Witchcraft Trials In Medieval History: Pope Innocent VIII

Witchcraft trials were prevalent throughout medieval history, especially throughout the continents of North America and Europe. The propose of these witchcraft trials was to identify those that appeared to be practicing witchcraft, place them on trial, and ultimately punish them for their alleged heretical beliefs and behaviors. These hunts and trials were often sanctioned by high ranking members of the church. One such high ranking supporter was Pope Innocent VIII, who not only acted as the approving authority, but also encouraged the trials to take place in order to cleanse the world of heretics and nonbelievers. With such strong supporters as Pope Innocent VIII, it is no wonder that others began creating their own guides outlining exactly

(Internet History Sourcebooks Project) Not only were these actions viewed as crimes, they were also thought to “ruin and cause to perish the offspring of women, the foal of animals, the products of the earth, the grapes of vines, and the fruits of trees, as well as men and women, cattle and flocks and herds and animals of every kind, vineyards also and orchards, meadows, pastures, harvests, grains and other fruits of the earth.” (Internet History Sourcebooks Project) The Pope believed that in performing these acts, those perceived to be practicing witchcraft inflicted unnecessary pain and anguish on these beings. It was even thought that these same people were capable of disrupting reproductive abilities of men and women which would negatively impact the consummation of marriages between man and

First, he said, the future practitioner had to go into a church with his masters on a Sunday and renounce Christ and his faith, the church as a whole, and any ceremonious religious events that had taken place in his life up to that point. After renouncing the Christian faith, the individual must then pay homage to the devil, which if followed by their drinking from a sacred flask which seals his worship of and devotion to the devil and is the last step in becoming a true practitioner of witchcraft. The man then goes on to state that though he confessed his heretic ways, he did not believe that his wife would do the same. The man was later burned after his confession as was his wife in a separate execution, though she never confessed to being a practitioner of