Witchcraft | HCIV101 Fall 2021 Video Project Final - Section 3 - Group 7
Channel: あいちゃ
Date: 2021-12-16

HCIV101 History of Civilization I
Fall 2021 Semester Video Project
Instructor Ann Marie Thornton
Bilkent University
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WITCHCRAFT: Narrative of Witchcraft in Europe from Paganism to Renaissance

The English word “witchcraft” is the focal point of this text. Hence it is paramount that we define and formalize the aptly transmuting word, witchcraft. The “witch” has been assigned many meanings and is a subject of scholarly debate. Oxford Etymology Dictionary says it is of uncertain origin, and Anatoly Liberman says, “none of the proposed etymologies of witch is free from phonetic or semantic difficulties,” which befits the ubiquitous history of the witch itself. The earliest form of the term “witchcraft” appears in the 5th century Old English as ​​wiccecræft and is derived from wicca (masc.)/wicce (fem.), which refers to a man or woman who practices witchcraft (Liberman). Although witchcraft is a particular term that shape-shifted throughout history, it can be contracted as the exercise of a mysterious preternatural control of nature and humans (Levack, 2). Throughout the ages, witchcraft always shared the characteristics of enigmatic power over nature and metaphysical, irrationality, the intersection of human and superhuman, isolation from community, and periodically maleficent. The discussion of witchcraft is crucial, owing to its contributions to human history. Witchcraft acts as an early overpass to science as it attempts to rationalize the irrational nature. It provides a mirrored look into folklore and the everyday life of the past civilizations. Witchcraft appeared as the manifestation of rebellions, crises, revolutions, and other nuanced contingencies of history. Hence this text will delve into the mystic nature of witchcraft and reconcile it with human history as it re-evaluates the cultural impacts, analyzes its transformation, and rectifies misconceptions. For the sake of brevity, the scope of this research is concise three periods: the Ancient, the Medieval, and the Renaissance periods (300 BC-1600 AD), and will solely focus on the Western European narrative of witchcraft.
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MUSIC
Women in Hell by Warsaw Village Band
From Olympus by Darren Korb
Unda by Faun
Ein Welsh Tanz by Henricina Consort
Mr. Knights Gilliard (P 36) by Anonymous