(Source: Jenny Gibbons, “Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt”.) In England, over 90% of those accused of witchcraft were women, while Estonia had women accounting for less than half of those accused, and in Iceland only 10% of those accused of witchcraft were women. As an example, we know of only four executions for witchcraft in Ireland, while over 25,000 witches were killed in Germany. The frenzy of the witch-hunts waxed and waned for roughly 300 years, and the dynamics – including gender-dynamics – could also vary greatly from one locality to the next. It should be noted that when we study the pre-modern European witch craze, we find great variation over time and between different regions of Europe. Although both men and women were accused and executed for witchcraft in Europe during this era, roughly 75%-80% of those exposed to trial and execution were women. In this article we will take a look at the European witch hunts of circa 1450-1750, and their gender-selective aspects.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |