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Like many others, he relied on sleep deprivation during interrogations, and also used the ridiculous “swimming” test. Even though torture was banned in England at the time, the Witchfinder General and his goons practiced it without restraint. Needless to say, most if not all of Hopkins’ methods were unjust and cruel. Many of these methods were described in Hopkins’ own book, the Discovery of Witches, which he wrote with great inspiration drawn from King James’ book Daemonologie. Roaming all over east England in search for possible witches, Hopkins relied on some tried and tested methods of determining if someone was a witch or a wizard. Proclaiming himself as the celebrated Witchfinder General, Hopkins and his gang of accusers were active from roughly 1644 to 1647. Īrguably, the most “successful” witch hunter was one Matthew Hopkins, the son of a Puritan clergyman, who, in just two years, sentenced over 100 “witches” to death at the stake. As you can see, not even cats escaped the Christian persecutions of the Middle Ages. For example, one noted “witch” execution happened in France, when a midwife was accused of witchcraft and subsequently burned to death in a cage filled with 16 black cats. Burning at the stake was the most common method, but the executioners did not stop there. ( katafree / Adobe Stock) No Mercy For The “Wicked”Įxecutions were the worst. The execution of witches, after witch pricking had determined them to be evil, was most commonly achieved by burning them at the stake. Methods of determination became increasingly bizarre and unjust, and trials were extremely biased. ” Nevertheless, these practices continued for a long time. Methods were varied and extremely cruel.Įxperts agree that the vast majority of those executed for witchcraft were completely innocent and in no way involved with “ Devil worship. Torture was the most commonly used method of determining if witchcraft was at hand. The methods used to determine if someone was a witch, or a sorcerer were primitive to say the least and perfectly reflected the “backward” ignorance of the time. Over time, legends emerged and disappeared, and beliefs pertaining to witches exploded into an endless range of titillating stories and fears. By directly repressing pursuits in knowledge, medicine, and philosophy in women, the church and its followers ensured a narrow minded and obedient religious society. Thus, it is easy to understand that witch hunting was a way for the Catholic Church to brutally enforce their views and to ensure the mindless loyalty of their subjects. And, sadly, over 80% of these victims were women. Īt the height of these persecutions, between 15, more than 50,000 persons were burned at the stake or otherwise murdered. Such were the constraints of late medieval Christian Europe. This meant that a village woman that was knowledgeable in herbs and folk medicines could easily be accused of sorcery and witchcraft and burned at the stake for merely trying to help.

Of course, the boundary conditions that determined what witchcraft actually was, were loose to say the least.

Ancient Superstitions Pervade India as Modern ‘Witch Hunt’ Leaves Mother and Children Dead.

Rapidly Closing American Churches Are Shadowed by The Meteoric Rise in Witchcraft.

And the sentences were seldom mild: death was never far off for the accused. Since the practice of sorcery and magic were contrary to Christian doctrine, anyone suspected of practicing them was immediately ostracized and accused of witchcraft. The reasons for the practice of witch hunting and witch pricking were largely religious and “preyed” on the narrow-minded worldviews of people during this period. During the periods of Catholic revival and the European Wars of Religion, in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, witch hunting reached its highest point.īefore or after witch pricking was undertaken, the so-called witch would be horribly tortured! ( Public domain ) Emerging in the medieval period, witch hunting gradually evolved into a well-established and widespread practice. Witchcraft and witch hunting were always a sore point in the history of Europe. Witchcraft History And The Rise Of Witch Pricking And all for their own benefit, since they worked for cash. And no matter how crude witch pricking was, certain witch hunters found ways to “use” it and condemn innocent women to their death.

Witch pricking was a common test, and a rather odd one at that. Witch hunters of all kinds emerged in search of fame and wealth and developed their own methods of determining if a woman (80% of the witches were women!) was a witch in league with the devil. A witch or not? Guilty or innocent? Witch hunting was all the craze in the late medieval period and onwards in Europe and involved some rather peculiar practices.