History 2403E Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Deal With The Devil, Cunning Folk, Papal Bull
2 May 2018
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January 9 – Witchcraft in EME
Almost every human society has had some belief in witches but EME had a unique perspective
People become convinced that witches are dangerous to society and they need to be dealt with
Who were the witches?
Why were witches believed to be so dangerous?
How many people were charged/executed for crime of witchcraft?
Were specific groups of people more likely to face such a charge?
Why were witch hunts worse in some places than others?
Why did the persecution begin and end at such a specific time?
When did Europeans begin to take a special interest in witchcraft?
1400 (when looking at Swiss records) that a belief emerges that witches were the servants of
the devil
- Witches shifted their allegiance from Christian God to the Devil
- This becomes a threat to society at large
- Alost i eer to had people ho ere agial – cunning folk, a wise
woman/man
o Often lived a liminal existence
o Lived on the fringe of communities
o Still were accepted and turned to
o Wise woman in Martin Guerre
o New attitude in 1400 which included the devil
University/Academics changed the perspective of witches
- Medieval world was dominated by scholastics
- Asked where the source of power was for these wise/magic folk
- Came to conclusion that the source of all magic was from the Devil
- In return, the people with magic give the devil their soul
Diabolical pact
- Idea that witches were the people in exchange for supernatural power had forsaken
God and chose to serve the Devil instead
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Almost every human society has had some belief in witches but eme had a unique perspective. People become convinced that witches are dangerous to society and they need to be dealt with. 1400 (when looking at swiss records) that a belief emerges that witches were the servants of the devil. Witches shifted their allegiance from christian god to the devil. This becomes a threat to society at large. Asked where the source of power was for these wise/magic folk. Came to conclusion that the source of all magic was from the devil. In return, the people with magic give the devil their soul. Idea that witches were the people in exchange for supernatural power had forsaken. God and chose to serve the devil instead. Emergence of diabolical pact is what makes the witch seem a threat to society and makes them terrifying. It is a myth that only the church that were afraid of witches.
