As I was looking back over my first entries, I can see how little I wrote. I was not too sure about the whole idea of blogging and I think that was what kept me from voicing my opinions more. I chose the topic of witches and witchcraft as my terms project because I have always found the subject to be interesting. When I first began researching I figured that witches in early modern England would be almost the same as the ones from the Salem Witch Trials in America. Little did I know how wrong I was.
Witches in early modern England are not like witches elsewhere; they are the scapegoats for everyday household problems. If your child gets sick or the cow is dry or the butter won’t churn, these are all problems caused by some witch who has put a curse on your home. You probably know the witch; she is in fact most likely the same woman you turned away when she asked for bread last week. Yes, now you remember how she was muttering under her breath as she walked away; she must be the one. And if this woman, who is probably widowed and living in poverty, is a known “trouble maker” in your town, well then she is most likely going to be arrested and charged with witchcraft.
This is how most cases in England were; they were not the crazy broom riding, devil seducing, cauldron brewing witches of continental Europe. They were old women who went against social norms by not being under the control of a man. Many people in this time feared social upheaval and one way they thought it could be prevented was to make sure that the family hierarchy stayed the same. These women were a threat to that hierarchy and therefore must be stopped.
Through this term project, and the reading that we have done, I have learned a lot about the past that I did not know before. Many of my assumptions have been shattered and now I can see how things connect through time. If you had asked me before this semester if J.K. Rowling was influenced by early modern English authors, I would have said maybe a little, but certainly not a lot. I was wrong about that. I hope that I continue to learn more about what other authors throughout time have written and continue to see the connections that they have in the world today.
Bibliography:
- Burns, William E. Witch Hunts in Europe and America; An Encyclopedia. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2003.
- Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft. Facts on File, 1999. 2nd ed.
- B., G. A Most Wicked Work of a Wretched Witch. 1592. EEBO. Pro Quest, LLC. 11 Dec. 2008 <http://eebo.chadwyck.com/search?ACTION=GOTO&SOURCE=var_spell.cfg&FILE=../session/1229018071_3568&SEARCHSCREEN=CITATIONS&DISPLAY=AUTHOR&ECCO=&SIZE=10>
- Sharpe, James. Instruments of Darkness: Witchcraft in Early Modern England. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.
- Sharpe, James, and Richard Golden. English Witchcraft 1560-1736. London: Pickering & Chatto, 2003.
- Sharpe, James, and Richard Golden. English Witchcraft 1560-1736: Early English Trail Pamphlets. Vermont: Pickering & Chatto, 2003.
- Willis, Deborah. Malevolent Nurture. United State of America: Cornell University Press, 1995.
- "Witchcraft Act of 1563." Mysterious Britain & Ireland: Mysteries, Legends, and the Paranormal. 9 Dec. 2008 http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/occult/witchcraft-act-1563.html.
Other Sources:
- Broedel, Hans Peter. The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft. New York: Manchester University Press, 2003.
- Purkiss, Diane. The Witch in History. New York: Clays Ltd., 1996.
- "Witch Trials in Early Modern Europe." Wikipedia: The Free Encylopedia. 2 Dec. 2008. 16 Nov. 2008
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