Essay: The witchcraft prosecutions

The witchcraft prosecutions reached its peak from 1560 to 1660; however, the belief in witchcraft existed long before the Early modern period. Early estimates claimed that around nine to ten million were killed during the witch hunts despite this recent research has proved that the number of those claimed to have been brought to trial has been largely hyperbolised; moreover, though these witchcraft prosecutions were widespread these prosecutions varied both chronologically and geographically.  Even within an empire prosecutions could differ; this was largely due to religious and legal factors. Evidently, in comparison to England, Germany under the rule of the Holy Roman Empire saw a significantly greater number of prosecution, out of approximately 30,000 to 45,000 out of an estimated 90,000 of those persecuted came from Germany than in other European empires. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the regional differences of the witchcraft prosecutions as well as expand on the reasoning behind these differences.
During the Early Modern period, German land was particularly affected by widespread panic of witchcraft, this is evident with the number of witchcraft prosecutions that took place during the 16th century in German land.  This is largely due to the lack of authority and decentralisation of the Holy Roman Empire, this empire consisted of around two thousand semi-independent territories as well as numerous small kingdoms, duchies and principalities and ecclesiastical states; the empire’s shared authority and power over these large territories resulted in weak political leadership. The empire’s inability to exert its authority and lack of real structure meant that small political units were able to exert their judicial autonomy; consequently, witch-hunting within Germany could be unacknowledged due to the inexistent legal unity in the Holy Roman Empire.  This pattern spread throughout much of Europe where there was little political authority and de-centralisation, resulting in judicial independence, the role of the judiciary also played a critical role in the spread and mass hysteria circulating around the witch trials. Nonetheless, accusations were made by neighbours and from below with occasional encouragement from above. In areas which political authority was largely centralised the accusations of witchcraft were little, evidently, Emperor Charles V had greater control over his Habsburg and Burgundian inheritances where he had passed laws against heresy and witchcraft, in comparison to the areas which were largely decentralised.  Evidently, Spain and Italy remained largely unaffected by the witchcraft prosecutions this is largely due to the Spanish Inquisition, which was highly centralised institution which attempted to enforce orthodoxy; consequently, higher standard of proof was needed to locate diabolism and convict witches. Similarly, in England, witchcraft was treated as a crime rather than heresy as well as the interdiction of torture resulted in fewer false confessions preventing easy convictions; removing the penalty for bringing a false legal case. Whilst in Scotland, the use of Roman law enabled interrogation and the use of torture leading to a greater number of witchcraft prosecution. Nevertheless, this is not to say that, witch-hunts did occur within England however, these trials were usually carried out by certain individuals and were exceptions notably Matthew Hopkins; who led the East Anglican witch trials from 1645-1647. This demonstrates the influence of political systems and the judiciary in the spreading of witchcraft prosecutions, and more importantly that territories which were not politically unified were more susceptible to witchcraft prosecutions.
Another factor that influenced that caused the spread of witchcraft prosecutions was religion. Evidently, belief in God also links to the belief of the evil we all possess. The belief of witchcraft was often supported by the “Malleus Maleficarum” written in 1486 by two Dominican inquisitors which explained the issues of the beliefs of witches as well as the ways to find and convict a witch. Moreover, within Catholic communities the number of protestants who were prosecuted as being witches was greater than Catholics and vice versa within Protestant communities. The reformation led to an increase in witchcraft prosecutions as both protestant and catholic reformers including Martin Luther and Jean Calvin intensified local fears by adding to the urgency of the threat of witchcraft by emphasising the necessity of eradicating any hints of diabolical from Christian society. Luther and Calvins preoccupations with the power of Satan influenced many of their followers to act against witches.; this emphasis on evil rather than magic also resulted in an increase in witch prosecutions in attempt to eradicate it. Henry Kamaen claims the reasoning for the sudden peak during the reformation was due to “ecclesiastical fantasy” the idea that witches were worshippers of the devil and as a result were enemies of God. Homogenous catholic states notably Spain and Italy were not as largely affected by witch trials in comparison to countries that were religiously divide. A correlation can also be established in regions where large religious minorities lived amongst people who followed one religion and where the neighbouring state followed another religion; as a result, there is a clear trend that largely religious heterogeneous countries were subject to more intense witch trials including Germany, France and Scotland. This instability resulted in mass paranoia leading to the spread of witchcraft prosecution, amongst religiously divided countries. Ecclesiastical figures also played a role in the spread of these accusations, this is evident in the town of Trier in which twenty-two villages were persecuted between 1581-99 under Archbishop Johann VII von Schonenberg; influenced by his suffragan bishop, Peter Binsfeld (1540-98) who claimed that it was the magistrates’ duty to actively prosecute witches. This pattern followed within other Catholic German dioceses, motivated by their desire to protect their flocks from the threat of Satan which could present itself in heretics and others who did follow the “norm”. The reformation also led to the emphasis on personal piety and sanctity as a result, in order to relieve their guilt they would transfer it to someone else; this resulted in an increase in witchcraft accusations.  Therefore, it is clear that religious conflict and the instability caused by the reformation impacted the witchcraft prosecutions to a certain extent, nevertheless they did not cause these accusations but influenced the increase in accusations as demonstrated in Trier under Archbishop Johann VII. Similarly, the increase in personal piety through the reformation resulted in an increase in accusations as people attempted to relieve their own guilt or fear.
The uneven spread of witchcraft prosecutions can also be attributed to the socio-economic problems during this period. Evidently, social and economic situations varied from country to country as a result this can help explain the reasons why the spread of these prosecutions varied both chronologically and geographically; the early modern period saw great instability within religious, social and economic sectors of society. The decline in economy as well as the food shortages and the famine caused by ‘little ice age’ the instability caused by these problems resulted in an increase in witchcraft accusations as a form of scapegoating. During this period, it was believed that witches could control the weather. A comparison can be drawn from the areas which were greater affected by the meteorological changes particularly between 1586-1588 and the number of witch-hunts that took place in these areas; this includes the Scottish Highlands, the mountain regions of Lorraine and Trier. Moreover, England which had not been especially affected by the witchcraft prosecutions reached its climax during this period. It is also worth noting how witchcraft prosecutions varied from country to country. In England witchcraft was rarely associated with the diabolical pacts, witches Sabbaths or copulation with the devil, whereas these accusations were prominent in European trials; furthermore, English trials focused on minor maleficent acts. Sources from the medieval period highlight that these conceptions of witchcraft vary and are products of specific circumstances in various locations. Socio-economic problems resulted in greater witchcraft prosecutions, as people looked to witches as scapegoats.
As well as the uneven geographical spread of witchcraft prosecutions, there was also an uneven chronological spread.