WITCHCRAFT & WOMEN
- Created by: GummyBear
- Created on: 10-05-16 19:35
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- WITCHCRAFT & WOMEN
- WOMEN
- Women punished more harshly for crimes that challenged the image of women being respectable and obedient to men
- 1633 - When a husband and wife were accused of drunkenness, only the woman was sent to the stocks to be humiliated
- Women were also more likely to be punished for adultery than men
- The cucking (or ducking) stool was used to punish women for brawling or arguing in public
- Women convicted of murdering their husbands were not simply hanged. They were burned tov death as a sign that this was the worst kind of murder as it was seen as 'treason'
- WOMEN AND THE COURTS
- Women couldn't be JPs, constables, lawyers, court clerks or members of normal juries
- Could give evidence as witnesses and bring cases to court
- Special juries of married women were assembled when a woman facing the death penalty claimed she was pregnant
- WITCHCRAFT
- BELIEFS ABOUT WITCHES
- Old women who lived alone
- Childless and had familiars e.g. black cat/ toad
- In league with the devil
- Often poor and were isolated from others making them stand out
- Had a 'Devils mark'
- REASONS FORM INCREASED FEAR OF WITHCHES
- Religious change - Puritans scared of the Devil
- Lack of scientific knowledge - poor harvests meant that someone had to be blamed
- French wars - people were highly suspicious of one another so claiming they were a witch would get them punished
- Witchfinder general Matthew Hopkins - whipped up fear by travelling the country searching for witches.
- Tortured victims for evidence to suggest that they were a witch, looked for the 'Devils' marks on their bodies, swam them, had many hanged and was paid for every witch he found
- PUNISHMENTS
- 'Swimming a witch' - if they were innocent the water would accept them and the would drown, but if they floated then they were guilty and would be executed
- BELIEFS ABOUT WITCHES
- WOMEN
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