The European Witch-Hunt

Cover......Page 1
Half Title......Page 2
Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Foreword......Page 7
Contents......Page 8
Diagrams and illustrations......Page 14
Preface......Page 16
Acknowledgements......Page 20
Publisher’s acknowledgements......Page 21
Conventions and abbreviations......Page 22
Understanding believers in witchcraft......Page 24
Where I stand......Page 26
How do we know about witch-hunting?......Page 29
The fourfold concept of witchcraft......Page 32
Identifying witches......Page 37
A world of religion and magic......Page 42
Witchcraft and ‘superstitious magic’......Page 45
Elite and popular beliefs......Page 47
Understanding ‘witch-hunting’......Page 49
The scale of the European witch-hunt......Page 50
Conclusion: Causes of witch-hunting......Page 53
Introduction......Page 54
The growth of the idea of persecution......Page 55
Prosecutions before the witch-hunt......Page 58
Political magic in the fourteenth century......Page 59
Towards a new crime of ‘witchcraft’, c.1400–1435......Page 62
The ‘new sect’ of witches, c.1435–1485......Page 65
The Malleus Maleficarum (1486) and village witchcraft......Page 71
Conclusion: Witchcraft beliefs come together, 1486–1500......Page 73
The cosmos and the cosmic story......Page 78
Sources of elite witch-beliefs......Page 81
Natural, supernatural and preternatural......Page 83
Natural and demonic magic......Page 86
Distorted echoes of popular belief......Page 87
Witchcraft as a ‘cumulative concept’......Page 88
Medieval foundations: The Devil......Page 90
Early developments: The debate on witches’ flight, 1440–1580......Page 94
Later developments: The revival of the sabbat, 1580–1612......Page 96
The elaborated concept of witchcraft......Page 99
Varieties of scepticism......Page 102
Genres of demonology......Page 106
Conclusion: From demonology to witch-hunting......Page 108
Trust and distrust......Page 111
Identifying a witch......Page 114
Forming a witchcraft reputation: A five-stage model......Page 115
Quarrels and grievances......Page 117
Linking a misfortune to witchcraft......Page 119
Spells and curses......Page 122
Heightening suspicion......Page 126
Instant reputation......Page 127
The search for reconciliation......Page 129
Living with a witch......Page 133
Denouncing a witch to the authorities......Page 136
Conclusion: Neighbourhood quarrels in context......Page 140
The peasant world-view......Page 144
Popular Christianity......Page 149
How folktales structured witchcraft stories......Page 151
Non-human inhabitants of the popular universe......Page 153
Witches in legends and folktales......Page 156
Flying and shape-shifting......Page 159
Shamanistic visionaries and cults......Page 163
Psychological conditions and the ‘nightmare experience’......Page 168
Conclusion: Popular beliefs about ‘witchcraft’......Page 173
Introduction......Page 178
The rise of the early modern state......Page 179
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation......Page 180
The divine ruler and the Devil......Page 182
Demonology and the Reformation: Consensus and controversy......Page 185
The godly state and godly discipline......Page 186
The withdrawal of magical services......Page 188
The ‘huge mass’ of ungodliness revealed......Page 189
The programme of godly discipline unfolds......Page 190
Witch-hunting and other persecutions......Page 193
Religious wars......Page 194
Witch-hunting, colonies and ethnicity......Page 196
Types of state and intensity of witch-hunting......Page 199
Critics and limitations of the godly state......Page 205
Conclusion: Witch-hunting and state formation......Page 206
Introduction......Page 212
Laws on witchcraft......Page 213
Courts that tried witches......Page 214
State formation and legal developments......Page 215
Initiating prosecutions......Page 216
Deciding on guilt or innocence......Page 217
What happened in court......Page 219
Evidence of guilt......Page 220
Torture......Page 225
Constructing and negotiating confessions......Page 231
Explaining confessions......Page 232
Credibility of confessions......Page 236
Costs and profits......Page 239
Executions......Page 240
Conclusion: A miscarriage of justice?......Page 243
Introduction......Page 248
A political model of witchcraft prosecutions......Page 249
Witchcraft panics......Page 252
The scale of panics......Page 256
What did people do when they panicked?......Page 258
Chain-reaction witch-hunts......Page 259
Panics and high politics......Page 261
Neighbourhood panics......Page 263
Economic stresses and witch-hunting......Page 264
Dynamics of panics......Page 267
Witch-hunters......Page 269
Witch-hunting from above or below?......Page 272
Witch-hunting and negotiations of power......Page 276
Ending a panic......Page 282
The witch-hunting experience......Page 283
Conclusion: Social attitudes towards witch-hunting......Page 285
A female majority and a male minority......Page 290
Patriarchy......Page 292
Misogyny and stereotyping......Page 293
Stereotypes of female witches......Page 296
Stereotypes of male witches......Page 300
Scapegoating and deviance......Page 304
The godly state and gendered offences......Page 306
Women, men and magical practice......Page 308
Gendered patterns of accusation......Page 311
Men as secondary targets......Page 314
Children: Victims and victim-witches......Page 315
Gendered images of witchcraft......Page 318
Sex with the Devil......Page 321
Malefices related to sex......Page 327
Demonic possession......Page 329
Witchcraft and gender-related trauma......Page 330
Conclusion: Connecting witches and women......Page 332
Introduction......Page 340
Patterns of decline......Page 341
Judicial caution......Page 345
The decline of torture and the death penalty......Page 351
The decline of the godly state......Page 352
The Scientific Revolution......Page 358
Demonology in a sceptical age......Page 362
Open attacks on demonology......Page 366
Witchcraft as fiction......Page 368
Shifting views of witches’ malefice......Page 370
Continuing prosecutions for superstitious magic......Page 372
Village witchcraft after witch-hunting......Page 373
Conclusion: How witch-hunting became unnecessary......Page 375
Introduction......Page 383
The witch-hunt as ‘European’......Page 384
Perspectives from the liberal tradition......Page 386
Perspectives from the romantic tradition......Page 389
Perspectives from anthropology......Page 393
Perspectives from psychology......Page 395
Global perspectives......Page 398
Modern Western images of witches......Page 405
Conclusion: Power, persecution and the lessons of the witch-hunt......Page 410
Introduction......Page 420
Overviews and reference works......Page 421
Towards witch-hunting......Page 422
Witches in the community......Page 423
Witchcraft and folk belief......Page 424
Witches in court......Page 425
Women, men and witchcraft......Page 426
Perspectives on the witch-hunt......Page 427
Regional studies......Page 428
Primary sources......Page 431
Intensity of witch-hunting in European countries......Page 433
Index......Page 437