Witchcraft History: The Persecution of Witches

* Around 550 BC, Contributors to the Old Testament and Law of Moses, most likely Jewish priests, call for the execution by stoning, of witches.

"Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

"Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them."

*In this case, the Hebrew word for witch, was "kashaph,", meaning whisperer. In context of the times (the Jews were in exile), it was likely a warning by the priests to avoid the religious practices of those around them and to adhere to their own religion.

*Around 420 AD, St. Augustine, the early Christian theologian, argues that witchcraft and satanic power are an impossibility, in that God alone has the power to suspend natural laws. Further, he stated that it was the error of the pagans to believe in any power outside of that, of the one God. The Christian church of the late medieval period thus followed these teachings and felt little need in persecuting witches.

*All "hell breaks loose" (no pun intended here), when Pope Innocent III, in 1208, decides to go after and attack the Cathar heretics. The Cathars, believed in a world where God and Satan both had supernatural power and were in conflict with one another. In order to discredit the Cathars, church propagandists began to spread rumors that the Cathars actually worshipped satan, along with participating in bizarre worship rites. The stage for witchcraft persecution has been set.

Satan is no longer an irrelevant imp, but has now become a "force" in the world, to be reckoned with!

*In 1273 Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican Monk writes the Summa Theologian, which becomes adopted as the Church orthodoxy. In his work Aquinas argues that the world is full of evil and dangerous demons. He writes that "demons reap the sperm of men and spread it among women." He starts what will become a long association between sex and witchcraft and initiates the idea that demons are interested in leading mankind astray (besides just satisfying their own desires).

*1450 - As many of the Catharists fled to Germany and the Savoy to evade persecution, a papal inquisition was launched against their pronounced heresies. At this point, persecutions increased against alleged heretics. Under torture, many defendents began admitting to satanic worship, witchcraft and all sorts of bizarre sexual and supernatural abilities and behaviors. It is during this period that witchcraft and witchcraft practices are defined and categorized by the inquisitors (clergy), through torture.

*1484 - Pope Innocent VIII announces that satanists in Germany are meeting with the devil and casting spells, which are causing crops to fail and causing infants to abort. He requests the assistance of two friars, Heinich Kramer (a papal inquisitor of sorcerers) from Innsbruck and Joseph Sprenger to write and publish a full report of the alleged witchcraft. What they produce is the infamous Malleus Maleficarum, "Hammer of Witches."

The Malleus Maleficarum,completed in two years, sets forth a new Church orthodoxy, which holds that christians now have an obligation to hunt down and destroy witches. For the next 40 years this work will be reprinted 16 times and will define all aspects of witchcraft. It even includes suggestions to inquisitors and prosecutors, on how to handle the interrogations and trials of alleged witches. For example, witches are to be brought into the court backwards, so as not to be able to cast spells.

*The Malleus Maleficarum makes outrageous claims and assertions concerning witchcraft practices, often relating to sexual behaviors. One such assertion is that "witches are known to collect 20 to 30 male members, keeping them in a birds nest or in a closed box, where they move about, as if alive, and are fed oats and corn."

*Early to mid 1500s -Witchcraft hysteria sweeps through europe. In 1515 the authorities in Geneva Switzerland burn 500 witches at the stake. 9 years later 1000 accused witches are put to death in Como Italy.

*At about this time the Protestant reformation also splits Europe along sectarian lines, but the protestants take the crime of witchcraft no less seriously and hunt down accused witches even more than the catholics. Germany is particularly strife ridden and executes more accused witches than the rest of europe combined!

*Witch hysteria pops-up in France in 1571, after an accused witch on trial,Trois-Echelles,from the court of Charles IX, announces in court that he has 100,000 fellow witches roaming the country. Responding to the popular panic, judges suspend many of the rights of the accused witches. In 1780, Jean Bodin publishes a book, "On the Demon-Mania of Sorcerers," which opens the door to the use of entrapment, child testimony against parents, and the use of torture.

*It is estimated that in the 160 year period between 1500 and 1660, between 50,000 and 80,000 accused witches were executed in Europe. 80% of those executed were women. The execution rates varied by country, with Germany being the highest at 20,000 and England the lowest with 1,000 during this period.

*1591 King James authorizes the torture of suspected witches in Scotland, following his marriage to Princess Anne in Denmark. Upon returning to Scotland following the wedding and honeymoon, the newly married, royal couple encounter stormy and rough seas, which the sea captain blames on "witches." Thus begins James' paranoia and the burning of dozens of witches in the North Berwick area. It didn't help the paranoia any when 6 accused witches in Denmark testified (after torture no doubt) that they had caused the rough and stormy seas, which had threatened James and his bride.

Witchcraft and witch hunts during the King James era in England even influence literature, such as in Shakespeare's Macbeth, where 3 crone-like, bearded witchs play a prominent role.

"A dark Cave. In the middle, a Cauldron boiling. Thunder. Enter the three witches.
1 WITCH. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2 WITCH. Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
3 WITCH. Harpier cries:-'tis time! 'tis time!
1 WITCH. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.-
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

*1643-1645 - The largest witch hunt in France takes place, during which 650 witches are arrested in Languedoc, alone.

*This period is also a high mark for witch hunting in England, as the English Civil War is raging and the intense unrest and chaos seems to fuel the paranoia and the need to assert control. Matthew Hopkins, son of a clergyman, becomes the most feared witch hunter in England, as he travels around the countryside of eastern England, between 1645 and 1647, conducting witch trials, with the authority of parliament. Although torture in England is not allowed, Hopkins develops his own methods, such as sleep deprivation, to extract a confession. He is also famous for the water test, whereby an accused is thrown into a body of water. If they sink (drown), they are considered innocent, if they float, it is viewed as proof of their guilt. The reasoning is that witches have rejected their Christian baptism, therefore, water will not accept them!

*In the late 1640s witchcraft trials begin to greatly diminish throughout Europe, as some countries, such as Holland, abolish them and adopt a more tolerant attitude towards witchcraft.

*1682 the last witch,Temperance Lloyd, is executed in England and arouses considerable public critcism, led by Lord Chief Justice Sir Francis North, a passionate critic of witchcraft trials. Sir Francis denounces the prosecution as being deeply flawed and stated:

"the evidence against them was very full and fanciful, but their own confessions exceeded it. They appeared not only weary of their own lives but to have a great deal of skill to convict themselves."

*This denounciation of witchcraft trials, by Sir Francis, effectively ends the witch hunts in England.

*Throughout the 1680s the "Enlightenment" is spreading throughout Europe, which emphasizes empirical reason, skepticism, and humanitarianism - in contrast to superstition. The days of witch hunts and witch trials are fast fading into history. The thinking during the "Enlightenment Period" is that there is no reason or proof to indicate that witches or witchcraft can cause any harm and it sees torture and mistreatment as inhumane.

"The Enlightenment"

"The witches have stopped to exist when we have stopped to burn them" (Voltaire)

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