The European Witch-Hunt

Description

Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 2 Title Page......Page 4 Copyright Page......Page 5 Dedication......Page 6 Foreword......Page 7 Contents......Page 8 Diagrams and illustrations......Page 14 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgements......Page 20 Publisher’s acknowledgements......Page 21 Conventions and abbreviations......Page 22 Understanding believers in witchcraft......Page 24 Where I stand......Page 26 How do we know about witch-hunting?......Page 29 The fourfold concept of witchcraft......Page 32 Identifying witches......Page 37 A world of religion and magic......Page 42 Witchcraft and ‘superstitious magic’......Page 45 Elite and popular beliefs......Page 47 Understanding ‘witch-hunting’......Page 49 The scale of the European witch-hunt......Page 50 Conclusion: Causes of witch-hunting......Page 53 Introduction......Page 54 The growth of the idea of persecution......Page 55 Prosecutions before the witch-hunt......Page 58 Political magic in the fourteenth century......Page 59 Towards a new crime of ‘witchcraft’, c.1400–1435......Page 62 The ‘new sect’ of witches, c.1435–1485......Page 65 The Malleus Maleficarum (1486) and village witchcraft......Page 71 Conclusion: Witchcraft beliefs come together, 1486–1500......Page 73 The cosmos and the cosmic story......Page 78 Sources of elite witch-beliefs......Page 81 Natural, supernatural and preternatural......Page 83 Natural and demonic magic......Page 86 Distorted echoes of popular belief......Page 87 Witchcraft as a ‘cumulative concept’......Page 88 Medieval foundations: The Devil......Page 90 Early developments: The debate on witches’ flight, 1440–1580......Page 94 Later developments: The revival of the sabbat, 1580–1612......Page 96 The elaborated concept of witchcraft......Page 99 Varieties of scepticism......Page 102 Genres of demonology......Page 106 Conclusion: From demonology to witch-hunting......Page 108 Trust and distrust......Page 111 Identifying a witch......Page 114 Forming a witchcraft reputation: A five-stage model......Page 115 Quarrels and grievances......Page 117 Linking a misfortune to witchcraft......Page 119 Spells and curses......Page 122 Heightening suspicion......Page 126 Instant reputation......Page 127 The search for reconciliation......Page 129 Living with a witch......Page 133 Denouncing a witch to the authorities......Page 136 Conclusion: Neighbourhood quarrels in context......Page 140 The peasant world-view......Page 144 Popular Christianity......Page 149 How folktales structured witchcraft stories......Page 151 Non-human inhabitants of the popular universe......Page 153 Witches in legends and folktales......Page 156 Flying and shape-shifting......Page 159 Shamanistic visionaries and cults......Page 163 Psychological conditions and the ‘nightmare experience’......Page 168 Conclusion: Popular beliefs about ‘witchcraft’......Page 173 Introduction......Page 178 The rise of the early modern state......Page 179 The Reformation and Counter-Reformation......Page 180 The divine ruler and the Devil......Page 182 Demonology and the Reformation: Consensus and controversy......Page 185 The godly state and godly discipline......Page 186 The withdrawal of magical services......Page 188 The ‘huge mass’ of ungodliness revealed......Page 189 The programme of godly discipline unfolds......Page 190 Witch-hunting and other persecutions......Page 193 Religious wars......Page 194 Witch-hunting, colonies and ethnicity......Page 196 Types of state and intensity of witch-hunting......Page 199 Critics and limitations of the godly state......Page 205 Conclusion: Witch-hunting and state formation......Page 206 Introduction......Page 212 Laws on witchcraft......Page 213 Courts that tried witches......Page 214 State formation and legal developments......Page 215 Initiating prosecutions......Page 216 Deciding on guilt or innocence......Page 217 What happened in court......Page 219 Evidence of guilt......Page 220 Torture......Page 225 Constructing and negotiating confessions......Page 231 Explaining confessions......Page 232 Credibility of confessions......Page 236 Costs and profits......Page 239 Executions......Page 240 Conclusion: A miscarriage of justice?......Page 243 Introduction......Page 248 A political model of witchcraft prosecutions......Page 249 Witchcraft panics......Page 252 The scale of panics......Page 256 What did people do when they panicked?......Page 258 Chain-reaction witch-hunts......Page 259 Panics and high politics......Page 261 Neighbourhood panics......Page 263 Economic stresses and witch-hunting......Page 264 Dynamics of panics......Page 267 Witch-hunters......Page 269 Witch-hunting from above or below?......Page 272 Witch-hunting and negotiations of power......Page 276 Ending a panic......Page 282 The witch-hunting experience......Page 283 Conclusion: Social attitudes towards witch-hunting......Page 285 A female majority and a male minority......Page 290 Patriarchy......Page 292 Misogyny and stereotyping......Page 293 Stereotypes of female witches......Page 296 Stereotypes of male witches......Page 300 Scapegoating and deviance......Page 304 The godly state and gendered offences......Page 306 Women, men and magical practice......Page 308 Gendered patterns of accusation......Page 311 Men as secondary targets......Page 314 Children: Victims and victim-witches......Page 315 Gendered images of witchcraft......Page 318 Sex with the Devil......Page 321 Malefices related to sex......Page 327 Demonic possession......Page 329 Witchcraft and gender-related trauma......Page 330 Conclusion: Connecting witches and women......Page 332 Introduction......Page 340 Patterns of decline......Page 341 Judicial caution......Page 345 The decline of torture and the death penalty......Page 351 The decline of the godly state......Page 352 The Scientific Revolution......Page 358 Demonology in a sceptical age......Page 362 Open attacks on demonology......Page 366 Witchcraft as fiction......Page 368 Shifting views of witches’ malefice......Page 370 Continuing prosecutions for superstitious magic......Page 372 Village witchcraft after witch-hunting......Page 373 Conclusion: How witch-hunting became unnecessary......Page 375 Introduction......Page 383 The witch-hunt as ‘European’......Page 384 Perspectives from the liberal tradition......Page 386 Perspectives from the romantic tradition......Page 389 Perspectives from anthropology......Page 393 Perspectives from psychology......Page 395 Global perspectives......Page 398 Modern Western images of witches......Page 405 Conclusion: Power, persecution and the lessons of the witch-hunt......Page 410 Introduction......Page 420 Overviews and reference works......Page 421 Towards witch-hunting......Page 422 Witches in the community......Page 423 Witchcraft and folk belief......Page 424 Witches in court......Page 425 Women, men and witchcraft......Page 426 Perspectives on the witch-hunt......Page 427 Regional studies......Page 428 Primary sources......Page 431 Intensity of witch-hunting in European countries......Page 433 Index......Page 437