DBQ-The Witch Craze

Identify and analyze at least three major reasons for the persecution of individuals as witches in Europe from the late fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries. From the Middle Ages until the 1700s, a fevered witch craze was spread throughout Europe. These witches were isolated, persecuted and when found, tortured and consequently killed. With most of the population concentrated in southeastern Europe, over 100,000 witches were tried.It was believed that these individuals practiced black magic and were associated with the Devil, but a single fact becomes clear when studying the witch craze and that is that there is a certain type of individual that was singled out as a witch. The majority of of accused witches were female(Witchcraft Statistics, doc 2) and mostly over 50 years old(Witchcraft Statistics doc 3). The witch craze concentrated on elderly women who more often than not were from a low social class (Witchcraft Statistics, doc 1. ).A combination of religious beliefs, socia l prejudices and cultural precepts helped heighten the already rampant witch persecution throughout Europe. The witch craze spread throughout the common-people of Europe, this due to a strong support to the persecution of witches advertised by influential religious leaders. Although Europe was in a state of religious turmoil due to the warfare between Catholic and Protestant faiths, Catholics and Protestants alike contributed to the spread of the witch craze. Martin Luther preached that â€Å"sorcerers or witches are the Devil’s whores who steal milk†¦torture babies in their cradles†¦ † (Religious Opinions, doc 3). John Calvin, another influential religious leader said â€Å"†¦ We are therefore taught by these examples that we have to wage war against an infinite number of enemies†¦ †(Religious Opinions, doc 4). Pope Innocent VII, issued â€Å"The Witch Bull† in 1484 where he stated it was the peoples duty to get rid of witches and he gave inquisitors the right to â€Å"exercise their office of inquisition and to proceed to the correction, imprisonment and punishment† of witches(Religious Opinions, doc 4).The strong religious belief that witches were instruments of the Devil and that it was society’s duty to eliminate them, along with the confusion and anger that was brought about by the Catholic-Protestant conflict was a contributing factor to the persecution and killing of many witches. While the preachings of influential leaders against the witches was a main factor of this witch craze, the fact that witches were women was an important factor within the faith.For centuries women within the Catholic church were seen as inferior to men and more susceptible to sin. Both the Protestant and Catholic leaders believed that women, specially elderly women were and easy pray for the devil’s deeds. â€Å"The Hammer of Witches† a witch-hunting manual created by Dominican monks they stated that women are more likely to be witches because they are more â€Å"credulous, impressionable and passionate†(Religious Opinions, doc 1).Once again due to the longstanding discrimination against women within the Catholic faith, the monks were probably heavily influenced by their faith which led them to speak so badly of women. The social prejudices held by European society about women made it easier for the persecutors to pinpoint them as lesser, crazy and most of all guilty. The belief that women, specially elder women were weak and inferior is an important factor to understand why they became the target group for witchcraft charges.The thought that elderly women were impure and more corrupt was spread by the lawmakers that made links between the physical body and witchcraft. A legal conference that took place in 1618 announced that â€Å"The bodies of aged persons are impure, which when they[become diseased with] malice† are used by the Devil to carry out his evil deeds( Scientific Opinions, doc1). This shows a clear societal prejudice against old people, specifically older women, but not everyone agreed there was a link between age and corruption.Belgian physician Johan Wier, while still showing disdain towards women and asserting their inferiority with their â€Å"melancholic nature and small brains†, concludes that although women were prone to depression the causes of their diseases were hardly supernatural(Scientific Opinions, doc2). Although not all society was convinced about the existence of witches, the fear and prejudice against older women was a contributing factor to the persecution of this specific group.The last, and probably greatest factor, that contributed to the fever of witchcraft was the fact that the European culture was characterized by strongly superstitious beliefs. The belief that witches could control men and do a variety of spells, is derived from the belief in the supernatural that most of the European population ha d. Thomas Ady, as describing the feelings of an English householder explains that â€Å"†¦ he cryeth out of some poor innocent neighbor that he or she hath bewitched him(Testimony of Accused Witches and Eyewitnesses, doc3).The testimony of a licensed midwife at Dillingen, Germany confessed her â€Å"witchcraft† and admitted that â€Å"she often had a good roast or an innocent child,†¦ kill young infants at birth† (Testimony of Accused Witches and Eyewitnesses, doc1). The report of Churchwardens in Gloucestershire England, reported that â€Å"†¦ Alice Prabury in our parish that useth herself suspiciously in the likelihood of a witch, taking upon her not only to help Christian people of diseases†¦ †(Testimony of Accused Witches and Eyewitnesses, doc4).All of these documents have in common the belief in evil women guided by the devil to preform witchcraft and unexplainable and horrible deeds such as eating young children, or bewitching young me n. The fact that these happenings were not only attributed to the supernatural, but where held as completely true, show the superstitious beliefs that so many held during the witch craze. These accusations were so serious that even those who were not guilty of anything ended up making delusional confessions in the midsts of torture.The beliefs were held as such truth that these innocent individuals would most likely by the end of their torture end up believing what they were charged with. â€Å"Some call me witch†¦ this they enforce upon me; and in part Make me to credit it†, cites the poem â€Å"The Witch of Edmonton†(Testimony of Accused Witches and Eyewitnesses, doc5). â€Å"Innocent have I come into prison, innocent have I been tortured, innocent must I die† wrote Johannes Junios to his daughter, clearly showing that many of these accusations were completely false(Testimony of Accused Witches and Eyewitnesses, doc 7).The combination of social prejudices , religious beliefs and cultural precepts helped spark the fire of a European witch craze that lasted over a century and claimed thousands of lives. The main target of this witchcraft were poor elderly women who were easy to dispose of due to years of hatred, superstition and discrimination. The European witch craze is a frightening example of how easily mankind is corrupted by hatred and prejudice and is lead to leave behind any sense of compassion, decency and rational thinking.While modern day â€Å"witch hunts† have been left for the movies and books to recreate, a great deal of prejudice still exists in the society we live in. The targeting of certain â€Å"weaker† groups by a â€Å"stronger† majority sadly remains a part of 21st century society. The reality of human society is that hardly anyone is willing to go through the excruciating process of admitting they are wrong, or realizing that things like gender, age, skin-color or religion are not to be used as an excuse to harm others.