Witchcraft, magic and Satanism prepared the basis for belief in witches and sorcerers.
For 250 years from the middle of the XV century. about 200,000 people in Europe were executed for witchcraft. Some were burned alive, others were hanged, others were first strangled and then burned.
The belief in witches arose from the concept of witchcraft, in which witchcraft, black magic, heresy and the cult of the devil were mixed. In all cultures, people believed in village sorcerers who, with the help of secret powers, could heal the sick or send corruption. White magic could protect people, livestock and crops from misfortunes, guarantee the appearance of offspring, bewitch lovers, find missing people, lost things or hidden treasures, and also counteract black magic. Black magic, or evil spells, was used to send illness and death, to cause thunderstorms or an invasion of insect pests on fields and gardens.
In medieval scholars such as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in Germany or Roger Bacon and John Lee in England, conservative churchmen were simply seen as warlocks. Christians who opposed the prevailing views in the church were accused of the most terrible crimes - heresy, murder, sacrifice of babies, cannibalism and sexual perversion. The significance of the cult of the devil in the late Middle Ages grew rapidly, until, finally, in the 16th century, the image of Satan became an important element in the concept of witchcraft.
A pact with the devil. Since the XIII century. theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas and Albertus Magnus, denied the existence of the world of magic, i.e. supernatural, separate from the natural world. The Church proclaimed that any use of magic not sanctioned by it was of the devil. Therefore, anyone who uses witchcraft powers against the interests of the church is considered to have colluded with Satan. In Europe, tens of thousands of women who practiced witchcraft and divination, like other suspects in witchcraft, were declared instruments of the devil, who supposedly regularly meets with his followers and gives them helpers - house spirits.
Methods of dealing with this threat in different European countries were different. As at the end of the XV century. The hysterical witch-hunt seized more and more countries of the continent, and more severe measures came to replace the mild punishments in the form of penance imposed by the church court, or a minor fine by the verdict of a secular judge. In parts of France, as well as in Germany and Scotland, conspiracy with the devil was considered the worst heresy. The perpetrators were sentenced to be burned at the stake. In England or Denmark, emphasis was placed on the consequences of an atrocity, and the penalty for this crime was usually the gallows.
The political elite, who did not want the state and the church to be responsible for the misfortunes of the people, found scapegoats in the devil and his henchmen. The elderly and the poor, widows and old maidens, i.e. the most vulnerable and vulnerable members of society. Often in the persecution of witches, hatred of women and the desire to keep them in check also played an important role.
State control. In some cases, those who accused someone of witchcraft were driven by political ambition or greed. Husbands declared the wives they wanted to get rid of as witches, and the children reported on their parents. Nevertheless, strong state power could restrain the witch-hunt: the occupation of part of Germany by the Swedes in the 30s of the 17th century. and the capture of Scotland by England in the 1950s put an end to such persecution. However, immediately after the withdrawal of troops, the persecution for witchcraft resumed.
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By the beginning of the XVIII century. the witch-hunt has practically stopped, with the latest outbreaks in America. These are the infamous Salem, Massachusetts trials in 1692 and 1693. Educated people no longer believed in witches, they preferred rational, scientific explanations, and this was reflected in the decisions of the judges. With the emergence of strong governments and effective bureaucrats, there was no need to look for scapegoats to control the mood of the masses. Superstitions associated with belief in evil spells, and not in the devil, remained the lot of illiterate peasants.
Witches and sorcerers of the 20th century do not believe in the devil and do not deny religion, they consider themselves to be healers who benefit society.
People believed that witches regularly gather, for sabbaths where the devil is worshiped. At the Sabbath (above), which was portrayed by Francisco dv Goya, a satanic-looking figure, half-man, half-goat, attracts the attention.