WITCH HUNTS
In the year of 1320, the church, at the
request of Pope John XXII, declared
witchcraft and the Old Religion of the
Pagans as a heretical movement and a
hostile threat to the church. The church
soon made people believe that women were
inclined toward evil witchcraft and the
devil. Calvin and Knox believed that to
deny witchcraft was to deny the
authority of the bible
"The giving up of witchcraft is in
effect the giving up of the bible" John
Wesley, 18th century
The most influential piece of propaganda
was commissioned by Pope Innocent VIII
in 1448. He had assigned the Dominican
monks Henrich Kraemer and Jacob Spienger
to publish a manual for the witch
hunters. Malleus Malificarun ("The
Witches Hammer") appeared two years
later. This manual was used for the next
250 years.
Between 1400 and 1700 at least 100,000
people were killed because of
witchcraft.
People soon came to believe that witches
were out to wreak havoc on towns and
injure their neighbors. Christians
believed that the witches twisted the
Catholic mass at their meetings.
Another belief was that the devil would
make appearances at their Sabbats to
dance and have sex with the witches.
Before the Sabbats, witches were said to
be fond of Christian infants as an
appetizer.
Soon, everything was blamed on
witchcraft. Since the devil created all
of the ills, his agents — witches — were
to blame. Witches were thought to have
as much, if not more, power than
Christ.
They were said to have the powers to
raise the dead, turn water into wine,
control the weather, fly, and know the
past and future.
Common victims of witchcraft accusations
were women resembling a crones. Any
woman who attracted attention was
suspected of witchcraft; either due to
beauty or because of a noticeable
oddness or unique feature.
Midwives were also targets of being
accused of dabbling in witchcraft. A
Scottish woman was accused of being a
witch because she was seen stroking a
cat at the same time a nearby batch of
beer went sour.
Soon, the village healers, who were more
helpful then the expensive doctors,
began to take on the image of the witch.
The people were so blind to accuse them
because the healers were the ones who
helped so many and kept the morale of
the village through much love, care and
wisdom.
Now they were "witches".
Simple mistranslation and
misunderstanding is responsible for the
scorn of witchcraft.
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
was believed to justify the persecution
of witches. Witch is Hebrew meaning a
prisoner, not the followers of the
devil.
Many women were tortured, often sexually
raped and executed. Once accused of
witchcraft, it was virtually impossible
to escape conviction. The people of
Toulouse were convinced that inquisitor
Foulques de St. Gourge accused women for
no other reason than to sexually abuse
them.
Once a witch was executed, the estate
was collected by the church. The more
witches and the wealthier the witch
meant more money for the church.
Torturers, executioners and other
functionaries benefitted as well. Costs
of torturing, imprisoning, and executing
the accused came from the victim's own
purse. Selling charms and amulets
against the influence of witchcraft also
brought in more money. Anyone who did
not buy such things would surely fall
under suspicion.
Witchcraft in England was made an
illegal offense in 1541. In 1604, a law
declaring capital punishment for Pagans
was adopted. Forty years later American
colonies made death the penalty for the
"crimes of witchcraft". By the late 17th
century the remaining followers of the
Old Religion had turned into a secret
underground.
A Witch Hunters Toy Box
Witch hunters had what almost seemed
like a child's toy box of tools that
were used to find whether or not someone
was truly a witch. Listed below are just
a few of the methods that were used to
convict a witch.
The Malleus Maleficarum was the most
important and most treasured of all
tools.
It was a set of rules stating the proper
methods of prosecution for a witch trial
and methods of telling a witch from a
god fearing person. This series of books
also set forth the origins of witchcraft
and legal procedures. It was quite a
work of fiction.
The Devil's Mark was a mark that was
believed to close the pact between satan
and his witches. He marked the bodies of
his initiates to seal their pledge of
faith to him. The mark was believed to
be in hidden places. Scars, birthmarks,
blemishes, patches of skin insensitive
to pain, and freckles were believed to
be the devil's mark. After
cross-examination the witches body was
examined throughly for the devil's mark.
She was stripped naked and shaved of all
of her body hair. If any warts,
freckles, birthmarks or anything else
unusual were found then she was believed
to be a devil's messenger.
Pricking the devil's mark was another
method used. The devil's mark was said
not to bleed when pricked with a long,
needle like object called a bodkin. The
devil's mark was also considered
insensitive to any pain what so
ever.
It was believed that witches could not
recite the Lord's Prayer backwards, from
beginning to end. Many people did not
know the prayer while others that were
asked to recite it would stumble over
words and make errors in fear of
failing.
Every witch was believed to have
familiars, low ranking demons in animal
form. Familiars were said to be the
gifts of the devil.
The most recognized would be that of a
black cat. If so much as a fly was to
buzz into a woman's house or jail cell
while she was on trial, it would be
thought to be her familiar.
TORTURE
CAUTION!!!Very
Graphic
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