Essay About Salem Witch Trials And Old Religion

Trials Of Witches
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The Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials began with
the accusation of people in Salem
of being witches. But the concept
of witchcraft started far before
these trials and false accusations
occurred. In the early Christian
centuries, the church was
relatively tolerant of magical
practices. Those who were proved to
have engaged in witchcraft were
required only to do penance. But in
the late Middle Ages (13th century
to 14th century) opposition to
alleged witchcraft hardened as a
result of the growing belief that
all magic and miracles that did not
come unambiguously from God came
from the Devil and were therefore
manifestations of evil. Those who
practiced simple sorcery, such as
village wise women, were
increasingly regarded as
practitioners of diabolical
witchcraft. They came to be viewed
as individuals in league with
Satan.
Nearly all those who fell under
suspicion of witchcraft were women,
evidently regarded by witch-hunters
as especially susceptible to the
Devils blandishments. A lurid
picture of the activities of
witches emerged in the popular
mind, including covens, or
gatherings over which Satan
presided; pacts with the Devil;
flying broomsticks; and animal
accomplices, or familiars. Although
a few of these elements may
represent vestiges of pre-Christian
religion, the old religion probably
did not persist in any organized
form beyond the 14th century. The
popular image of witchcraft,
perhaps inspired by features of
occultism or ceremonial magic as
well as by theology concerning the
Devil and his works of darkness,
was given shape by the inflamed
imagination of inquisitors and was
confirmed by statements obtained
under torture.
The late medieval and early modern
picture of diabolical witchcraft
can be attributed to several
causes. First, the churchs
experience with such dissident
religious movements as the
Albigenses and Cathari, who
believed in a radical dualism of
good