European Witch Hunts 1350-Present

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In order for history to repeat itself, it has to start somewhere right? The European witch hunts can be traced back to around 1450 and last well into the 18th century. The European witch hunts, much like the Salem witch trials happened because of rejection of rapid social, economic, and religious transformation. (Jones Gendercide Watch: European Witch Hunts). Often during times of rapid change it takes a while for reforms to be made or for citizens to adjust to the new arrangement. The result of the rejection of change during this time period was mass hysteria and moral dilemmas. European witch hunt trials were based off of opposing views, ignorance, and used to get back at people, which ultimately led to death and destruction, and still impacts the world today. The European witch hunts began shortly after the Renaissance, which started in Florence Italy in mid 12th century and was the move from magical and spiritual answers to rational and scientific answers to reality. This was ultimately the rejection of the dominance of the church. During this time there were new patterns of thought, different literature, a flourishing of art, science, and the formation of skepticism and secular thinking (Butler The Flow Of History). Many new thinkers and philosophers such as Leonardo Da Vinci became prominent and influenced the thought during this time. Although it appeared that during this time the changes made had been new and gave Europe a fresh face it was in fact, “paradoxically, somewhat out of date. On the Continent, fashion had turned the clock back to imitate the antique styles of ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance was not a new, fresh start, - it was backward looking and conservative.” (Jones Gendercide Watch: European Witch... ... middle of paper ... ... Hutton, Ronald. Counting the Witch Hunt. None: Unpublished, 1650. Print. Institoris, Heinrich, and Jakob Sprenger. Malleus maleficarum. Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1494. Print. Jones, Adam . "Gendercide Watch: European Witch-Hunts." Gendercide Watch - main page. Gendercide Watch, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2012. . Lewthwaite, Giblert. "South Africans go on witch hunts." Baltimore Sun 27 Sept. 1998: 1-2. Print. Roper, H. R.. The crisis of the seventeenth century; religion, the Reformation, and social change. [1st U.S. ed. New York: Harper & Row, 19681967. Print. Schoeneman, Thomas J.. "The role of mental illness in the European witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: An assessment." Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences. Wiley Online Library: Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 2006. 337–351. Print.

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