A comparison that I can make with this reading is from Richard Godbeer, The Devil’s Dominion: Magic and Religion in Early New England, which illustrates magical beliefs and practices that the colonists brought with them from England. Puritan preachers condemned magic as ungodly and diabolical. Magic and occultism was rejected by the preachers of New England and so they were shocked to learn that colonists used magic themselves. New Englanders used magic to manipulate time and space, clairvoyance, and travel
In the court case of Tempel Anneke, many social and economic factor determined the outcome of her trial. Was it the misfortune of the people in her community that she was unable to help, or the fact that she was known to be a very powerful healer? Could it also have been that she was not part of the norm of society based on her characteristics of the general woman figure she portrayed in the 1600’s? Through the analysis of, The Trial of Tempel Anneke: Records of a Witchcraft Trial in Brunswick, Germany, 1663’s court transcriptions the details will show how these social and economic factors played such an important part in the trial that convicted her to death.
After reading “Devil in the Shape of a Woman: The Economic Basis of Witchcraft “by Carol Karlsen I was intrigued by Karlsen’s interpretation, and upset about the ways women were treated. During these witch hunts women and men alike were accused of the crime, but the majority were women. I found it interesting that she related the commonly known Puritan beliefs, which lead to accusations of witchcraft, with gender roles. She ultimately says that Puritans feared these accused women because they symbolized female independence. I found it shocking that women, often the wealthier, had a greater chance of being let go of their accusations if they had a husband to spoke on their behalf.
“The fact that overall about 20 per cent of the accused were male is less an indication that men were associated with witchcraft than it appears. Most of these men were related to women already convicted of sorcery […] Of the few that were not related, most had criminal records for other felonies, such as theft, highway robbery, murder […] For them, witchcraft was not the original charge, but was added on to make the initial accusation more heinous. Witchcraft was thus perceived primarily as a female offence.”
Accused and Betrayed Throughout the late 1600’s women had been accused of being a part of witchcraft. In this time women went through many disgusting torture treatments and got charged with many different things. When a women had been accused she would be “treated” with many different types of torture until they had died or had admitted to doing witchcraft. Some of the tortures were called: “The Garotte”,” Dunking the Witch”, and “The Boots”.
A reputable minister and expert in diagnosing witchcraft, Reverend John Hale has good intentions and sincere desire in devoting himself to his faith and work. However, Hale’s faith and work waver as he realizes that the girls have manipulated his own beliefs, realizing that he is sending innocent people to their death.
In his book, “A Modest Inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft (1702),” clergyman John Hale comes forth to confront the recent events going on at the time. Initially, Hale alludes to the questionable actions and activities of the townspeople being accused of witchcrafts, and being imprisoned as punishment. In addition, he discloses how everyone suspicious will be accused, not even young children are safe from the hands of this fate. Hale’s purpose of publishing this book was to describe the incident of the Witch Trials, and to reveal his experience of the trials, since his own wife was accused. By employing a didactic tone, Hale relays the actions of the past that targeted the Puritans and those wrongly accused of witchcrafts, so this occurrence
In Discoverie of Witchcraft, Reginald Scot produced the first witchcraft tract published by an English author. Modern scholars have often cited the Discoverie as an early skeptical work on witchcraft. However, this is debatable since Scot admitted to the reality of witchcraft (he believed the Scripture pointed to the early existence of witches) and believed that that accused early modern witches were attributed more power than they actually possessed. Scot attacked the urgent need to detect and punish witches espoused by Jean Bodin. In this work, Bodin argued that all magic is demonic in nature, in part as a response to a challenge of witchcraft posed by Johann Weyer.
Martha Ward’s book “Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau” aims to dissect the complicated identity of the 19th-century voodoo priestess and her daughter of the same name. This book is the first study of the powerful religious leaders in a way that dismantles the common narrative of voodoo equating evil. During her examination of the Laveau legacy, Ward skillfully presents primary and secondary sources, as well as oral testimonies (1935-1943) from the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration. With a combination of archives that has considerable depth and breadth, Ward is able to analyze one of the most dynamic heritages in American Voodoo.
James VI had many notable moments throughout his 58 years as King of Scotland from 1567-1625 but a large-scale witch hunt that he played a major role in and the 1000-2000 people who were burnt, tortured and strangled will not only go down as one of his most memorable times as King but also in the history of Scotland. This paper will argue that James notion of witchcraft was massively conditioned by his ideas about kingship. It will discuss his belief in Divine right kingship and that he never denied he was the lords vassal and glorified in that fact. He believed in one Kingdom, of which god was the head, with the king as his vicegerent.
"In an ordinary crime, how does one defend the accused? One calls up witnesses to prove his innocence. But witchcraft is, ipso facto, on its face and by its nature, an invisible crime, is it not? Therefore, who may possibly be a witness to it? The witch and the victim.
Misunderstood Magic can be real to some people and fictional to others. It could be used to describe a feeling, or it could mean an action. There is a form of magic known as witchcraft. The art of witchcraft can range from simple activities like burning incense for protection to complex and eerie acts like summoning the dead. Society defines those who participate in these types of acts as witches.
"The story of witchcraft is primarily the story of women . . . ." Karlsen argues for the relevance and importance of women’s roles in the panic of witchcraft fear in 17th Century American society. She subtly contests that specific interests were at work in the shaping of witchcraft accusations; book elaborates that a specific type of woman risked accusation based on her demographic representation in society. Karlsen further elaborates on her theme with,
On the other hand, when someone does something punishable, it is not taken lightly. In fact, that person suffers severe consequences because he or she is believed to be overtaken by evil spirits. To fully understand witchcraft amongst the Cherokee, one has to realize that using medicine, conjuring, and witchcraft have remained an integral part of Cherokee culture even up to the present day (Cherokee Indian Religion). They have used medication as a whole to help with healing people within their
My humble home, tucked within our modest suburb, is brimming with East African culture. The scents of freshly fried chapos permeate through my bedroom walls, plastered with cloth paintings from Kenya and South Sudan. The sound of Kiswahili, the fresh chai burning my tongue, these sensations are my comfort. I am an East African, by blood and by heritage. Dark, ebony skin and lean legs that extend for miles mark me as a typical South Sudanese girl.
