- Look at subtopics in Russell and Kors and Peters
- Look at timeline
- Review history timeline, have outline for detailed historical outline
- Numbers and statistics and gender, class and age
- Period of witchcraze 1500-1700
- Called this period of time because in this time period highest numbers of trials and accusations,
highest fear of diabolical witchcraft
- Stereotypes we have of victims come from witchcraze period
- Women outside of social norms, old uneducated women, isolated women, needy women highly
accused
- Historical stereotypes of people accused
- Promiscuous women: Malleus
- 1430’s perception that increasing numbers of people are becoming involved with demons
- Late 15 century (Malleus) saw for first time association between women and diabolical
witchcraft “why are more women involved/attracted to superstition? (review Malleus)
- Six reasons why more women involved in witchcraft (document last week)
- Russell- certain type of man thought to be involved in diabolical activities (male church guys)
- Something happened between 1400-1500 that changed stereotype of accused from male cleric
to women
- Highest in 1660, after 1660 things start to calm down with exception of Salem Witch trails which
occur in 1692
- Scholarly agreement on two things
- 1) agree it is in the mid 1400’s that all preexisting ideas of classical myth of diabolical witch have
come together
- 2)noticeable rise of witchcraft trails (diabolical heresy involving pact of devil)
- Diabolical witchcraft defined as crime by early 15 ce
- handout
- 1430-1444 trails increase in number instead of typical decline
- Amount of trials never sinks below 10-15 mark
- 1300-1330 average one trail a year (France) 2/3 of trials involve prominent leaders, sorcery most
common charge
- Not a lot of demons
- 1330-1375
- No more political trials of high ranking rulers
- Common folk now make up accusers, sorcery most common charge
- 1375-1435
- Two changes occur
- Number of trails increase, sorcery remains dominant but demon charges (invoking demons
increase)
- First three periods concerned with sorcery/harmful magic
- 1445-1500 now see sharp sustained and increase number of trails
- Diabolism increasing , anxiety increasing
- Russell tells us that most intense period of witchcraze occurred between 1560 and 1660
- In this period 1560-1660, approx. 110 000 people tried and accused of witchcraft, 40000-60000
people executed for witchcraft
- 50000-70000 people not executed,40000-60000 were
- What happened to people not executed?
- Were the charges dismissed? Was there a conviction with other punishment? Unsure exactly - In popular media, it is very typical to see mass amounts of people executed
- General statistics concerning gender: for every one
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