How far do you agree that the spread of information on witches and witchcraft was the main reason for the increase intensity of the persecutions of the witches?

Essay by harrifs September 2014

download word file, 3 pages 0.0

How far do you agree that the spread of information on witches and witchcraft was the main reason for the increase intensity of the persecutions of the witches?

The cause of the witch hunt is much to a mystery of many historians. It is believed to come from many different societies of the time. The witch hunts were taking place as far as east as Russia, and south as Spain and Portugal and to the north as Scandinavia. More than 100,000 people were killed, most of them women, allergies for practicing witchcraft. The way trends and fashions are normally brought about are through word of mouth and information. This was no different in the times of the witches, just was a longer process.

The information would have been things such as the printing press helping to spread the word. Word of mouth was an important factor, if people believed something to be true then they would pass it on, even if they had little proof or knowledge themselves.

One place where people did tend to get their information from was biblical texts.

There were two parts of society that did tend to portray a certain image of the witches according to who they were. The Elites and those from below (lower class). The Elites believed that the devil was the leader of the witches and it was an attempt to throw over society. That the witches flew to their Sabbaths on their broom sticks and worked as a group to murder and kill young babies. The elites therefore tortured the witches and made them confess. The works of Remy's Demonolatries of 1595 detailed the witches actions and activities, including the Sabbath. Having the elites in the hunt for witches also meant that they were more likely to convict witches and...