Witches in Europe: When Science Gets It Wrong

          By nan pricking of my thumbs,

          Something wicked this measurement comes.

          Open, locks,

          Whoever knocks.

          [Enter Pseudoscience]

What is simply a witch? Secret, achromatic and midnight hags, Shakespeare wrote successful his early 1600s play The Tragedy of Macbeth.

Beyond nan stage, witches were seen arsenic a looming, menacing force, lurking successful nan shadows to spoil crops and poison children. 

When grounds fell short, erstwhile quality misbehaved aliases erstwhile subject didn’t yet person nan devices to intervene, personification successful nan colony would cry: “She’s a witch!”

Fair is foul, and foul is fair: The problem pinch women

Between nan 14th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of people – predominantly women – were executed for witchcraft crossed Europe. 

These weren’t isolated colony disputes. They were systematised, court-sanctioned pursuits of unusual women who happened to beryllium adjacent erstwhile misfortune struck. 

Often justified done theological reasoning and proto-scientific claims, these women were victims of a nine without moving models of disease, ambiance aliases chance.

In a time wherever belief and superstition was heralded arsenic science, Genesis’s Eden signals nan taste fearfulness of nan witch. When nan Devil appeared arsenic a snake, it was Eve who took nan apple. Women were nan taxable of suspicion – their ‘weak-mindedness’ near them susceptible to nan lures of evil. 

Caption: Witches presenting wax dolls to nan devil. Featured successful The History of Witches and Wizards (1720)
Credit: Wellcome Library

The Malleus Maleficarum (1487), a how-to manual connected identifying and prosecuting witches, played connected this misogynistic fearmongering by hysterically proclaiming that women were “defective successful each nan powers of nan psyche and body”. 

Maleficarum was 1 of nan best-selling books successful each of Europe, pinch astatine slightest 13 editions published betwixt 1487 and 1520. People were reference a matter that claimed “women are by quality instruments of Satan” pinch nan voracity pinch which we now devour Sally Rooney novels.

Funny really it worked, though – that women were astatine erstwhile truthful frail and anemic and yet all-powerful beings who could extremity storms, spoil crops and messiness pinch your fertility conscionable by looking astatine you sideways.

Not for illustration th’ inhabitants o’ th’ Earth: What makes a witch?

Believe it aliases not, accusations were not a cleanable science. There was nary circumstantial rhyme aliases logic for really witches were tortured for their expected supernatural crimes. However, immoderate patterns did emerge.

Throughout Europe, midwives and healers were disproportionately accused of witchcraft. 

Before germ mentation was accepted, women’s proximity to life and decease made them fishy – erstwhile births went wrong, nan nearest female pinch expertise became nan culprit.

Widows, older women aliases women pinch visible beingness differences – those who were connected nan societal margins pinch small organization to protect them – were often accused and executed. 

In fact, warts, moles, tegument tags, hardened nipples and sagging breasts were among nan alleged ‘symptoms’ of a witch. That’s correct – existing successful a quality assemblage was enough!

This besides intends that men were not precluded from being hunted during nan trials. Of course, much women than men were accused of witchcraft, but estimates opportunity that astir 20% of those accused of witchcraft were men. 

This has led academics to mention to nan witch hunts arsenic ‘sex-related’ alternatively than ‘sex-specific’.

Caption: “I’m not a witch!”, “But you are dressed arsenic one”, “They dressed maine for illustration this!”
Credit: Still from Monty Python and The Holy Grail/20th Century Studios

What’s done cannot beryllium undone: Spectral grounds and subject gaps

While Galileo was building our first telescopes, women were being stripped, shaved and searched for a ‘witch’s mark’ to beryllium their guilt. 

While Newton invented calculus, courts were accepting spectral evidence – dreams and visions arsenic morganatic proof.

Some of nan aforesaid thinkers celebrated arsenic pillars of technological logic besides reinforced witch-hunting frameworks. 

A cardinal fig successful nan improvement of nan technological method, Francis Bacon condemned ‘witches’ and ‘sorcerers’ successful nan aforesaid activity arsenic he denounced unreliable experiments.

Witch hunts persisted not because location was nary subject but because early subject could not capable nan gaps to explicate each tragedy.

Without meteorology aliases germ theory, hailstorms and miscarriages seemed mysterious and unnatural. Accusing personification of witchcraft helped communities make consciousness of misfortune.

This mendacious illumination of nan chartless was comforting – for those who could debar being burned.

Double, double toil and trouble: The subject of suspicion

The witch hunts punctual america of what happens erstwhile group activity certainty without grounds aliases demonise nan unknown.

Science useful erstwhile it stays curious, unfastened and sceptical – particularly of its ain assumptions. 

Because erstwhile it doesn’t, we’re not excessively acold from believing nan large wind was formed by a witch.