Witchcraft in the 15th Century

In this paper, I will explore many aspects of the outbreaks of the witch accusations and witch trials which plagued England and the rest of Europe from approximately 1450 to 1750. Though numerous theories have been provided as to the reasons for these hunts and trials, there are three which are the most prevalent, and able to support themselves. These three theories are the topics of: gender, as a stepping stone towards the oppression of women; social class, as a relief of tension and stress formed by the socio-economic gaps between the wealthy and the poor; and finally religion, as a result of the encouragement to conform more steadily towards one religion. I chose to argue towards the third theory I have stated, that of the religious changes facing England at the time. Throughout the three hundred years that the perceived problems of witchcraft haunted this nation, the religious momentum swayed back and forth many times. My decision to support the religious theories attached to witchcraft may not be as traditional as most student's. It was a decision based more upon the motives and not so hidden agendas that the theorists who were (obviously) not present at the times of the trials. Historical fact has been in debate for as long as history has been recorded, because everything written or spoken is rhetoric, and this impossible to escape from. Therefore, in order to defend my decision to choose religion, I will be adopting a new historicist point of view for the first few paragraphs of this paper.

To me, the other two major theories applied to the problems of witchcraft seem much to politicized to be considered as historical. As Sharpe states, addressing the gender issue first, "The crucial development here was the rise of the Women's Movement in the United States and Europe"(9). He continues to say that these women "sought to construct a history of oppression which would help inform their consciousness in their ongoing struggle"(10). This theory absolutely reeks of ulterior motives. Though it cannot be denied that approximately eighty percent of the witches executed during these times were women, it seems odd that no scholars felt inclined to point this out as relevant until the 1970s when it fit into the "construction of a history." History should not be constructed in order to suit the needs of the present, nor the future. Actions like those simply push history closer towards fiction, though they are hard to stray from. In addition, if this was, as the Women's Movement wished to convey, an oppression formed by the men in order to hold the women down, then "why [were] there Ð'... so few witch-burnings"(6)?

Leaving the gender issue for a moment, and addressing the possible relevancy of social class as a means for the witchcraft, one must appreciate the fact that this is a heavily politicized theory as well, though I do find that it has more backbone than the gender theory. Those theorists who wished to solidify the reasons behind this craze, and not leave them floating in the heavens, attempted to ground their beliefs by transferring the blame to the socio-economic gaps between the villagers. They blamed the increasingly widening bridge that separated the poor from the rich, and the peasants from the noblemen. Unfortunately, this theory, or at least the most groundbreaking strides towards it, emerged in the 1970s as well. The two leading theorists on this approach were Alan Macfarlane and Keith Thomas. They believe these acts to be as much a purging of unwanted vagabonds and other drainages on the economy as a genuine fear of witchcraft. As Sharpe states on pages 43 to 44, "elderly women were more likely than men to be economically, and socially marginalized within the village community." This expanding of the boundaries of a caste system which Macfarlane and Thomas theorized has occurred numerous times throughout history. The 1960s were a period, not strictly in America, but England as well, of free will, not unlike the ideas put forth by the Ranters of the 1650s whom we learned of. Therefore, a need to supply more order and control was demanded by the government. And what better way than the witchcraft trials to show the horrific results of what can happen when we allow the gaps in a hierarchy to stretch too far? Subtle though this may seem, I think it makes a valid point.

Readers must come to realize that the poor are always going to complain and demonstrate against the rich, and the rich will always resent the poor. This is not an argument against this theory of class and social standing, but rather stating that it is not an isolated incident. At this point it becomes clear to me that the reader may see me as a biased narrator, trying to direct the reader against these two bodies of thought. I would like to make it therefore clear that though I believe religion to be the most accurate catalyst for these trials and accusations, I don't discount or discredit the other two, namely gender and social class. On the contrary, social class issues, as we will see, do cross over and intersect with the issue of religion on many fronts. Many of these theories are clouded over and influenced by each other. This leads me directly into my next area of discussion, and my main topic, that of religion

Only the religious theories of the witchcraft trials in England remain fairly untainted by the politics today. Living in a world where religious toleration (with a few exceptions) is reasonably good, certainly better than a few centuries ago, there is no real benefit, other than the search for historical fact, that can be attached to this theory. On the contrary, many documented facts from this period have been implemented to push belief closer in that direction, the more accurate direction, than, I believe, any others. I would also like to state that I by no means find religion to be entirely apolitical. As we have seen in class, the two are often seen as going hand in hand. A brief example of this is the Protestant belief, under James' II reign, that his Catholic influences were on England were directly connected with Absolutism. In essence, though it can be political, I find it to be the least of the three, especially when applied to today. As I stated earlier, nowadays social class, and the tensions between men and feminist movements have become much more heated topics than religion. That being said, it is with a clear conscience that I support the religion theory and continue this paper.

Now that I have established where I stand on the issue, and the reasons for my stance, I feel it necessary to give a general summary of the history of witchcraft and the witchcraft trials in early modern England and Europe. Though Sharpe stresses that ideas of witchcraft had been prevalent and practiced long before the outbreak,

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