Week Two - Witch Hunting Flashcards
What is the definition of Witch-Hunt?
A search for witches or evidence of witchcraft often involving moral panic
What is the definition of Moral Panic?
An intense feeling expressed in a population that appears to threaten the social order
What is the definition of Moral Panic (Oxford University’s Dictionary of Sociology)?
“The process of arousing social concern over an issue - usually the work of moral entrepreneurs and the mass media”
What were people scapegoated for?
People were often scapegoated for anything from a death in the village to the failure of crops
What was the belief in 16th Century and 17th Century Europe?
In 16th Century and 17th Century Europe there was a belief that a strong nation had uniform religious faith.
How were witches viewed?
Witches were viewed as treasonous
What was the Witchcraft Act?
The Witchcraft Act was a law passed by Parliament in 1735, 1745 in France, 1775 in Germany and 1782 in Switzerland - that made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft. The Maximum Penalty was one year in prison
What was there growing scepticism about?
There had been growing scepticism even at the time, that many witch-hunts had been about score settling and that innocent people were being executed.
How did the use of torture begin to be regarded?
The use of torture to exact convictions became increasingly regarded as unreliable
What was said in Jenny Gibbons - Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt?
Most witch-hunts took place where central authority had broken down, often in border areas “where rival Christian sects fought to impose their religious views on each other”
What happened in countries such as Spain, Italy and Russia?
In countries like Spain, Italy and Russia, where a strong, unified Church existed, there were few witch trials. When the threats receded, so did the panic and hysteria
What was said in Hugh-Trevor Roper - The European Witch-Craze?
“When a great fear takes hold of society, that society looks naturally to the stereotype of the enemy in its midst”
What are examples of Witch-Hunts?
Modern history is littered with such witch-hunts, the Holocaust being the most extreme example. The story of the thousands of so-called witches who died a gruesome death many centuries ago still holds lessons for today
