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Witches Through History - An Overview

© Katie Anne Gustafsson

In future articles I will be focusing on witchcraft in specific areas of the world, but this article is intended as an introduction to the situation where women (and to a much lesser extent, men) found themselves falsely accused, tortured, convicted and killed for a crime they had no part in.

Throughout the ages women have been accused, tried and murdered on the charge of witchcraft. Although many men have also been convicted of this crime, the majority of cases were women. Many ordinary women like you and me, who until they were accused of this "invisible" crime, went about their everyday business of raising their families. The seventeenth century in particular was a terrible time for any woman to be a little "different" from the rest. It is difficult to mention this period in conjunction with women's history and not have Salem spring immediately to mind. However Salem was not alone. There were witch-hunts taking place all over the world. England, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Spain, Ireland, Bavaria, - the list goes on. Thousands and thousands of women across generations were taken into the custody of government and church officials, never to be allowed to walk free again.

There were systems in place for torturing these women that have no place for discussion in a site that children visit. It is enough to say that many women confessed to a crime they were innocent of committing, often because someone else in a similar position had given their name in the hope of achieving leniency and a quick release from the pain they suffered at the hands of their tormentors. Many people of today could have found themselves in a similar position to the victims back then. Most healers were immediately under suspicion of witchcraft by the very nature of what they did, and the way they did it. Often, a healer who was unable to save someone from a fatal disease would then be accused of witchcraft. Another profession that was largely represented was midwifery, which the Church in particular persecuted.

People, such as Matthew Hopkins in 17th Century England, set themselves up as "witchfinders" and went through various towns seeking out anyone who was hinted to be a witch. For this children were most useful as they often pointed out the people who were different. In England the suspected witches were tried in front of magistrates who took hearsay and innuendo as acceptable evidence from witnesses in order to get a conviction from the supposed witch.