In this lecture, we consider several famous cases from Europe’s Great Witch-hunt. We cover aspects of the late Medieval and Early modern period that form the backdrop to the events. We also consider various theories which purport to explain the Great Witch-hunt, including Cohn’s idea about the merging of witch and heretic. Copyright 2013 Nicholas Herriman / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Witch-Hunts and Persecution

The Great Witch-Hunt

In this course, we will use the anthropological approach and methodology to understand witch-hunts and persecution. We start by looking at magic, witchcraft and sorcery and explaining the persistence of related beliefs and practices. As we will see the basic idea of witch persecution is that we have an image of a witch (or sorcerer) and then we pin it on someone. We analyze this image in greater detail. Pinning this image on someone is a process of accusation; we analyze among whom, why and how accusations occur. Finally, we look at some “witch-hunts”—including the Great Witch-hunt, the Salem Trials, and McCarthyism—in greater detail.

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Witch-Hunts and Persecution