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In medieval and early modern Europe, witches were usually believed to be women who used black magic against their community, and often to have communed with demons or the Devil. Witches were commonly believed to cast curses; a spell or set of magical words and gestures intended to inflict supernatural harm. [10]
The first major persecution in Europe, when witches were caught, tried, convicted, and burned in the imperial lordship of Wiesensteig in southwestern Germany, is recorded in 1563 in a pamphlet called "True and Horrifying Deeds of 63 Witches". [58] Witchcraft persecution spread to all areas of Europe.
Many faced capital punishment for witchcraft, either by burning at the stake, hanging, or beheading. [70] Similarly, in New England, people convicted of witchcraft were hanged. [71] Meanwhile, in the Middle Ages, heresy became a heinous crime, warranting severe punishment, so when one was accused of being a witch they were thus labeled as a ...
Artistic depiction of the execution by burning of three alleged witches in Baden, Switzerland in 1585. This is a list of people executed for witchcraft, many of whom were executed during organized witch-hunts, particularly during the 15th–18th centuries. Large numbers of people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe between 1560 and 1630. [1]
"Most historians today believe that the witchcraft trials that led to thousands of deaths and burnings at the stake in Europe during the Dark Ages were likely related to outbreaks of ergot ...
While witch trials were generally uncommon in Europe during the Middle Ages, at least fifteen executions by burning for witchcraft are documented between 1360 and 1437, most of whom in present-day Croatia. [1] The witch hunt in Hungary became more intense in the late 16th -century, but was in its most intense phase between 1690 and 1750.
During the Middle Ages, magic took on many forms. Instead of being able to identify one type of magic user, there were many who practiced several types of magic in these times, including monks, priests, physicians, surgeons, midwives, folk healers, and diviners. [1] The practice of magic often consisted of using medicinal herbs for healing ...
Fründ speaks of a conspiracy of "700" witches of which "more than 200" had been burned two years into the trials (c. 1430). [11] Contrary to the later phase of the European witch-trials, when the majority of those accused were women, the victims in the Valais witch trials are estimated to have been two-thirds male and one-third female. [4]