There are some superstitions in every society and unfortunately sometimes some people are punished for these superstitions. But the situation we call a witch hunt is not something that happened to a few ignorant people. Beginning in the 15th century in Europe, spreading to the colonies, and lasting until the end of the 18th century, tens of thousands of people, mostly women, were murdered for being witches who made a deal with the devil.
When you say witch or something, don’t think of someone who kills and cuts people. If you are collecting herbs, doing midwifery, and don’t care much about social rules; moreover, if you were a woman, it was almost impossible to prove that you were not a witch. The fact that the witches’ property is confiscated by the judges is another aspect of the matter. Let’s take a closer look at what the witch hunt is, in what period it took place, and see the details of this terrible crime against humanity.
First of all, let’s define, what is a witch?
The witch has found its place in many beliefs, religions and cultures; He is a type of mage who is thought to have supernatural powers. Even though most are women, men can also be witches. Witches may be good, but most are believed to be evil because they have acquired their supernatural powers because they serve evil beings. Witches are mentioned in many sacred texts, especially the Bible.
So what is the witch hunt, in what period did it take place?
People have believed that witches and other people with supernatural powers have existed since ancient times. However, they were thought to harm people by performing a kind of black magic. More frightening beliefs, such as that witches worshiped the devil, cooperated with the devil, began in the 15th century.
The events called witch hunts begin with the spread of these beliefs to the society. The person suspected of being a witch is prosecuted and most likely judged to be a witch and brutally executed. The witch hunts that began in Europe spread to the colonies and lasted for three hundred years until the 18th century. According to estimates, 60 thousand people were killed on the grounds that they were witches during this period.
How did this whole witch hunt thing start, on what basis were they killing people?
The idea that witches, believed to have supernatural powers, were working with the devil first began in the 1420s. Witch hunts during this period are like local uprisings. Even if people were killed with the accusation of witches, these events did not turn into a big witch hunt.
The real events started with the reform movements. With Martin Luther’s opposition to the church in 1517, the church, which had been an indisputable power until then, began to be questioned. But this posed a problem. People who had not read the holy book until that day started to read it, but they did not have the infrastructure to interpret it.
In the 22nd chapter of the Bible story of the Exodus, which includes the new and old testament, verse 18, the following sentence is used; ‘You will not let a witch live.’ This is the only reason why they burned tens of thousands of people on the grounds that they were witches in the name of religion.
Matthew Hopkins is one of the most popular witch hunters:
Between 1560 and 1630, the witch hunt was at its peak. During this period, witch trials were established in England, Spain, Germany, Scotland and Sweden. In the next period, the witch hunt frenzy spread to America, one of the British colonies, and the Salem witch trials took place.
One of the iconic names that comes to mind when it comes to witch hunts is Matthew Hopkins. Hopkins is actually a lawyer, but he wants to make more money. Luckily, one-third of the property of the people who were executed as witches at that time belonged to the judge who tried her, and two-thirds to the state.
Matthew Hopkins declared himself the Chief Witch Hunter in England in 1644. By 1647, he had executed more than 230 witches, using the numerous witch tests and torture methods he invented. Hopkins was conducting such disturbing tests that it was nearly impossible for a person accused of witchcraft to prove innocence.
You too can be a witch; Here are the witchcraft signs accepted at that time
Having red hair, having freckles, having or had an abortion, something bad happened to your neighbor after a fight, having a successful birth as a good midwife, being barren, sudden wealth, excessive religious devotion, being old, being ugly, being weak, having birthmarks, having too many moles, laziness, clouding over your house, yawning during religious services, boiling herbs, healing the sick.
If you’re a woman, woe to you. Because since the day Eve ate the forbidden apple, women are weak and fall for the devil much more easily. The woman who falls for the devil immediately goes and enters the blood of a man. Men killed during a witch hunt are often guilty of aiding and abetting. Of course, there are those who are deceived by the witch woman and work for the devil.
It is almost impossible to pass the witch tests:
The most popular method of finding out whether a person accused of witchcraft was a witch was needle prick. A needle or knife was inserted into a part of the woman and it was checked whether she bled. If there was no blood, that place was licked by the devil, and the woman was considered a witch.
In a different method, something was thrown into the cauldron full of boiling water, the woman was asked to take it with her hand, and it was decided whether she was a witch or not according to the healing time of the hand. In another watery method, the woman was tied up and thrown into the water. If he surfaced, the witch was considered innocent, if he drowned, he was considered innocent.
Perhaps the most interesting test concerned the woman’s weight. The court was looking at it and said that this woman is only that weight. If the woman weighed was lighter than the said weight, it was considered that she sold her soul to the devil, and if it was heavier than said, it was considered that the devil was in it and it was decided that she was a witch. So the bottom line is, once you’ve been accused of witchcraft, you’re a witch.
Famous Salem witch trials:
The Salem witch trials took place in Massachusetts, then a British colony, between 1692 and 1693. Even though it was popular because of movies, only 29 people were killed in these courts. Considering that thousands of people were killed in the German and Swiss courts, the Salem witch trials are only a slight reflection of events in Europe.
We tried to illuminate this dark period of Europe by answering questions such as what is the witch hunt, which is enough to be executed only by being accused, and in which period it took place. I mean, I’m just saying, what does it mean to decide to be a witch based on her weight?
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