Witchcraft in the 17th Century

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Witchcraft in the 17th Century

Witchcraft in Europe during the 17th century was common. It mainly took place in Germany, but also took place in England. Witches were associated with evil; it was believed witches inherited magical powers from Satan in exchange for the witch’s soul. Some of these magical powers included outrageous claims such as flying, being able to transform and cursing bad luck on others. It was extremely dangerous to be accused of being a witch as the most common punishment was death, often by beheading or even being burnt at the stake.

A large proportion of society in England believed in witchcraft, but the reasons as to why a country which was developing a belief in science and logic had faith in such a very much mythical based idea still remains a question. It is easy to follow the theory that society had developed a state of hysteria following the civil war in 1642 and wanted to direct their anger at something, but it could be something more than that.

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Although England had developed this belief in science there were still many unanswered questions about the world which was unexplainable at the time. Perhaps then witchcraft was an answer for these mysteries societies faced such as crop failures, disease and sometimes just bad luck. By blaming witches for these events that occurred, it gave people an answer and whether right or wrong, it was the only answer the public had.

A typical ‘witch’ would usually be of lower class, a women usually divorced with perhaps a deformity or women with a physical appearance slightly different to other people. ...

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