Witchcraft - Important vocab#

Question 1

Maleficium

Answer 1

“evil deed” – by 1580 this was understood as an act of witchcraft designed to harm

Question 2

Sacrament

Answer 2

a ceremony carried out to attain spiritual grace, e.g Holy Communion

Question 3

Devil’s mark

Answer 3

mark on the body of someone who had entered a covenant with the Devil

Question 4

Cunning-Folk

Answer 4

general carried out good deeds – folk-healers etc

Question 5

Assize circuit

Answer 5

courts that travelled in six circuits around the country, hearing serious cases

Question 6

Justice of the Peace

Answer 6

a public official appointed to administer the law at a local level

Question 7

Privy Council

Answer 7

private council of the Monarch

Question 8

Vagrant

Answer 8

beggar or someone who would wander looking for work. By 17th Century it was someone who could work but chose not to – could be punished by whipping etc

Question 9

Dissenter

Answer 9

a member of the non-established church outside the Church of England

Question 10

Idolater

Answer 10

someone who worships false idols

Question 11

Nonconformist

Answer 11

a Protestant who does not conform to the established practices of the Church of England

Question 12

Calvinist

Answer 12

follower of John Calvin – Protestant Reformation. Very strict

Question 13

Heretic

Answer 13

someone who disagrees with the teachings of the Church

Question 14

Royal society

Answer 14

Founded in 1660 in order to promote the advancement of science and rational thought

Question 15

Melancholia

Answer 15

Depression or sorrowfulness

Question 16

Homocentric

Answer 16

Belief that all knowledge can only come from experience - seek out evidence to formulate theories

Question 17

Natural Philosophy

Answer 17

The study of the natural world

Question 18

Empiricism

Answer 18

The belief that knowledge can only come from experience - seek out evidence to formulate theories

Question 19

Polymath

Answer 19

A person of wide knowledge and learning who specialises in a number of different subjects

Question 20

Convention Parliament

Answer 20

Parliament assembled without the authority of the monarch

Question 21

Alchemist

Answer 21

Someone who tries to transform common substances into gold or potions used to cure disease

Question 22

Deductive reasoning

Answer 22

When a conclusion is made based on something already known or assumed