Inquisition, excommunication, exile, imprisonment) legal restraints civic or village councils guild membership youth societies confraternities and lay religious communities interpretations of the Bible public exposure and communal justice such as charivari self-regulation, personal conscience and confession pilgrimage and atonement concept of ‘heresy’. Comparative extent of moral regulation and challenges to popular culture. Reasons for and the effect of the gradual privatisation of everyday life. Attitudes towards other religious faiths and social or ethnic groups including the extent to which there was a ‘shared’ or ‘sub-culture’: 3 Religious change; political change; economic change; social control. Impact of exploration, discovery and scientific thinking on ideas about the cosmos and man’s place in the world. The effect of the development of
nation states, imperialism and princely courts on ‘national’ identity/culture and the European elite society. Impact of wider socio-economic developments on urban and rural life/culture in Europe (e.g. population changes, effect of plague, household servants, laws of inheritance, patriarchal society, role of women, geographical mobility). Significance and course of the Reformation, its impact on society and popular culture. The main reasons for the growth and decline in the persecution of witches 4 Developments from the Papal Bull of 1484 and the Malleus Maleficarum (1486) to the end of the period. Legacy of medieval and 15th century attitudes, beliefs and reactions to heresy, demonology and witches (e.g. Nider’s Formicarius, Le Franc, Dominican inquisitors, persecutions against the Cathars and Vaudois). Extent to which late medieval demonology acquired its own momentum or naturally developed: mythology and beliefs in good and evil, the power of the Devil role of the Inquisition and attitudes to heresy effect of printing challenges to physical, geographic and intellectual Barstow, A. (1994) Witchcraze, Harper Collins, London Behringer, W. (2004) Witches and Witch-Hunts, Polity Press, Cambridge Briggs, R. (2002) Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft, Blackwell, Oxford Cohn, N. Europe’s Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired by the Great Witch-Hunt Farmer, A. (Mar.2016) The Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Hodder Levack, B. (2006) The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe,
4 Causes of growth and decline, including religious changes and confessional strife, economic causes, social structure, changes and divisions within society, scapegoats and minorities, popular culture and cultural changes, growth of rationalism and enlightened thinking, understanding of medicine and remedies. Reasons for the growth, continuation and decline of persecution and witch trials: role of Protestant and Catholic leaders and institutions confessional strife and division within religious communities levels of knowledge and ignorance academic debate (Renaissance, Enlightenment) advancement of scientific knowledge, rationalism and rise of scepticism role of urban and rural communities jealousy, rivalry and fear use of judicial torture extent of religious enthusiasm legal regulations war and violence natural disasters growing division between elite and lower classes popular culture and conformity. Similarity and difference in reasons for growth or decline across regions.
Sharpe, J. (2013) Witchcraft in Early Modern England, Routledge, Abingdon Spierenburg, P. (1991) The Broken Spell, Macmillan, Basingstoke Thomas, K. (1971) Religion and the Decline of Magic, Penguin, London Thurston, R. (2013) The Routledge, Abingdon Trevor-Roper, H. (1969) The European Witchcraze of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Penguin, London the witch hunts and the extent of prosecution. Responses of the authorities to witchcraft 4 Legal developments including the Inquisitorial system of criminal procedure, secular courts on both a local and regional scale; Positive and negative effects of intellectual arguments on legal developments and reactions to witchcraft. Comparative nature and importance of central and local secular courts within and between regions. Role and significance of political leaders in criminal procedure, personal support for witch hunts or condemnation and legal reversal (e.g. the German prince-bishops, James I, Louis XIV). Extent to which the Churches and specific religious institutions were involved in the legal process of Barstow, A. (1994) Witchcraze, Harper Collins, London Behringer, W. (2004) Witches and Witch-Hunts, Polity Press, Cambridge Briggs, R. (2002) Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft, Blackwell, Oxford Cohn, N. Europe’s Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired by the Great Witch-Hunt Farmer, A. (Mar.2016) The Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Hodder
witch trials or opposed to persecution (e.g. Church in Rome, Jesuits, New England puritans). Inter-relationship between the rise and decline of the witchcraze and the use of judicial torture. Extent to which the elite initiated or enabled the prosecution of witches through their involvement in the development of legal procedure. Significance of tribunes of the people to the legal process of witch trials. Levack, B. (2006) The Witch Hunt in Early Modern Europe, Longman Levack, B. (ed. ) (2004) The Witchcraft Sourcebook, Routledge, London Oldridge, D. (ed.) (2008) The Witchcraft Reader, Routledge, Abingdon Pickering, A. (2009) Different Interpretations of Witch-hunting in Early Modern Europe Heinemann, Harlow Scarre, G & Callow, J. (2nd ed. 2001) Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe, Palgrave, Basingstoke Sharpe, J. (2013) Witchcraft in Early Modern England, Routledge, Abingdon Spierenburg, P. (1991) The Broken Spell, Macmillan, Basingstoke Thomas, K. (1971) Religion and the Decline of Magic, Penguin, London Thurston, R. (2013) The Routledge, Abingdon Trevor-Roper, H. (1969) The 3 Campaigns against medieval superstition; survival of popular beliefs, impact on the Reformation. Nature and significance of the withdrawal of the elite from popular culture. Similarity and difference in the nature and extent of the synthesis of religious belief, popular culture and superstition as well as the impact of this on the authorities: 16th and 17th century regional variations dominant religion ethnic and ‘national’ groups within society. Ways in which campaigns against medieval superstition and the survival of popular beliefs shaped intellectual arguments during the Reformation and reactions to
withdrawal religious observances, seasonal festivities, folklore, forms of misrule and moral regulation role of magic and reactions to it. Reasons for beliefs about witchcraft c.1590-1630: role of elite, bourgeoisie and lower classes urban and rural communities religious institutions and clerics prince-bishops external impetus (intellectual debate, religious arguments, precedent). The Witchcraft Sourcebook, Routledge, London Midelfort, H. (1972) Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684: the social and intellectual foundations, Stanford University Press Purkiss, D. (1996) The Witch in History, Routledge, London Roper, L. (1994) Oedipus and the Devil, Routledge, London Roper, L. (2004) Witchcraze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany, Yale University Press Scribner, R. (1987) Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany 3 The impact of the Reformation; political, social and economic changes and their impact on order and conformity; reasons for the increase in persecution. Long- and short-term reasons for the development and escalation of the persecution of witches between c.1590-1630: legacy of 15th and 16th century witch trials and demonology socio-economic conditions political situation role of institutions popular culture and beliefs role of individuals religious belief, practice, tension development of intellectual and legal arguments
relationship with England and the legal situation; the reasons for the persecution. the role of Governor William Phipps. Social reactions to beliefs about witchcraft at Salem and the role of some families. Role of individuals in unfolding events such as Samuel Parris and William Griggs. Boyer, P. & Nessenbaum, S. (1974) Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft Godbeer, R. (2011) The Salem Witch Hunt: A Brief History with Documents Hill, F. (2nd ed. 2002) A Delusion of Satan, Da Capo Press, Cambridge MA Karlsen, C. (1998) The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England, Norton, New York Norton, M.B. (2002) In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, Alfred Knopf, New York Roach, M. Six Women of Salem (2013), De Capo Press, Philadelphia Schiff, S. (Oct.2015) The Witches: Salem 1692 3 The frequency, nature and geography of the persecution. Nature of accusations of witchcraft and the way in which the situation escalated. Geographical patterns of persecution, similarity, difference and significance of witch trials in the Massachusetts Bay colony (e.g. Salem, Boston, Cambridge, Ipswich). Significance of gender, age, social and employment composition of those prosecuted for witchcraft. Extent to which confessions or acquittals relate to social class, age or gender. Relationship between social composition, membership of religious congregations and geographic location of persecution. Extent to which prosecution resulted in conviction and sentencing. Significance of child testimonies to the prosecution of witches and explanations for this phenomenon. 4 The response of the Nature and importance of the courts