Timeline Key Info (T1) Flashcards
What was the Malleus Maleficarum (1486)?
This book served as the basis for witch hunting guide books throughout the early modern period
What was the First Witchcraft Act (1542)?
Made the Conjuring of spirits, Witchcraft or Sorcery
in order to find treasure, cause harm to a person or their goods or to discover what had happened to stolen goods punishable by death
Why was Nicholas Copernicus’s “On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres” (1543) significant?
The beginning of the scientific revolution
He challenged traditional views
What were the main points of Nicholas Copernicus’s “On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres”?
- Proposed the universe was heliocentric, with the sun at its centre rather than geocentric
- Agreed with Aristotle & Ptolemy that heavenly bodies moved in perfect circles & suggested each planet moved along a sphere with the sun at the centre
- Argued the earth revolves on its own axis with moon revolving round the earth
Why does heliocentric mean?
The sun at the centre (in astronomy)
What does geocentric mean?
The earth at the centre (in astrology)
What was made illegal in the Second Witchcraft Act (1563)?
Made it a crime to invoke evil spirits for any purpose where maleficarum was involved or not
How did the Second witchcraft act (1563) differ from the first act (1542)?
Was more lenient than the first Act
Due to the fact that the death penalty was only put into force if the act of witchcraft resulted in the death of a person
What was Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584)?
It questioned whether there was any biblical basis/foundation for witch hunting
What was the Boy of Burton fraudulent case (1597)?
Alice Goodridge accused of causing hallucinations by Thomas Darling- a doctor confirms this.
John Darrell is brought into exorcise Darling (remove the demon).
During trial, Darling confesses the case is fraudulent- Darling and Darrell are imprisoned for a year.
Was the diabolical pact mentioned in the second witchcraft act (1563)?
No, this reveals that the Diabolical pact had not yet entered English consciousness
The focus was on the harm caused by witches and not the witch themself
Was the diabolical pact mentioned in the second witchcraft act (1563)?
No, this reveals that the Diabolical pact had not yet entered English consciousness
The focus was on the harm caused by witches and not the witch themself
How was Gresham college founded (1597)?
Thomas Gresham left money in his will to set up a college specifically of maths and science
What was Samuel Harsnett’s A discovery of the fraudulent practices of John Darrel (1599)?
It rejected all witchcraft, Harsnett was deeply suspicious about the boy of Burton case as he has first-hand experience of the case
He published multiple pamphlets claiming Darrel, the exorcist was fraudulent
What was the third witchcraft act (1604)?
Death penalty was retained for the killing of a person & it was reintroduced for a second offence in lesser kinds of magic, such as the destroying of livestock & goods, or attempting to unsuccessfully kill a person
The act also made it an offence to consult with/feed any evil spirit
What was the significance of when the third witchcraft act was passed (1604)?
It was passed during the reign of King James I of England who had a personal interest in witchcraft
What was the significance of the last point in the third witchcraft act (1604)?
The last point to do with the act shows that the notion of the Diabolical Pact had now made it into English consciousness and law
What was Francis Bacon’s Of the Proficience and advancement of learning divine and human (1605)?
In this, Bacon argued that empirical knowledge, learnt from experience & observation is the most superior form of knowledge
He stated that if men begin with certainties they end with doubts, but if they begin with doubts but observe known facts, they will end with certainties
What was Johannes Kepler’s Astronomia Nova (1609)?
This became notable for kepler’s two laws of planetary motion:
- FIrst law stated that planets travel in elliptical orbits around the sun
- Second law is planets don’t travel at constant speed: they speed up when approaching the sun & slow down when moving away from it
What was an elliptical orbit as theorised by Johannes Kepler?
The revolving of one object around another in an oval shaped orbit
What was Galileio Galilei’s Dialogue Concerning Two Chief World Systems (1632)?
Was written as a defence on the copernican theory
In it he rejected the right of the Church to act as an authority over scientific matters & developed a system that fused maths + natural sceince - this inspired later scientists
What was the Pendle Swindle case (1634)?
Edmund Robinson accused Jennett Device of participating in a sabbatt in the woods
Robinson & 3 local magistrates accused 17 more from local churches - the presiding magistrate was sceptical & referred it to the Privy Council in London
Evidence was questioned in London & Robinson confessed to fraud
What effect did the pendle swindle case have on witches?
Increased scepticism as magistrates were seen as “crazed”
One of the accused, Margaret Johnson confessed despite being innocent - this undermined belief in confessions
Questions then raised over use of sleep deprivation & sanity of some accused
What sort of beliefs did Thomas Hobbes’s De Corpore (1655) promote?
It promoted deductive resoning over the inductive reasoning that had been promoted by Bacon
What were the key elements of Thomas Hobbes’s De Corpore (1655)?
He wanted a system of thinking that provided secure knowledge that was irrefutable
For example:
- Every man is a living creature
- Every living creature is a body
- Therefore, every man is a body
Which author did Thomas Ady reference in his book A Candle in the Dark (1656)?
He referenced Scot’s (1584) argument - this reignited Scot’s popularity
How was Thomas Ady’s A Candle in the Dark (1656) used to help witches?
The text was used as a defence in Salem to support innocence but failed to free the accused/victims
What was Thomas Ady’s A Candle in the Dark (1656) on?
- Ady argued witches do exist but definition is wrong - they don’t have a pact with the devil
- Used the bible to jutify his argument - lack of text relating to witches
- Criticised James I - claimed he failed to back up arguments in his book & that Daemonologie was written by Bishop James Montague
What was Thomas Hobbes’s De Homine (1658)?
Part of hobbes’s trilogy, brought together all his work on natural science, politics & psychology - then ranked them in a hierarchy of most general to most specifc
This was materialism
What was the Royal Society (1660)?
A formal & recognised, by Charles II’s Royal Charter, institution that promoted intellectual study & set out to “extend the boundaries” of the arts & sciences