The Witch Craze  

Article by James Lewis. Edited by Liam Geoghegan. Additional Research by Kathy Stein and Liam Geoghegan 

The late 17th century was the height of witch craze around Europe, where hundreds of people a year were tried and executed for the heretical crime of “witchcraft”. This hysteria continued all the way through to the early 20th century in Europe. One constant has always remained – it has been women who have suffered the majority of the persecution. But why is this? 

Fairy Tales can often give insight into social perceptions and trends. In this case, the story of Hansel and Gretel is the most useful. Whilst very disturbing, it does leave a number of clues as to why witchcraft is so readily associated with women. Firstly, women’s role with children is very important, and this was particularly true in the 15th and 16th centuries. At this time, the risk of death during childbirth was very great, and often (perhaps as a substitute to thorough understanding of the biological processes involved) was blamed on dealings with the Devil. Also, this was a time where infant deaths were high, especially amongst children aged 1 to 5. Again, during this period, no knowledge of bacteria or viruses could explain these deaths, and as such, unexpected deaths were attributed to witchcraft and deals with the Devil. It wasn’t just mothers who were accused either; midwives and servant girls who looked after children were susceptible to often irrational accusations of witchcraft based on no real evidence. 

There are three aspects of women’s lifestyle that led to a large number of witchcraft allegations. Hansel and Gretel is set in a dark wood, typical of a lot of folk stories associated with devils and witches. Although it is true that not every woman lived in a forest, women did spend a large amount of time outside; preparing food and caring for animals being two of the most important duties that women had in the late Middle Ages. However, these two duties also exposed women to a number of risks; in particular picking up diseases which could easily create symptoms that were mistaken for witch-like behaviour. Poorly cooked food could cause psychological symptoms in both adults and children which could easily be mistaken for “madness” associated with witchcraft. Lastly, there was the risk of sudden drops in livestock or harvest on a farm. Although there were usually logical explanations for these events, such as insects, disease or bad weather, it was very often blamed upon the women who dealt with the food or crops. Even after the repeal of witchcraft in countries around Europe, low levels of witchcraft belief and accusations continued, in particular in the countryside, and, as such, these aspects of belief remained common up until the 20th century. 

However, the reason women were most heavily associated with witchcraft is not just because of the typical lifestyle and work of women. It is also due to societies’ impressions of women, going down to a fundamental level as to how the female body works. In the 1600s, women were typically seen as the “inversion” of men, both in sexual and other bodily terms. Whilst men were seen as “strong” and able to resist the temptations and advancements of the Devil, women, as the “inversion” of men were seen as being much weaker and more susceptible. In particular, a lot of the art and imagery of the time was geared towards sexual intercourse with the Devil. Women, as “weaker”, than men, were much more likely to be suspected of this and thus be accused of witchcraft. Individual women’s position in society is also key to explaining why witchcraft prosecutions were levelled against women much more readily. The majority of accusations were against either single or widowed women, in particular those who were older. Widowers, prostitutes and single women had a much lower social status to those married women, not to mention men, and, as such, a legal defense against an accusation of witchcraft was much more difficult to obtain. 

What is striking is that these generalisations and stereotypical associations between women and witchcraft have survived all the way through to the modern day. Even through the Enlightenment period of scientific and philosophic development, women were still treated as more likely to be witches than men. As such, even in our “fairy stories” today, such as The Chronicles of Narnia, contain villainous female wicked witches, whilst men are the knights in shining armour here to protect us.

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