The medieval witch hunt cost the lives of 100,000 European women. At first they were persecuted by the church. Then the state got involved. And in the end it came to an uncontrolled "people's initiative". Celibacy is largely to blame - the vow of celibacy.
INQUISITION CHANGES THE CLIENT
The Holy Inquisition or, relatively speaking, the Catholic tribunal was established in 1215 by Pope Innocent III to fight heresies. And for more than a century, the inquisitors, as prescribed in the "constituent documents", honestly fought the Albigensians, Cathars, Manichaeans, Waldensians and other free-thinkers who were trying to rock the slender building of Catholic doctrine.
However, at the beginning of the 14th century, the Inquisition became interested in witches. And this interest was constantly growing and growing. Has reached such a scale that the witch hunt can be considered a "female holocaust."
Sociologists talk about several mechanisms for switching attention from heretics to witches. But, I think, the main reason is celibacy - celibacy not only of Catholic monks, but also of priests.
Of course, many spat on this vow, living in sin. But the overwhelming majority of the Catholic clergy courageously subdued the flesh. And for those it is quite natural to think that if a woman causes a criminal yearning of the spirit, then she is a witch. And that witches predominate among women. And in general, as was commonly believed in medieval Europe, a woman is a vessel of sin.
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THE PEOPLE AND THE INQUISITION ARE ONE
Contrary to popular belief, according to which the overwhelming majority of witches were burned at the stake of the Spanish Inquisition, the palm belongs to more northern countries - Germany, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Scotland.
One of the first trials took place in 1324 in Ireland. Earlier this year, Bishop Richard de Ledrede charged Lady Alice Keiteler with denial of the Catholic Church; trying to find out the future through demons; in connection with the "demon of one of the lower classes of hell" and the sacrifice of live roosters; in the manufacture of magical powders and ointments, with the help of which she allegedly killed three of her husbands and was going to do the same with the fourth.
Probably, in this way the bishop intended to settle personal scores with the lady, but history is silent about the details of their relationship.
The influential Alice Keiteler, who was not easy to take with her bare hands, initially parried the attacks, but then moved to England. Her unfortunate servant Petronilla de Meats had to take the rap for her. Despite the fact that the unfortunate girl under torture confessed to what the bishop expected to hear - in visiting night orgies with her mistress and the lady's relationship with the devil, this did not save her. On November 3, the maid was burned at the stake.
The flywheel of the witch hysteria was unrolling gradually. At first, the population, who was quite tolerant of the demonstration of all kinds of miracles by some individuals, perceived the burning of their countrywomen, and even neighbors, without much enthusiasm. But gradually the smell of blood provoked a massive witch hysteria. And a lot of blood poured in the middle of the XVI century and began to fade away only 200 years later. The "big hunt" became possible only thanks to the full support of anti-theological processes by all segments of the population.
By the way, there is one more reason for shifting the attention of the Inquisition from heretics to witches. The point is that anti-heretical courts were often perceived as political courts, as reprisals against dissidents. And this sometimes provoked outbreaks of anti-inquisitional riots, very powerful and bloody.
With witches, it was much easier - they were possessed by the devil, who crap on everyone who comes into contact with them. Everything is quite obvious. And the devil must be burned at the stake. Even if it is rooted in the child. There are cases when two-year-old children were executed.
One gets the impression that at times the Inquisition simply "carried out the plan" to cleanse society of the diabolical filth. So, for example, in 1589, in the Saxon city of Quedlinburg with a population of 10 thousand, 133 women were burned in one day.
For the entire period of the witch hunt, according to various estimates, from 80 thousand to 100 thousand people were destroyed. Among those executed were men - accomplices of witches and sorcerers. But these were only isolated cases.
THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
Of course, the massacres of witches were carried out in strict observance of the rule of law, as it was understood in those days. On the basis of the papal bulls, which very vaguely defined the technology of inquiry, legal proceedings and the execution of sentences, new articles were introduced into the secular criminal legislation. They were very specific. And from that time on, the inquisition and secular courts were engaged in the eradication of witchcraft. In fairness, it should be said that the punishments were different - not only execution at the stake or beheading, but also imprisonment. Moreover, about a quarter of the trials ended in acquittals.
A tremendous contribution to the systematization of the "Great Hunt" was made by the treatise "The Hammer of the Witches, destroying the Witches and their heresies, like the strongest sword", compiled in 1487 by the Dominican monks Jacob Sprenger and Heinrich Institoris on behalf of Pope Innocent VIII. It was a comprehensive work, which examined in detail the properties of demons, thoroughly understood the signs by which a witch could be recognized, and provided in detail the methods of interrogation and the accompanying torture.
Among the many atrocities that witches commit, the methods by which witches deprive men of the penis were particularly detailed. It is clear that this did not add sympathy to the suspected witchcraft from the male population.
We will not consider the methods of torture in connection with their excessive cruelty. As for the methods of recognizing the connection with the devil, their Benedictine monks, one of whom was also the dean of the University of Cologne, invented a great many. It is clear that among the obvious signs there is "the ability to attract insurmountable carnal feelings to oneself." On the body of the tested women, they looked for special spots - "devilish". They were thrown into the water with their hands tied - if they didn’t drown, then they were being helped by demons.
The misogyny of its authors shines through between the lines of the treatise. For example, they argue that "the properties of women are to cry, weave and deceive."
Mercenaries enter the stage
During the "Great Hunt", the enthusiasm for the fight against witches swept not only the Inquisition, but also ordinary citizens. Things began to go, we can safely say, to purges. “Professional hunters” appeared, who nevertheless did not have any powers. The most famous of them is the Englishman Matthew Hopkins. In 1645, he felt the gift of unmistakable recognition of witches. And he became a sort of mercenary, proclaiming himself "the general of the war with the witches." Together with partner John Stern, he entered the battle with the devil's spawn in Essex. Then he began touring in other counties. Very soon, Hopkins' fame grew to a nationwide scale, and he was invited to cleanse the filth in villages and small towns.
Hopkins on the move identified witches on the basis of one known to him, tortured them and read out sentences. For example, if an insect entered the room where the subject was imprisoned, then it was considered a messenger of the devil.
Hopkins did not have any acquittals. To pass the death sentence, it was enough to report that, due to the witchcraft of the neighbor, a chicken died or that the children had diarrhea. Hopkins was, of course, a fanatic. At the same time, he did not forget about his own benefits. His work was generously paid by residents of rural communities.
Despite the fact that Hopkins' unauthorized activities irritated the Catholic clergy, he was not touched, but only carefully criticized. Because they had no desire to openly oppose the "people's hero".
Hopkins, personifying the triumph of lawlessness, was not alone. Witch hunters, acting on a smaller scale, have been fairly common in European history.
In the middle of the 18th century, the persecution of witches by the church stopped. However, the flywheel could not be stopped instantly. For some time, the trials were replaced by spontaneous extrajudicial killings of women, whose guilt was determined by an angry crowd. Here the matter was done without knocking out confessions and without reading the sentence.
But the witch-hunt has spared Russia. Smart people give a lot of explanations for this - both mental, political, and even theological. We will give a simple explanation from which we began our story. The Orthodox priest lived in joy with his priest, gave birth and raised children and never considered a woman a vessel of sin.
Zevyakina Alena
