Witch Hysteria During The Middle Ages

Why was there a witch hysteria in Europe during the Middle Ages?

The Perfect Scapegoat

It's no doubt that witches are something we’re all interested in. In fact, According to Uchicago.edu witches date back to about 560 B.C, but during the Middle Ages witches became a problem in Europe. Nearly 100,000 people were accused of witchcraft, 70% of them being women; mainly widowed woman, elderly woman, and woman who dispensed herbal remedies were targeted and tried. If a man was impotent or a woman was barren, if crops failed to grow, hail struck or a cow failed to give milk witches were to blame. Many were tortured in brutal ways. Churches believed witches made a pact with Satan and in return the Devil left a special mark. Some of the accused were

This book was relevant to my research although the title of the book is geared toward male witches but the information is mainly about female witches. However some useful information was found. For instance, It was revealed that male witches were accused primarily because they were related to female witches; In large witch panics, they were usually accused of different types of witchcraft than females, and they were accused in larger numbers in areas that was treated primarily as heresy than maleficium. Many females while being tortured by male interrogators experienced sexualised torture described as pain in the genitals, rape or the threat of rape. Male witches often were victims of sexual torture as well. Males witches were believed to be the only ones who understood demonology and were considered feminized because Christians believed since females were weakened by the sexual and subordinate relationship with the Devil causing them to practice witchcraft. Males were being manipulated as well.

Barry, Jonathan, et al., editors. Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe: Studies in Culture and Belief. Cambridge University Press, 1996. www.cambridge.org/core/books/witchcraft-in-early-modern-europe/6EF3997DE314EBC0FCAE62268C31986D

This website provides a full overview of the controversy of witchcraft and how it evolved in European culture. It includes

They include a wide variety of perspectives on how and why witches came to be a target of hostility, as well as their contributions to Medieval life. Many people today might be surprised that Christians attacked the pagan religion and music associating it with the devil while justifying their verbal attacks by saying that the devil invented magic to lure humanity away from the truths of Christianity. Meanwhile, some witches were hired to curse their enemies. White magic was used in Christian symbolism with the belief that it was the good kind of magic because it was used for love spells, good luck, and good health. Yet witches were being accused,tortured, forced to confess and executed for magic and their beliefs. In the seventh to ninth century the rise of anti-witch laws came in place because Christians viewed magic as a crime against society as well as God. Research found that some christians believed in cannabalism, infantcide and incest. When christians were confronted they fought back by stating that pagan deities are evil demons of the