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Witchcraft in early modern Britain. Witch trials and witch related accusations were at a high during the early modern period in Britain, a time that spanned from the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century. Prior to the 16th century, Witchcraft -- i.e. any magical or supernatural practices made by mankind -- was often seen ...
e. The roots of European witchcraft trace back to classical antiquity when concepts of magic and religion were closely related, and society closely integrated magic and supernatural beliefs. Ancient Rome, then a pagan society, had laws against harmful magic. In the Middle Ages, accusations of heresy and devil worship grew more prevalent.
Elizabeth Clarke (c. 1565–1645), alias Bedinfield, was the first woman persecuted by the Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins in 1645 in Essex, England. At 80 years old, she was accused of witchcraft by local tailor John Rivet. Hopkins and John Stearne took on the role of investigators, stating that they had seen familiars while watching her.
Violence against women. In the early modern period, from about 1400 to 1775, about 100,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe and British America. [1] Between 40,000 and 60,000 [2][3] were executed, almost all in Europe. The witch-hunts were particularly severe in parts of the Holy Roman Empire.
Religious tensions in England during the 16th and 17th centuries resulted in the introduction of serious penalties for witchcraft. Henry VIII's Witchcraft Act 1541 [1] (33 Hen. 8. c. 8) was the first to define witchcraft as a felony, a crime punishable by death and the forfeiture of goods and chattels. [2] It was forbidden to:
In 1590 King James VI presided over a Witchcraft trial in North Berwick. This sparked a wave of similar trials throughout Scotland where at least 3,837 women and men were accused of witchcraft in the 16th & 17th century. James VI himself paid several visits to Aberdeen in 1582, 1589, 1592, 1594 and 1600. [4]
Isobel Gowdie. According to the historian Emma Wilby several aspects of witchcraft included in Gowdie's confessions are seen in Peter Binsfeld 's 1592 drawing. Isobel Gowdie[a] was a Scottish woman who confessed to witchcraft at Auldearn near Nairn during 1662. Scant information is available about her age or life and, although she was probably ...
Many of the witches were also midwives or “wise women”, and traditionally the practices of midwifery and obstetrics were exclusive to women until the 16th and 17th century. In the 16th century there was a new precondition to being a midwife — the woman had to demonstrate beforehand that she was a “good Catholic”. [21] In the 17th ...