At some point during the 15th century, Witchcraft was a normal part of everyday life. Witches accompanied religious ministers to help the ill or to deliver a baby. They were regarded as having spiritual power in their communities. When something went wrong, no one questioned the ministers or the power of the witchcraft. Instead, they questioned whether the witch intended to inflict harm or not. Later, Fueling concerns about the harmful influence of magic and the devil urged people to take decisive action in the battle with witches and magic. It was against this emotionally charged backdrop that Henry VIII introduced the first English statutes addressing witchcraft in 1542, followed by new, stricter, legislation by Elizabeth I in 1563 and James I in 1604. …show more content…
There was much superstition and ignorance in the 17th century England and hundreds of women were wrongly accused and punished. From 1484 until around 1750 some 200,000 witches were tortured, burnt or hanged in Western Europe and England. Most supposed witches were usually poor old women. Women who weren’t lucky enough to look beautiful. Any woman who was ‘crone-like’ with broken irregular teeth , sunken cheeks and a hairy lip was assumed to be a witch ! Owning a cat was also taken as a proof against these women as the cat was the most common sign of witches .
The witch trials took place in the 15th and early 16th centuries, but then the witch scare went into decline, before becoming a major issue again in the 17th century due to the work of Mathew Hopkins.. Matthew Hopkins was an English witch-hunter whose career started during the English Civil War. He called himself the Witch finder General . His witch-hunts mainly took place in March 1644 and lasted until his retirement in 1647. He was responsible for more people being hanged for witchcraft and was responsible for the increase in witch trials