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Introduction

Tessa Eaton Why did witch hunting become so intensive in late sixteenth century England? During the late sixteenth century much was blamed on magic, and those accused of it. In a biblically aware society thy believed evil had to be rooted out. "Do not allow a sorceress to live"1 Bad weather, the death of live-stock, a bad harvest or spoiled butter were many problems blamed on witches, and "cunning folk" or "wise women" were called upon to counter act such curses. There were two types of magic in these times: high magic (black magic) and low magic (white magic). Low magic was generally accepted, as it was used by the cunning folk; while high magic was a capital offence. Why then did the numbers of accused witches increase? Lotherington suggests that witch-hunts were due to the fear of women. He says witches tended to be women past childbearing2, so were of no benefit for their community, and around eighty-percent of those accused of witchcraft were women3. Paul Thomas4 agrees with Lotherington that it was mainly women who were persecuted; large numbers of women were hanged after being accused of maleficium (doing of harm to people or property) by their neighbours. Thomas says that the witch-craze was a "broyle against old women"5. Contemporary evidence supports this, for example George Gifford6, a Protestant priest from Essex, who wrote two books on witchcraft, in 1587 "Discourse of the Subtle Practises of Devils by witches and Sorcerers" and in 1593, noted: "I was in a Jury not many years past, when there was an old woman arraigned for a witch..." Lotherington3 suggest that women had the power over life and death, and they were also sexually stereotyped as having little control over ravenous lust, hence they were accused of witchcraft. ...read more.

Middle

The approved attitude to witchcraft and sorcery from those in authority may have also been both a protection and a cause for witch-hunts. Historian Robert Masello17 reports how those in high power believed certain types of sorcery to be of benefit. Dr John Dee was an astrologer whose interests were also crystal gazing, alchemy, and necromancy was reported to have spent much time conversing with angels (according to Marsello and Dee's18 detailed documents of these encounters). Dr Dee wrote his book "Monas Hieroglyphica" which William Cecil1, Secretary and Lord Chancellor of Queen Elizabeth I, is alleged to have supported, stating the book was: "of the utmost value for the secretary of the Realm."1 However evidence such as this quotation from William Cecil may not be reliable, for we do not know when he was supposed to have said it or who wrote it down. Why did the Queen support Dee? The Queen herself came to Dee's aid when he became impoverished and rescued him with a small appointment. It seems that Dr John Dee was seen as a respectable Renaissance man and that his interest in alchemy was actually early chemistry, as illustrated in the 1652 image of "Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum"2. This showed the combination of sophisticated chemical apparatus and symbols of alchemy. However, in 1603 James I (of Presbyterian upbringing) loathed those associated with witchcraft, and did not continue to support Dee. Dee died, impoverished and surrounded by evidence of his trade, in 1608. Therefore the attitude of those in authority was all-important. Not all historians agree about the extent of witch hunting in England at this time. Lotherington19 suggests that there was no witch-craze in England, as for example, only one statue in Elizabeth's forty-four years of reign was passed against witches. ...read more.

Conclusion

Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1999, Cambridge University press, page 80 6 J Lotherington, The Tudor Years, 1994, Hodder and Stoughton page 394 7 Alison Plowden, Elizabethan England: Life in an Age of Adventure, 1982, The Reader's Digest , page 191 8 Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1999, Cambridge University press, page 80 9 Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1999, Cambridge University press, page 40 10 G Scarre and J Callow, Witchcraft and magic in sixteenth and seventeenth-century Europe, 2001, Palgrave, page 10 11 Asa Briggs, A Social History of England, 1983, G Wiedenfeld and N Limited page 121 12 J Lotherington, Years of Renewal, 1988, Hodder and Stoughton, page 174 13 J Lotherington, Years of Renewal, 1988, Hodder and Stoughton, page 172 14 J Lotherington, Years of Renewal, 1988, Hodder and Stoughton, page 171 15 Leonard R N Ashley, The Complete Book of Demons and Devils, 1996, Robson Books Ltd, page 144 16 Leonard R N Ashley, The Complete Book of Demons and Devils, 1996, Robson Books Ltd, page 160 17 Robert Masello, Raising Hell, 1996, The Berkley Publishing Group, page 72 18 Benjamin Woolley, The Queen's Conjuror, 2001, HarperCollins Publishers, pages 78-79 19 J Lotherington, The Tudor Years, 1994, Hodder and Stoughton, page 392 20 Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1999, Cambridge University press, page 35 21 Asa Briggs, A Social History of England, 1983, G Wiedenfeld and N Limited page 121 22 J Lotherington, The Tudor Years, 1994, Hodder and Stoughton, page 393 23 J Lotherington, Years of Renewal, 1988, Hodder and Stoughton, page 173 24 Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1999, Cambridge University press, page 40 25 Paul Thomas, Authority and Disorder in Tudor Times, 1999, Cambridge University press, page 40 1 1 ...read more.

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