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发帖数: 2152 | 1 Prior to the 9th century CE: There was a widespread popular belief that
evil Witches existed. They were seen as evil persons, primarily women, who
devoted their lives to harming and killing others through black magic and
evil sorcery. The Catholic church at the time officially taught that such
Witches did not exist. It was a heresy to say that they were real. "For
example, the 5th century Synod of St. Patrick ruled that 'A Christian who
believes that there is a vampire in the world, that is to say, a witch, is
to be anathematized; whoever lays that reputation upon a living being shall
not be received into the Church until he revokes with his own voice the
crime that he has committed.' A capitulary from Saxony (775-790 CE) blamed
these stereotypes on pagan belief systems: 'If anyone, deceived by the Devil
, believes after the manner of the Pagans that any man or woman is a witch
and eats men, and if on this account he burns [the alleged witch]... he
shall be punished by capital sentence." 1
906 CE: Regino of Prum, the Abbot of Treves, wote the Canon Episcopi. It
reinforced the church's teaching that Witches did not exist. It admitted
that some confused and deluded women thought that they flew through the air
with the Pagan Goddess Diana. But this did not happen in reality; it was
explained away as some form of hallucination.
Circa 975 CE: Penalties for Witchcraft and the use of healing magic were
relatively mild. The English Confessional of Egbert said, in part: "If a
woman works witchcraft and enchantment and [uses] magical philters, she
shall fast for twelve months...If she kills anyone by her philters, she
shall fast for seven years." Fasting, in this case, involved consuming only
bread and water.
circa 1140: Gratian, an Italian monk, incorporated the Canon Episcopi
into canon law.
circa 1203: The Cathar movement, a Gnostic Christian group, had become
popular in the Orleans area of France and in Italy. They were declared
heretics. Pope Innocent III approved a war of genocide against the Cathars.
The last known Cathar was burned at the stake in 1321 CE. The faith has seen
a rebirth in recent years.
1227: Pope Gregory IX established the Inquisitional Courts to arrest,
try, convict and execute heretics.
1252: Pope Innocent III authorized the use of torture during
inquisitional trials. This greatly increased the conviction rate.
1258: Pope Alexander IV instructed the Inquisition to confine their
investigations to cases of heresy. They were to not investigate charges of
divination or sorcery unless heresy was also involved.
1265: Pope Clement IV reaffirms the use of torture.
1326: The Church authorized the Inquisition to investigate Witchcraft
and to develop "demonology," the theory of the diabolic origin of Witchcraft
. 1
1330: The popular concept of Witches as evil sorcerers is expanded to
include belief that they swore allegiance to Satan, had sexual relations
with the Devil, kidnapped and ate children, etc.
1347 to 1349: The Black Death epidemic killed a sizeable part of the
European population. Conspiracy theories spread. Lepers, Jews, Muslims and
Witches were accused of poisoning wells and spreading disease.
1430's: Christian theologians started to write articles and books which
"proved" the existence of Witches. 2
1436-7: Johannes (John) Nider wrote a book called Formicarius, which
describe the prosecution of a man for Witchcraft. Copies of this book were
often added to the Malleus Maleficarum in later years. Some sources say that
the author Thomas of Brabant; this is apparently an error.
1450: The first major witch hunts began in many western European
countries. The Roman Catholic Church created an imaginary evil religion,
using stereotypes that had circulated since pre-Christian times. They said
that Pagans who worshiped Diana and other Gods and Goddesses were evil
Witches who kidnapped babies, killed and ate their victims, sold their soul
to Satan, were in league with demons, flew through the air, met in the
middle of the night, caused male impotence and infertility, caused male
genitals to disappear, etc. Historians have speculated that this religiously
inspired genocide was motivated by a desire by the Church to attain a
complete religious monopoly, or was "a tool of repression, a form of reining
-in deviant behavior, a backlash against women, or a tool of the common
people to name scapegoats for spoiled crops, dead livestock or the death of
babies and children." Walter Stephens, a professor of Italian studies at
Johns Hopkins University, proposes a new theory: "I think Witches were a
scapegoat for God." 3 Religious leaders felt that they had to retain the
concepts of both an omnipotent and an all-loving deity. Thus, they had to
invent Witches and demons in order to explain the existence of evil in the
world. This debate, about how an all-good and all-powerful God can coexist
in the world with evil is now called Theodicy. Debate continues to the
present day.
1450: Johann Gutenberg invented moveable type which made mass printing
possible. This enabled the wide distribution of Papal bulls and books on
Witch persecution; the witch hunt was greatly facilitated.
1484: Pope Innocent VIII issued a papal bull "Summis desiderantes" on
DEC-5 which promoted the tracking down, torturing and executing of Satan
worshipers.
1486-1487: Institoris (Heinrich Kraemer) and Jacob Sprenger published
the Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches' Hammer). It is a fascinating study of
the authors' misogyny and sexual frustration. It describes the activities of
Witches, the methods of extracting confessions. It was later abandoned by
the Church, but became the "bible" of those secular courts which tried
Witches.
1500: During the 14th century, there had been known 38 trials against
Witches and sorcerers in England, 95 in France and 80 in Germany. 4 The
witch hunts accelerated. "By choosing to give their souls over to the devil
witches had committed crimes against man and against God. The gravity of
this double crime classified witchcraft as crimen exceptum, and allowed for
the suspension of normal rules of evidence in order to punish the guilty." 7
Children's testimony was accepted. Essentially unlimited torture was
applied to obtain confessions. The flimsiest circumstantial evidence was
accepted as proof of guilt.
1517: Martin Luther is commonly believed to have nailed his 95 theses on
the cathedral door at Wittenburg, Germany. Apparently it never happened; he
published his arguments in a less dramatic way. This triggered the
Protestant Reformation. In Roman Catholic countries, the courts continue to
burn witches. In Protestant lands, they were mainly hung. Some Protestant
countries did not allow torture. In England, this lack of torture led to a
low conviction rate of only 19%. 4
Circa 1550 to 1650 CE: Trials and executions reached a peak during these
ten decades, which are often referred to as the "burning times." They were
mostly concentrated in eastern France, Germany and Switzerland. Witch
persecutions often occurred in areas where Catholics and Protestants were
fighting. Contrary to public opinion, suspected witches -- particularly
those involved in evil sorcery -- were mainly tried by secular courts. A
minority were charged by church authorities; these were often cases
involving the use of healing magic or midwifery. 1
1563: Johann Weyer (b. 1515) published a book which was critical of the
Witch trials. Called "De Praestigiis Daemonum" (Shipwreck of souls), it
argued that Witches did not really exist, but that Satan promoted the belief
that they did. He rejected confessions obtained through torture as
worthless. He recommended medical treatment instead of torture and execution
. By publishing the book anonymously, he escaped the stake. 8
1580: Jean Bodin wrote "De la Demonomanie des Sorciers" (Of the
punishments deserved by Witches). He stated that the punishment of Witches
was required, both for the security of the state and to appease the wrath of
God. No accused Witch should be set free if there is even a scrap of
evidence that she might be guilty. If prosecutors waited for solid evidence,
he felt that not one Witch in a million would be punished.
1584: Reginald Scot published a book that was ahead of its time. In
Discoverie of Witchcraft, he claimed that supernatural powers did not exist.
Thus, there were no Witches.
1608: Francesco Maria Guazzo published the "Compendium Maleficarum." It
discusses Witches' pacts with Satan, the magic that Witches use to harm
others, etc.
circa 1609: A witch panic hit the Basque areas of Spain. La Suprema, the
governing body of the Inquisition, recognized it as a hoax and issued an
Edict of Silence which prohibited discussion of witchcraft. The panic
quickly died down.
1610: Execution of Witches in the Netherlands ceased, probably because
of Weyer's 1563 book.
1616: A second witch craze broke out in Vizcaya. Again an Edict of
Silence was issued by the Inquisition. But the king overturned the Edict and
300 accused witches were burned alive.
1631: Friedrich Spee von Langenfield, a Jesuit priest, wrote "Cautio
criminalis" (Circumspection in Criminal Cases). He condemned the witch hunts
and persecution in Wurzburg, Germany. He wrote that the accused confessed
only because they were the victims of sadistic tortures.
1684: The last accused Witch was executed in England.
1690's: Nearly 25 people died during the witch craze in Salem, MA: one
was pressed to death with weights because he wouldn't enter a plea; some
died in prison, the rest were hanged. 5 There were other trials and
executions throughout New England.
1745: France stopped the execution of Witches.
1775: Germany stopped the execution of Witches.
1782: Switzerland stopped the execution of Witches.
1792: Poland executed the last person in Europe who had been tried and
convicted of Witchcraft. A few isolated extra-legal lynchings of Witches
continued in Europe and North America into the 20th century.
1830's: The church ceased the execution of Witches in South America. |
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