes to mind is the trope, “they’re as scared of you as you are of them”.
The Salem Witch Trials were built on the pre-existing foundation of fear. Before the Witch Hunt, Salem had an undercurrent of uncertainty and had experienced divides based on social class and geography. The accused witches typically found themselves on one side of the separations prevalent in Salem, and their distress about what was coming next only made the divides stronger.
The Salem Witch Trials were the result of the convergence of many historical circumstances. Fear acted as a catalyst for the confluence of these circumstances: the people of Salem’s fear for the future, fear of change and fear of the unknown. The Trials themselves were even triggered by fear, the incendiary event being young girls trying to ease their apprehension about the future with fortune telling. What happened in Salem is a microcosm of how simultaneously unifying and ostracizing fear can be.
In the broadest sense, Salem was fearful for the future because Salem existed in a newly discovered continent surrounded by strange-looking, often hostile, people who did not speak English. No model existed for the American colonies, so predictions about what was to come were difficult. On a smaller scale, people in Salem were beginning to gain economic mobility, which threatened the social order. This meant that people changed their given station in life and therefore their predicted futures. In this way, fear of the future was directly related to fear of change. Salem to veered into uncharted territory in more ways than just social mobility. Women also contributed to the social upset by beginning to assert themselves by marrying people from outside the village, being hostile and having people over late at night, among other things. As women pushed the limits of their traditional roles, it became clear that social constructs in Salem were changing. It is this change which had many Salem factions concerned. Those who diverted from the Salem groupthink were turned into social pariahs, many of whom were accused of being witches.
Salem’s groupthink was propagated by the church. Salem was a rigid Puritan society, a religion ever fearful of going to Hell. In this way, the church in Salem was united by fear. One type of fear was fear of evil-doings caused by the Devil. The Devil was present in stories told by Salem ministers as well as in popular fairytales told to children. Bad things that could not be explained (such as crop failures) were blamed on Satanic magics. The church was supposed to be a safe haven from evils, but its sanctity was breached when “witches” were found among the congregation. The threat of witchcraft brought the congregation closer together as they accused people and assembled for trials. For the accused, facing a group of people who regarded them in the same light may have ben part of what caused so many “witches” to confess. Since fear of “the others” led to accusations and fear of “the group” led to confessions, what comes to mind is the trope, “they’re as scared of you as you are of them”.
The Salem Witch Trials were built on the pre-existing foundation of fear. Before the Witch Hunt, Salem had an undercurrent of uncertainty and had experienced divides based on social class and geography. The accused witches typically found themselves on one side of the separations prevalent in Salem, and their distress about what was coming next only made the divides stronger.