Whatever the position of individual clerics, witch-hunts seem to have persisted as a cultural phenomenon. Throughout the early Middle Ages, notable rulers banned both witchcraft and pagan religions, often on pain of death. Under Charlemagne, for example, Christians who practiced witchcraft were enslaved by the church, while those who worshipped the devil (Germanic gods) were killed outright. [38] The witch hunt also appears in historical literature. According to Snorri Sturluson, King Olaf Trygvasson promoted Norway`s Christian conversion by luring pagan magicians into his hall under false pretenses, locking doors and burning them alive. Some of those who escaped were later captured and drowned. [40] Many of Trump`s favorite scapegoats are women: Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Dianne Feinstein. He claims to be the target of a witch hunt while mobilizing a mob against his partisan enemies, many of whom happen to be women. In these moments, the president seems to have more in common with witch hunters than with witches. Belief in witchcraft has been shown to have similarities in societies around the world. It provides a framework for explaining the occurrence of otherwise random misfortunes such as illness or death, and the sorcerer sorcerer provides a picture of evil. [5] Reports on indigenous practices in the Americas, Asia, and Africa collected at the beginning of the modern period of research suggest that not only belief in witchcraft, but also the periodic triggering of witch hunts is a human cultural universality.
[6] European witch hunts were good examples of abuse of local power. There have been many incidents of witch trials in Europe that took place under the jurisdiction of village authorities, where “justice” was exercised by local judges and priests. Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands recorded the highest number of prosecutions for witchcraft; the Catholic countries of Italy, Spain, and Portugal had fewer prosecutions and far fewer executions of “witches” (and these countries were more interested in prosecuting heresies that had nothing to do with witchcraft). As in supernatural witch-hunt cases, the metaphorical witch hunt consists of a resolute campaign of intimidation in which an individual or group is identified as unacceptable or subversive – especially in terms of politics – and is therefore persecuted. Audrey I. Richards reported in 1935 in Africa magazine a case where a new wave of sorcerers, the Bamucapi, appeared in the Bemba villages of Zambia. [152] They dressed in European clothes and called the chief to prepare a ritual meal for the village. When the villagers arrived, they looked at them all in a mirror and claimed that they could identify the witches using this method. These witches would then have to “give up their horns”; That is, handing over the horn vessels for curses and evil potions to witch seekers. The Bamucapi then made them all drink a potion called Kucapa, which would cause a witch to die and swell if she ever tried such things again.
From classical Athens, no law on magic has been preserved. [11]: However, 133 cases involving the harmful effects of pharmaceuticals – an ambiguous term that could mean “poison”, “drug” or “magic drug” – survive, particularly those in which the drug caused injury or death. [11]: 133-134 Antiphon`s speech “Against the mother-in-law for poisoning” tells the story of a woman accused of planning the murder of her husband with a pharmacist; A slave had already been executed for the crime, but the victim`s son claimed that the death was arranged by his mother-in-law. [11]: 135 The most detailed account of a witchcraft trial in classical Greece is the story of Theoris of Lemnos, who was executed with his children some time before 338 BC. J.-C., allegedly for pouring incantations and using harmful drugs. [12] Only afterwards was a dish of “witch`s cake” (a mixture of rye flour and urine cooked in the ashes of the victims) given to the dogs, where their tongues loosened. — Time, September 12, 1949 A “witch hunt” is perhaps best defined as a political campaign to denigrate the moral character of all supporters of an opposing party, rather than simply denigrating the intelligence or honesty of its candidates. The Anti-American Committee obviously assumes that any young idealist who is “infiltrated” is a traitor who must be punished by public image and blacklisting of all public or private jobs. — David Cushman Coyle, The Yale Review, Spring 1948 Although the practice of “white” magic (such as faith healing) is legal in Papua New Guinea, the 1976 Witchcraft Act imposed a sentence of up to 2 years in prison for the practice of “black” magic until its repeal in 2013. In 2009, the government reported that extrajudicial torture and the killing of alleged witches – usually single women – spread from the highlands to cities as villagers migrated to urban areas.
[123] For example, in June 2013, four women were charged with witchcraft because the family “had a `solid house` made of wood and the family had higher education and high social status.” [124] All the women were tortured and Helen Rumbali was beheaded. [124] Helen Hakena, chairperson of the North Bougainville Human Rights Committee, said the allegations began because of economic jealousy due to the mining boom. [124] Perhaps the most famous witch trial in history is that of Joan of Arc. Although the trial was politically motivated and the verdict was later overturned, Joan`s position as a woman and accused witch became an important factor in her execution. [46] Joan`s punishment for being burned alive (victims were usually strangled before being burned) was reserved exclusively for witches and heretics, meaning that a burned body could not be revived on the day of judgment. [46] The last execution of a witch in the Dutch Republic probably took place in 1613. [89] In Denmark, this happened in 1693 with the execution of Anna Palles[90] and in Norway, the last witch execution was by Johanne Nilsdatter in 1695,[91] and in Sweden Anna Eriksdotter in 1704. In other parts of Europe, the practice later ceased. In France, Louis Debaraz was the last person to be executed for witchcraft in 1745.
[92] In Germany, the last death sentence was that of Anna Schwegelin in Kempten in 1775 (although she was not executed). [93] The last known official witch trial was the Doruchów witch trial in Poland in 1783. The outcome of the process will be examined by Prof. Janusz Tazbir in his book. [94] No reliable source has been found to confirm the executions after the trial. In 1793, two anonymous women were executed in a trial of dubious legitimacy in Poznań, Poland. [95] Roman Catholic Inquisition manuals remained highly skeptical of accusations of witchcraft, although there was sometimes an overlap between accusations of heresy and witchcraft, especially when in the 13th century the newly formed Inquisition was tasked with dealing with the Cathars of southern France, whose teachings were laden with witchcraft and magic. Although it has been suggested that witch-hunting in Europe developed from the early 14th century, after the oppression of the Cathars and Templars, this hypothesis has been independently rejected by virtually all academic historians (Cohn 1975; Kieckhefer, 1976). In 186 BC. The Roman Senate issued a decree severely limiting bacchanalia, ecstatic rites celebrated in honor of Dionysus. Livy reports that this persecution was due to the fact that “there was no evil, nothing blatant, that was not practiced among them.” [14] As a result of the ban, about 2,000 members of the cult of Bacchus were executed in 184 BC. A.D., and another 3,000 executions took place in 182-180 BC.
[15] The persecution of witches continued in the Roman Empire until the end of the 4th century AD and only declined after the introduction of Christianity as the Roman state religion in the 390s. [16] President Nixon and his top advisers believe that the Senate Watergate hearings are unfair and constitute a “political witch hunt,” according to White House sources.