The History of Witchcraft

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**The History of Witchcraft**

Witches didn’t exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.

Latest Episodes:

010 - The Wisest Fool in Christendom Aug 21, 2017

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The last great Scottish trial under the reign of James Stuart

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009 - The Devil's Greatest Enemy Aug 02, 2017

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The North Berwick Witch Hunt | The Exile of Earl Bothwell | Newes from Scotland

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008 - The Cradle King Jul 17, 2017

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The bloodsoaked early years of James VI's reign

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007 - To Kill a King Jul 03, 2017

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James VI of Scotland had one hell of a tough time getting married...

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006 - The Synagogue of Satan Jun 19, 2017

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Many of the witch hunters at the head of the worst trials were convinced of the existence of the Witches' Sabbat, a blasphemous gathering of sorcerers that met with the Devil, took part in demonic orgies, and planned their terrible crimes. Suspected witches were tortured into admitting they attended these sabbats, and then were tortured into naming the people they had seen there. The idea of the sabbat gave inquisitors a reason to expect that their witches knew each other, and their torture confirmed it.

But the fact is the Witches' Sabbat did not exist. The events described at the sabbat were identical to claims levelled at Muslims, heretics, and the Jews, and in many cases the term 'Synagogue of Satan' was used to link the crimes of the Jews to the crimes of the witches.

We also take a look at two methods, other than torture, of discovering whether someone was truly guilty of witchcraft; the trial by water, and the pricking.

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Ankerloo, Bengt and Clark, Stuart (eds.) Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Period of the Witch Trials, Philadelphia, 2002

Oldridge, Darren, (ed.) The Witchcraft Reader, London, 2002

Erik Midelfort, H. C. Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany 1562-1684, Stanford, 1972

MacFarlane, Alan, Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England, London, 1970

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005 - "I Have Forgiven the Devil" Jun 12, 2017

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The deadliest trials of the Early Modern Period were also the ones with the greatest number of young victims. Children as young as seven are recorded as being tortured and executed for the crime of witchcraft. Fleeing the city was not enough; extradition was actively sought for those suspected of the crime, and it was often granted. Prince-Bishop Phillip Adolf von Ehrenberg, the 'Iron Bishop', led the charge, not even sparing his young nephew from the stake.

Truly, Würzburg epitomises the worst with the witch panics of this period.

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1530)

Del Rio, Martin, Disquisitiones Magicae, (1599)

Weyer, Johann, De Praestigiis Daemonum (1563)

Spee, Friedrich, Cautio Criminalis (1531)

Remy, Nicholas, Demonolatry (1595)

Oldridge, Darren, (ed.) The Witchcraft Reader, London, 2002

Midelfort, H. C. Erik, Witch Hunting in South-Western Germany, 1972

Barry, Jonathan and Davies, Owen, Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography, 2007

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004 - Reigns of Terror Jun 05, 2017

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In this episode, we examine two of the more brutal and violent witch panics in all of European history; Fulda between 1602 and 1606, and Bamberg, between 1626 and 1632. Both ruled by Catholic clergy-lords, one a Prince-Abbot and the other a Prince-Bishop, they reigned over substantial territories, and their word was law. So when they began trials against suspected witches, they rapidly escalated to every part of society. No one was safe.

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1530)

Del Rio, Martin, Disquisitiones Magicae, (1599)

Weyer, Johann, De Praestigiis Daemonum (1563)

Spee, Friedrich, Cautio Criminalis (1531)

Remy, Nicholas, Demonolatry (1595)

Oldridge, Darren, (ed.) The Witchcraft Reader, London, 2002

Midelfort, H. C. Erik, Witch Hunting in South-Western Germany, 1972

Barry, Jonathan and Davies, Owen, Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography, 2007

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003 - Heartland of the Witch Craze May 29, 2017

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Here we begin with the events themselves. Today we look at a case of slander in Rothenburg ob de Tauber, which ended relatively peacefully and no one was burnt as a witch, and then contrast it with the Trier Witch Trials, which were not at all peaceful and involved hundreds of people being burnt as witches. I do love a good contrast!

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1530)

Del Rio, Martin, Disquisitiones Magicae, (1599)

Weyer, Johann, De Praestigiis Daemonum (1563)

Spee, Friedrich, Cautio Criminalis (1531)

Remy, Nicholas, Demonolatry (1595)

Oldridge, Darren, (ed.) The Witchcraft Reader, London, 2002

Midelfort, H. C. Erik, Witch Hunting in South-Western Germany, 1972

Barry, Jonathan and Davies, Owen, Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography, 2007

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002 - A Century of Fire May 23, 2017

Show notes

The witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries are, by far, the reason for many of the stereotypes of witchcraft. The belief in witch cults was rife throughout the educated classes of Christendom, and when combined with the desperate anger of starving peasants and townsfolk these beliefs spread fire and destruction on an unprecedented scale. This is the Century of Fire, when innumerable men, women, and children were burnt at the stake, bishops celebrated their newly-enforced orthodoxy, and executioners profited.

This episode will explain the background of these events, and covers what I have found to be the most convincing explanations for why these trials happened.

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1530)

Del Rio, Martin, Disquisitiones Magicae, (1599)

Weyer, Johann, De Praestigiis Daemonum (1563)

Spee, Friedrich, Cautio Criminalis (1531)

Remy, Nicholas, Demonolatry (1595)

Oldridge, Darren, (ed.) The Witchcraft Reader, London, 2002

Midelfort, H. C. Erik, Witch Hunting in South-Western Germany, 1972

Barry, Jonathan and Davies, Owen, Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography, 2007

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001 - The Hammer of the Witches May 23, 2017

Show notes

The Malleus Maleficarum, the 'Hammer of the Witches', was the lifes work of Papal Inquisitor Henricus Institoris, who held a particular hatred of witchcraft and those who practiced it. For him, witchcraft was the fruit of female sexuality and the corrupting influence of the Devil, only occasionally finding men guilty of the crime. His work was either a seminal work on witchcraft theory, or a fabricated mess worth barely any mention, depending on who you ask.

This episode primarily made use of the following texts, among others:

Henricus Institoris and Jacob Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum, (1487)

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