History - Crime and Punishment - Early Modern - Witchcraft

1500 - 1700:

Witchcraft:

Village tensions

• Acuusations were a sign of tension between the rich and poor
• During hardship the poor asked for more help, making the rich feel threatened
• Poor elderly women were now regared differently (not cared for) as people believed they could kill or harm others through evil magic
• Old women were blamed if something went wrong after an encounter with someone else e.g. if their child then fell ill or there were bad harvests

Changes to the law

• Cases of witchcraft had been a thing since the Middle Ages but dealt with by the lenient Church courts
• The religious changes in 1542 changed the law and witchcraft became a criminal…