Natalie Kim MicaelaSchmitt SofieMizzi Witchcraft and the Holocaust of Women
Witches in the Elizabethan Era • Women were dependant on the man of the house • Women were to obey men • Widowed/ unmarried women would have little access to doctors and other necessities • Stereo typical witches are thought of to be poor, elderly, unkempt, and ugly • Witches were usually single or widowed, and kept animals (called “familiars”) as pets. • Society blamed witches for everything negative that occurred DID YOU KNOW… that less than 1% of witches or people involved in witchcraft were male?
Types of Witches • White witcheswere viewed as : helpful due to their knowledge of herbs and plants in medicine and good-heartedand healers. This knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. • White witches lived by 5 laws: Live, Love, Learn, Enjoy, Harm none VS. • Black witches were viewed as: evil and Satanic, who only caused harm and inflicted unnecessary pain on others • Both distinctions of witches were lost during the Renaissance witch hunt.
Wicca vs. Witchcraft vs. Paganism
Origins - Unknown - early references in the Bible since humans have roamed the Earth - Gods and Goddesses of nature Christianity, one “God”
History: Ancient & Middle Ages • wicca and wicce • heal sick, crops grow, rain fall • Middle Ages • Emperor accepted Christianity • dominant religion • witches • not healers • evil • responsible for bad things
History: Middle Ages • witches, sorcerers were killed • crime was not witchcraft • it was heresy • the act of going against the teachings of Christianity • Canon Episcopi • witches do not have real powers • thinking that they do is sinful
Culture - Familiars were… - Some examples of familiars include: cats, goats, hares, spiders, crows, butterflies, bees & toads • Holidays/Celebrations: • Samhain, October 31: Wiccan New Year • Imbolc Lore, February 2: celebration of life • Beltane, April 30/May 1: celebration of fertility/sexuality • Lammas, July 31/August 1: first harvest of the year • Yule Lore, December 21: “rebirth” of the sun god • Ostara, March 21: growth of the sun god (spring) • Litha, June 21: summer solstice • Mabon, September 21: autumn equinox & second harvest
A Witch’s Initiation • Priest /witch to the great goddess • led naked,hands tied behind their back and blindfolded • receive the “five-fold kiss” (feet, knees, genitals, breasts, lips) • recite an oath of secrecy • receive 40 strokes from the scourge • Witch queen/ Magus (male) • - suggests that the subject is told “suffer and be purified in order to learn,” to assure her loyalty to the goddess • the leader will tell them “in Witchcraft thou must never give as thou receive, but triple.” • - 120 strokes from the scourge. • - Reading or re-enactment of “legend of the Goddess” • High Priest(ess) • the aspirant and initiator must have sexual intercourse in the circle of power in presence of the members of the coven • the Athame (sacred knife) is dipped into a glass of red wine and initiator states “the Woman to the Man is the cup to the Athame.”
Witchcraft Acts and Laws • - Witchcraft Act of 1542 (King Henry VIII, England): • - first Witchcraft Act in Europe • - witches can be tried and punishable by • the state • - Witchcraft Act of 1563 (QE I, England): • - largely the result of religious pressure • - It intensified the penalties of witchcraft • - Witchcraft Act 1563 (King James VI Scotland): • - King James VI was a strong believer of witchcraft • - believed in barbaric torture and burning at the stake • Witchcraft Statute of 1604 (King James I, England & • Scotland): • - introduced Devil’s Pact into the law • - most severe law for witchcraft Johann Jakob Wick: Execution of three witches on 4 November 1585 in Baden (Switzerland)
History of Witch-hunting • Witchcraft hysteria peaked in 1640’s • Witch- finding began in 1645 with Matthew Hopkins (self-declared Witch- Hunting General) • Hopkins saw he could make money from pursuing the hunt on a larger scale • Witch-hunting was a judicial operation, but agitated villagers executed suspected witches in a vigilante style; after Hopkins, this rarely happened • People in the 17th and 18th centuries opposed torture to obtain confessions & became more skeptical spectral evidence • People realized the deaths might have been due to natural causes
- MalleusMaleficarum = Witch’s Hammer • written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer • The third section of the book: prosecuting a witch and, conduct of a witch trial and the formal charging of the accused • Devil’s mark: a visible mark on the body that is insensitive to pain and will not bleed • : suspects were poked and probed (it could be on any place in the body) • : men and women with moles, bleeding tumours or ulcers were highly suspected • : witches used these protuberances to suckle imps and familiars. Identifying a Witch
Famous Witch Hunts • - Bamberg Witches (1626-31); Germany: • - Amounted to a total of 300-600 deaths • Bamberg suffered from conflicts within the Holy • Roman Empire, crop failures, famines and • plagues • - Hunts and trials ended in 1630-31 North Berwick DID YOU KNOW… In England, witches were usually hanged, but they were strangled and then burned throughout the rest of Europe Bamberg • North Berwick Witches (1590-92); Scotland: • Gilly Duncan was tried for witchcraft • - A coven of witches attempted to kill the King • Francis fled to Naples; Euphemia and Agnes • were executed; Barbara and John were • condemned but later released
Famous Witch Hunts • - Salem Witch Trials (1692-1693); USA: • Led by Cotton and Increase Mather, • demonologists from England • 141 arrests and 19 hangings • Started from child’s play full-out witch hunt and trial • Many were sentenced guilty because of • spectral attacking of witnesses • - Ended due to the reject ion of spectral evidence F.O.C. Darley- Witchcraft at Salem Village
between 1550 and 1650 • witches were hunted before • greatest number of executions • not just burning • hanged or killed in other ways The Burning Times
Torture Devices • thumb screw • iron vice • crush fingers • leg screw • iron vice • crush legs • turcas • tore out fingernails
Torture Devices • the Rack • hands and ankles tied • slowly in opposite directions • pulled arm & leg joints apart • strappado • hands tied behind backs • pulled towards ceiling by hands • dropped abruptly • arms pulled from their sockets
whipping • acid-dipped feathers • burning • scalding baths • soaked in oil • torturing the families Torture Methods
The Black Death and Witches • 25-50% • witches were accused • not uncommon to blame witches • death, natural disaster, crop failure, drought • blamed and punished for tragedies
