Just What Were the Inquisitions of the Middle Ages? Part 1: Introduction

The Inquisitions of the Middle Ages were a series of judicial procedures led by the Roman Catholic Church in the later Middle Ages in response to movements that the Church considered heretical.  Here, Jeb Smith starts a series looking at the Inquisitions of the Middle Ages.

Pope Gregory IX, who started the Papal Inquisition.

Introduction

Medieval historians will be the first to tell you that what they believe about the period is not what occurred. Monty Python movies are not an authentic source! There are numerous subjects on which we are misinformed. These inaccuracies paint a darker and more dreadful picture of medieval European society than what really existed. Common stereotypes involve superstitious monks, tyrannical kings, mistreatment of women, bloodthirsty and racist Crusaders, bigotry against outsiders, and rampant disease and death. In contrast, we tend to view our modern society as superior, enlightened, and advanced. Today's society has undoubtedly progressed in sanitation, medical care, and many modern conveniences. However, we have also experienced a loss of valuable things like personal freedom, self-rule, satisfaction, leisure, celebrations, strong community bonds, family, morality, connection to God, and much else.

In the 13th century, Europe began a significant transformation that marked the end of the Middle Ages.[1] The way of life for peasants and lords in the mid-14th century was vastly different from what it was at the beginning of the 12th. Whenever I refer to the Middle Ages, I am referring to this period, the era I describe as "Christendom," spanning from approximately 700 to 1300 A.D. A main focal point of my book Missing Monarchy: What Americans Get Wrong About Monarchy, Democracy, Feudalism, And Liberty was to dispel many myths we hold regarding medieval kingship and the political systems of the medieval period in general. Other topics are also addressed, such as life expectancy, health, the condition of serfs, and the work rate of peasants, but there are still many issues that need to be clarified about the period.

 

The Medieval Inquisitions

The modern American perception of the Inquisitions is a myth! Professor and historian Edward Peters wrote, “the myth was originally devised to serve variously the political purposes of a number of early modern political regimes, as well as Protestant reformers, proponents of religious and civil toleration, philosophical enemies of the civil power of organized religions, and progressive modernists, but the myth remained durable, widely adaptable, and useful.”[2]Protestants were all too eager to exaggerate the evils of medieval Catholicism and believe lies and exaggerations that seemed to justify their separation from the Catholic Church.  and modern secular, democratic societies seize on the chance to portray preceding, "unenlightened" cultures as inferior to their own. Moderns, says Edwards, are often influenced by movies such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, historical novels, past propaganda and inaccurate journalism, and thus still hold on to the many myths and misconceptions surrounding the Inquisition. Among scholars, though, there is no dispute about the Inquisition; it is well-known and researched.[3] However, these myths serve a function in a secular society. Professor Rodney Stark wrote, “Great historical myths die hard... writers continue to spread traditional myths... even though they are fully aware of the new findings. They do so because they are determined to show that religion, and especially Christianity, is a dreadful curse upon humanity.”[4]

The Inquisitions are often erroneously thought of as a medieval phenomenon. Although they did exist then, they were not as frequent or deadly as the later and more infamous Inquisitions of the Renaissance era, such as the Spanish Inquisition. As medieval scholar and professor Thomas Madden stated, "Our understanding of heresy and inquisition is not really in sync with the way things were in the Middle Ages. It has much more to do with the early modern concept of Spanish inquisitions which is a completely different thing."[5] Likewise, the witch hunts occurred almost wholly during the "Age of Reason." Nevertheless, I will discuss the Medieval and Spanish Inquisitions (in a later article) to highlight their similarities and differences and clarify misunderstandings of them.

In the medieval era, the Church generally had a different approach to handling heretics than in later times. It's important to note that the Inquisition only had jurisdiction over former Catholics and not Jews or Muslims, who could not be accused or put on trial.[6] Initially, their response towards individuals who previously held Catholic beliefs but had now adopted heretical views was to convince them through discussion and argumentation.[7] Professor Rosemary Morris wrote, "The response of the western Church authorities to heresy was, at first, to mobilize the forces of persuasion." The 12th century Saint Bernard criticized the people of Cologne for killing heretics, stating that faith cannot be forced upon them and must be born of persuasion.[8]

When the Pelagian heresy that was "blasphemous against the grace of Christ" was converting Catholics in Britain, the medieval scholar Saint Bede records that in response bishops from Gaul came to the land "and the word of God was by them daily administered, not only in the churches, but even in the streets and fields, so that the Catholics were everywhere confirmed, and those who had gone astray, corrected."[9]As a result, the heretics were forced into hiding and out of public areas where they once preached. Eventually, they did return to public discourse, and were allowed to make their case by the Catholic priests. The priests responded to the heretics in front of people during the debate and refuted the heresy once again. This helped the people to judge fairly, and the heresy was defeated.

In part, there was little persecution of heretics because the early heretics were less evangelistic, they kept to themselves and thus avoided the wrath of the Church. In the 9th century, Agobard of Lyon wrote that recently the heretics "no longer practice their wickedness in secret, as others do, but proclaim their error publicly and draw the simple and weak to join them" and due to their misleading the simple, those heretics and their supporters, says Agobard, should be under "anathema" only.[10]

Severe Inquisitors

The excessively severe Inquisitors were thoroughly examined and, if necessary, dismissed.[11] In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council condemned bishops who became heretics and removed them from their position.[12] During the "dark ages" of Christendom, heretics and other religions were tolerated more than they were by eastern Byzantines; and it wasn't until the 13th century, when secular Roman law returned, that heretics were punishable by death.[13] In 1162, Cathars were sent to Pope Alexander III, who refused to condemn or persecute them, stating, "it was better to pardon the guilty than to take the lives of the innocent."[14] In 1216, during the fourth Lateran Council, the Church condemned unrepentant heretics to excommunication but not death.  Professor Edward Peters informs us that during the medieval period, "patience, instruction, and toleration" were applied to manage "religious dissent."[15] Further, during Christendom a centralized Inquisition suppressing opposition never existed.[16] Before the 13th century, it was up to each local bishop to handle heretics. There was no widespread effort to counter heresy. The heretics' persecution increased in the 13th century when Pope Innocent III cited Roman law and the Church (and, due to the return of Roman law in governance, society as a whole) centralized, weakening the power of local bishops.

The Inquisition was not a medieval or even Christian invention. Instead, it utilized Roman law and practices, such as torture, which were widely adopted during the 13th century.[17] The origin of the inquisition is often attributed to the Catholic Church, but it actually stemmed from secular law, not Christianity. As historian Thomas F. Madden explains, "The Inquisition itself is a product of Roman law. And that means a legal code that had nothing at all to do with Christianity. That developed over many centuries before Christ was even born."[18] Not especially devout secular leaders, such as Emperor Frederick I, were known to be ruthless towards heretics.[19] And, as Catholic apologist Steve Weidenkopf wrote, "The death sentence was handed down and carried out by the state. The church itself never executed any heretics."[20]

Sorcery

Likewise, before the 13th century sorcery received little attention and was only practiced in remote regions. In the 9th century, the bishop Agobard of Lyon came across some locals who believed that humans could produce hail and thunder through witchcraft.[21] He described their beliefs as foolish and crazy, stating that they were utterly ignorant of God. In response to this belief, Agobard suggested using proofs from Scripture to judge the matter and allow Truth itself to overcome the most foolish errors. In 906, Regino of Prum said the locals were "beyond a doubt infidels" who returned to pagan beliefs, claiming witches could travel via midnight rides through the air and that sorcerers could transform people into animals.[22] C.S Lewis wrote, "There was very little magic in the Middle Ages; the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are the high noon of magic."[23]

During Christendom as I define it, practices such as sorcery, magic, and witchcraft were rare. The British Isles had its first Inquisition in 1309, with no convicted individuals.[24] The first witch was not burned at the stake until 1275. She was accused of having sex with a demon among other abominable practices. Professor Richard C. Hoffmann wrote, "early medieval Christian authorities debunked such superstitions and reserved all power to God alone.”[25] It wasn't until the 13th century that the Church began associating sorcery with heresy.

During the Middle Ages, the church had a more laid-back approach towards certain superstitious practices that didn't directly impact church doctrine or individual salvation. They were more accepting of pagan "magic" and sorcery, and even universities taught occult practices and astrology.[26] The Anglo-Saxon Dooms, written between 590 and 975, instructed witches and other groups to be expelled from the land, not killed or tortured, but only sent away.[27] It is likely that most of Europe, perhaps three quarters of it, never experienced witchcraft or a witch hunt. These practices seemed to be robust in some areas and non-existent in others.[28]

The significant reaction to the heresy of the medieval period occurred in 1209 in southern France. During the early 13th century, the Albigensian Crusade was launched against these heretics in southern France. It was falsely attributed to the Inquisitions, but it was actually called in response (in part) to the murder of papal legate Peter of Castelnau.[29] Professor Burman wrote, “the spark that set off the so called Albigensian crusade was the murder in January 1208 of Peter of Castelnau...Peter was more than a mere legate – he was ‘an alter ego of the Pope.’”[30]Heretics denied the divinity of Jesus and claimed that a phantom was on the cross. The Cathars believed that sex, children, and marriage were evil, and they sanctioned homosexuality, bestiality, abortion, and suicide.[31] They believed the material world was evil and that our souls were trapped inside our physical bodies, thus suicide freed the spirit from its prison. They believed that the Old Testament God was evil and created matter to trap souls. According to them, the purpose of life was to free oneself from the corrupt physical body. The Church responded by holding councils and condemning the false teachings, but this did not stop the spread of the heresy. The Popes sent missionaries to the areas to preach and teach the truth, but when a papal legate was murdered in response, the Pope called a Crusade, not an Inquisition. While many heretics were killed during the crusade, others were massacred by locals who had no tolerance for their beliefs. The Church and the Pope, who called the crusade, were unable to prevent this happening.[32] The heretics attempted to replace Catholicism rather than coexist with it. The purpose and desire of the Pope in calling the crusade was to reform the heretical clergy and lay people.

Persecution of witches

The persecution of witches did not begin in earnest until the second half of the 15th century with the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus and the publication of the "Hammer of Witches."[33] The witch craze and witch hunts did not originate in the medieval period but emerged during the 16th and 17th centuries and occurred at the same time as the rise of modern science and nationalism.[34] The first execution for witchcraft in England was in 1563. The first trial in Scotland was in the second half of the 16th century.[35]The witch hunts were conducted as much by secular as by religious authorities, and were supported by significant thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes and Jean Bodin.[36] Even later, during the witch craze, skeptics of some of the claims of witchcraft said they really saw "visions or dreams, for frantic men think they see marvelous things, such as beats and other horrors, when in actual fact they see nothing."[37]  According to Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger in the Hammer of Witches holy men are not deceived like the "maniacs" are.[38]

In the following article, we will cover myths surrounding the Inquisitors themselves and the origins, purpose, and results of the Inquisitions.

Jeb Smith is the author of Missing Monarchy: What Americans Get Wrong About Monarchy, Democracy, Feudalism, And Liberty (Amazon US | Amazon UK) and Defending Dixie's Land: What Every American Should Know About The South And The Civil War (written under the name Isaac. C. Bishop) - Amazon US | Amazon UK

You can contact Jeb at jackson18611096@gmail.com

 

Bibliography

-Bede. Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. New York, London: J.M. Dent; E.P. Dutton, 1910.

-Burman, Edward. The Inquisition: The Hammer of Heresy. Dorset Press, 1992.

-Carroll, Warren H. 1993. The Glory of Christendom. N.p.: Christendom Press.

-Catechism of the Catholic Church: Complete and Updated. Crown Publishing Group, 1995.

-Kors, Alan Charles, and Edward Peters, editors. Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History. University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, 2001.

-Davis, Michael Warren. The Reactionary Mind: Why Conservative Isn't Enough. Regnery Gateway, 2021.

-Durant, Will, and Ariel Durant. The Age of Faith (The Story of Civilization, Volume 4) (Story of Civilization). Simon & Schuster, 1980.

-Ferrara, Christopher A. 2012. Liberty, the God That Failed: Policing the Sacred and Constructing the Myths of the Secular State, from Locke to Obama. N.p.: Angelico Press.

-Hoffmann, Richard. An Environmental History of Medieval Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

-Holmes, George, ed. 1988. The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe. N.p.: Oxford University Press.

-Jarrett, Bede. 2007. Social Theories of the Middle Ages, 1200-1500. N.p.: Archivum Press.

-Jones, Andrew W. 2017. Before Church and State: A Study of Social Order in the Sacramental Kingdom of St. Louis IX. N.p.: Emmaus Academic.

-Kamen, Henry. The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision. Yale University Press, 2014.

-Kors, Alan Charles, and Edward Peters, editors. Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700: A Documentary History. University of Pennsylvania Press, Incorporated, 2001

-L. PLUNKET, IERNE L. 1922. EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. London Edinburgh Glasgow Copenhagen New York Toronto Melbourne Cape Town Bombay Calcutta Madras Shanghai, England: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.

-Madden, Thomas, director. “The Modern Scholar: Heaven or Heresy: A History of the Inquisition.” 2008.

-Madden, Thomas. “The Medieval World, Part II: Society, Economy, and Culture.” The Great Courses Series, 2019.

-The following citation were derived from Medieval Sourcebook Fordham University (“Confession of Arnaud Gélis, also called Botheler "The Drunkard" of Mas-Saint-Antonin”)(“Confession of Baruch, once a Jew, then baptized and now returned to Judaism”) (GUI, BERNARD, and Translation by David Burr. “BERNARD GUI: INQUISITOR'S MANUAL.”.)(Schroeder, H. J., translator. The Disciplinary Decrees of the Ecumenical Counci,. St. Louis:, B. Herder Book Co., 1937).(Agobard of Lyons, and Translated by W. J. Lewis (aided by the helpful comments and suggestions of S. Barney) from the Latin text in p. 3-15 of: Agobardi Lugdunensis Opera Omnia, edidit L. Van Acker. Turnholt: Brepols, 1981 (Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis, 52);.Agobard of Lyons (9th Century): On Hail and Thunder.”)

-Pernoud, Regine. Glory of the Medieval World. Dobson Books Ltd, 1950.

-Peters, Edward. Inquisition. University of California Press, 1989.

-Rawlings, Helen. The Spanish Inquisition. Wiley, 2006.

-Smith, Jeb. 2024. Missing Monarchy: What Americans Get Wrong About Monarchy, Democracy, Feudalism, And Liberty.

-Smith, Jeb. 2023. The Road Goes Ever On and On. N.p.: Christian Faith Publishing, Incorporated.

-Stark, Rodney. Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History. Templeton Press, 2017.

-Thatcher, Oliver J. “The Library of Original Sources - Vol. IV: The Early Medieval World, pp. 211-239.” Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co, 1901.

-Tierney, Brian, and Sidney Painter. Western Europe in the Middle Ages, 300-1475: Formerly entitled a History of the Middle Ages, 284-1500. 4th ed., Knopf, 1983.

-Weidenkompf, Steve, director. The Real Story of the Inquisitions. Catholic Answers.

-Weidenkopf, Steve. The Real Story of Catholic History: Answering Twenty Centuries of Anti-Catholic Myths. Catholic Answers, Incorporated, 2017

-Wickham, Chris. Medieval Europe. Yale University Press, 2017.

[1] (Smith 2024)

[2] (Peters 1-2)

[3] (Peters 295, also see 308)

[4] (Stark)

[5] (Madden)

[6] (Holmes 1988, 203)

[7] (Tierney and Painter 362-363) (Durant 1950, 67) (Pernoud 1950, 113)

[8] (Pernoud 1950, 114)

[9] (Bede, Book 1 chapter 17)

[10] (Agobard of Lyons and Translated by W. J. Lewis (aided by the helpful comments and suggestions of S. Barney) from the Latin text in p. 3-15 of: Agobardi Lugdunensis Opera Omnia, edidit L. Van Acker. Turnholt: Brepols, 1981 (Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis, 52);)

[11] (Wickham 169)

[12] (Schroeder)

[13] (Durant 1950, 776-777) For the return of Roman law during the period see cite monarchy

[14] (Burman 25)

[15] (Peters 46)

[16] (Peters 3, 68)

[17] (Wickham 157-158) ((Burman 31) (Peters)

[18] (Madden 2008)

[19] (Pernoud 114)

[20] (Weidenkopf 2017)

[21] (Agobard of Lyon translated by W. J. Lewis (aided by the helpful comments and suggestions of S. Barney) from the Latin text in p. 3-15 of: Agobardi Lugdunensis Opera Omnia, edidit L. Van Acker. Turnholt: Brepols, 1981 (Corpus Christianorum. Continuatio Mediaevalis, 52);)

[22] (Smith 2023 103)

[23] (Smith 2023 101)

[24] (Burman 98)

[25] (Hoffmann 339)

[26] (Burman 119)

[27](Thatcher)

[28] (Weidenkopf 2017)

[29] (Tierney and Painter 359-360)

[30] (Burman 27-28)

[31] (Carroll 1993, 165)(Tierney and Painter 355-356)

[32] (Peters 50-51)

[33] (Burman 123)

[34] (Burman 115-116) (Durant 1950, 567) (Durant 1950, 567)

[35] (Kors and Peters 303, 318)

[36] (Weidenkopf 2017, 131)

[37] (Kors and Peters 201-203)

[38] (Kors and Peters 201, 237)

The Real Reasons for the Salem Witch Hunt: “Under an Evil Hand”

The Salem witch trials are one of the most infamous events of 17th century America, ultimately leading to the death of many women in Salem. But what were the events that caused the trials? Here Kaitlyn Beck explores the history of Salem, and how the quest for power, medicine, and religion all had their influences on the witch-hunt.

An image of the Salem witch trials by Frank O. Small.

In January of 1692, nine-year-old Betty Parris began to exhibit unusual behavior including loud cries and convulsions. By mid-February, her cousin Abigail began to exhibit the same symptoms and Pastor Parris decided to consult with the Dr. William Griggs, the town physician. After weeks of observation, Griggs concluded that “the evil hand is upon them”, known by the people as a diagnosis of witchcraft (Dashiell). This was the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials.

In the midst of political and cultural unrest, Dr. William Griggs’ medical diagnosis of witchcraft became the catalyst that started the Salem Witchcraft trials of 1692. Before the start of these infamous witch trials, Salem was veering away from its ‘City on a Hill’ ideals. With divided loyalties and slow retraction from the Puritan faith that the town was founded upon, prominent members of its society were concerned of what would become of their town.  When young girls began to show signs of unnatural behavior that none could explain, the town was distraught. Such circumstances created a powder keg, needing only an official word to create the explosion that was the Salem Witch trials. 

The 1680s in Salem

During the 1680s, Salem was going through a period of political unrest. Two families were battling for control: the Putnams and the Porters. The Putnams arrived in the early 1640s and were successful in acquiring large amounts of land. However by the late 1680s, their wealth and political influence were on the decline. In contrast, the Porters were, according to the 1680s census, wealthier and more affluent. The two families vied for control and had different plans for Salem’s future. The Putnams wanted to separate the village from the rest of Salem while the Porters wished to keep it unified. Each family had certain factions of control. For the Putnams, they had allies amongst the oldest families who knew them in their more affluent years. The Porters controlled the council and made friends with those who wished for a change in Salem’s priorities. As a result of rising tensions, many (but not all) members of Salem began to align themselves with one of these families. This was certainly the case with Dr. Griggs, who was connected to the Putnams by marriage(Hoffer 39-45). During the trials, Dr. Griggs fervently supported the “afflicted” girls, who included Ann Putnam and his own great-niece Elizabeth Hubbard (Dashiell). Another supporter of the Putnams was Pastor Samuel Parris who was at odds with the town committee, which was controlled by the Porters (Hoffer 53). With such powerful friends vying for control of both town and church, Dr. Griggs certainly felt pressure to make a diagnosis that would be beneficial to the Putnams which, by extension, would benefit him as well. 

The diagnosis of witchcraft would not have been as powerful if not for the influence of medicine in colonial America. When illness arose, women were commonly in charge of caring for the sick except when the illness was long lasting or too intense for basic herbal remedies. The study of formal medical practice had its roots in Europe, in particular the University of Edinburgh (Twiss). Far from Europe and its schools, many colonial doctors were not formally trained (Mann). At best, they worked as apprentices under formally trained doctors from England (Twiss 541). In addition, colonial doctors also battled lack of sanitation laws, shortage of drugs, and outdated medical knowledge (Twiss 541). Of Dr. Griggs, not much is known about his training as a physician. He originally came from Boston and was the first doctor to practice in Salem (Robinson 117). Most likely, he had little to no training in formal medicine (Dashiell). In fact, some historians believe that Dr. Griggs combined his limited medical knowledge with folk magic. In fact, ‘folk’ magic was had its origins in England and was used in the colonies on many occasions. Shortly after Griggs made his diagnosis but before any formal accusations, a form of folk magic, termed ‘white magic’ was attempted to discover the one responsible for the girls’ illness. Titubia and her husband John Indian baked a ‘witch cake’; this was fed to the dog of a suspected witch (a witch’s familiar). If successful, this mixture of ordinary meal and victim’s urine would reveal and hurt the witch (Konig 169). When Dr. Griggs’ diagnosis was known throughout Salem, such practices went under fire as being pure witchcraft. As a result, people looked even more towards medicine and the Puritan faith to guide them.

Religion and Medicine

Colonial Medicine was not only based on pure science; in fact, medicine often intertwined with religion, especially in a town founded on strict Puritanism. As a result, Reverend Parris and Dr. Griggs were two of the most powerful men in Salem (Robinson 136). When Betty first began to exhibit her unusual behavior, Parris and other ministers tried to invoke the power of prayer to heal her. When this failed to work, Parris called in the next highest power, a male physician, to make Betty better (Hoffer 62-63). When Dr. Griggs could find no physical explanations for the girls’ ailments, he put the blame on witchcraft. This was a serious accusation for at the time, English law (as of 1641) stated witchcraft was a capital offense (Krystek). Though serious, witchcraft was a common diagnosis for unexplainable illnesses; it was sometimes believed to be punishment from an angry God (Dashiell). Dr. Griggs’ initial diagnosis would not be the last; in fact records show Dr. Griggs repeating this diagnosis; in May of 1692, he accounted witchcraft as the cause of illness for Daniel Wilkin, Elizabeth Hubbard, Anne Putnam Jr., and Mary Walcott (Robinson 184&190). Though the people of Salem knew of witchcraft, it took an official diagnosis from a doctor for others to take action.  

Change in Salem

Life in Salem had always been difficult. The winters were very cold, the land was rocky and hard to farm, and the threat of disease and illness was constant (Krystek). King Phillip’s War was still fresh in the memories of the town people. They knew about the hundreds of men, women, and children killed in Native American raids. The town was kept in a constant state of fear, frightened by their close proximity to Native American settlements and at the possibilities of renewed attacks (Hoffer 55-56). As the external forces grew more threatening, the internal structure began to crumble. Salem was built on the ideas of harmony and the importance of a cooperative community. Puritanism was the glue that held this community together. The Bible was taken as a guide to life, down to the smallest details. To them, the Word of God was clarity, making a clear division of right and wrong, all in black and white terms (Erikson 47). But in the late 1600s, townspeople were drifting from the original principles of this community. The younger generations were less keen on spiritual matters, resulting in decreased church attendance and membership (Hoffer 53). Others turned their focus from a church centered life to one of worldly pursuits, delving into practices such as mercantilism and fulfilling individualistic needs and wants over those of the group (Hoffer 40). This drive towards mercantilism was propelled by one of the most prominent families in Salem: the Porters. They desired to unify the town not by a common belief but by a common market (Hoffer 45). For the other prominent, male members of the town (especially the Putnams and their supporters, including Dr. Griggs), there was a need for extreme reformation.

Witchcraft to bring Salem together?

The many who were unsatisfied with their way of life, particularly the women, were seen as a threat to their male driven society. This would become a prevalent fact when accusations began; women who did not follow the traditional role were often the first to be accused (Erikson 143). The clearest example was the first three women brought to court (accused of bewitching Betty and Abigail Paris), an action immediately influenced by Dr. Griggs’ diagnosis. Each woman exemplified qualities the leaders of Salem wished to eradicate. Tituba was a woman of color who dabbled in voodoo and was considered an unsavory influence on the younger girls. Sarah Good was an older woman with a sour disposition, creating discord with her neighbors. Sarah Osbourne did not attend church and was the center of a social scandal where it was rumored that she moved in with a man before marriage (Erikson 143). Getting rid of such independent and un-conforming women was made easier by the traditions known of witchcraft, the main one being that, more often than not, witchcraft was practiced primarily by women (Karlsen 39). Once the diagnosis was made public and the young girls began naming witches, women such as these, who did not follow the traditional roles that had been abided by for decades, would be cleansed from Salem.

The diagnosis of witchcraft was the perfect opportunity to bring Salem together. The word of witchcraft quickly spread amongst the small village and people began to come together in order to accuse/bear witness to the ‘witches’ plaguing their town. The hysteria created by these trials did not create total disorder. In fact, witchcraft became so imbedded in their society during this time that it highlighted the significance of the community. For many years prior, people had lost sight of the relevance of Puritanism in an increasingly economic driven world. So when a ‘professional’ medical verdict was announced, citizens responded to the validity but looked back to their Puritan roots. It reminded the Puritans of their participation in the cosmic struggle between good and evil (Demos 309-310). Finally, restoring the community under faith brought the control and conformity back to the church and the men who controlled it.

Conclusion

By the time the witch trials were ended in May of 1693, 141 people had been accused, 19 had been hung as witches, and 4 had died in jail (Krystek). The backdrop for these trials was made years before the first accusations. Struggles for power in the government were reaching their peak and the people were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their life. Worse, people were drifting away from the faith that had kept them together since its founding. Dr. Griggs’ diagnosis of witchcraft was powerful enough to start such a radical movement because of the influence of medicine that was closely intertwined with religion and, in his case, powerful friends. His diagnosis was the real push that Salem needed to begin a Witch Hunt that would shake the town at its core and leave repercussions for years to come.

What do you think caused the Salem witch trials? Let us know below.

References

Dashiell, Beckie. Dr. William Griggs. Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. University of Virginia, 2006. Web. 10 February 2014.

Demos, John Putnam. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early England. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. Print.

Erikson, Kai T. Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1966. Print. 

Hoffer, Peter Charles. The Devil’s Disciples: Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1996. Print. 

Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1987. Print.

Konig, David Thomas. Law and Society in Puritan Massachusetts: Essex County 1629-1692. University of North Carolina Press, 1979. Print.

Krystek, Lee. The Witches of Salem: The Events of 1692. The Museum of Unnatural History, 2006. Web. 11 February 2014. 

Mann, Laurie. Changing Medical Practices in Early America. Changing of Mapscape of West Boylston, 2013. Web. 15 March 2014. 

Robinson, Enders A. The Devil Discovered: Salem Witchcraft of 1692. Prospect Heights: Wavelands Press, 1991. Print. 

Twiss, J.R. “Medical Practice in Colonial America”. New York Academy of Medicine(1960) 533-551. Web. 16 March 2014. 

What was the Inquisition? An Introduction to History

The Inquisition was led by institutions in the Catholic Church and took on many forms over the centuries. Here we provide an overview of the history of the Inquisition, including witch-hunts, the Spanish Inquisition, and why the Catholic Church launched and maintained it for many centuries. Jessica Vainer explains.

Saint Dominic presiding over an Auto-de-fe by Pedro Berruguete.

When was the inquisition and what was its goal?

The Inquisition was established in twelfth century Western Europe by the Catholic Church and had the goal of fighting heresy and threats to Catholic religious doctrine. Initially the leaders of this Medieval Inquisition fought varied groups including Albigensians, Cathars, Manichaeans, Waldensians and other free-thinkers who tried to shake off Catholic doctrine.

Witches

However, from the fourteenth and especially the fifteenth centuries, the Inquisition became more interested in witches. Sociologists talk about several reasons for why attention was placed on witches. But, a key reason was the fundamentally patriarchal nature of society at the time. And for a Catholic inquisitor living in such a society, the idea that if a woman caused certain problems, then she was a witch, was quite natural.

The custom of burning witches at the stake was more common in northern European countries, such as Germany, France, Ireland, and Britain.

One of the earlier such instances took place in 1324 in Ireland. Bishop Richard de Lestrade brought accusations against Lady Alice Kyteler for renouncing the Catholic Church. She was accused of:

Trying to find out the future through demons; 

Being in connection with the "demon of the lower classes of hell" and sacrificing live roosters to him; 

The manufacture of magical powders and ointments, with the help of which she allegedly killed three of her husbands and was going to do the same with the fourth. Possibly through this the bishop intended to settle personal accounts with the lady.

Witch-hunting became more common over time and one of the more shocking statistics is that in 1589, in the Saxon city of Quedlinburg, with a population of 10,000, 133 women were burned in one day. More broadly, while exact statistics are hard to come by, from 30,000 to 100,000 people were killed during witch-hunts. Among the executed were men too as accomplices of witches and sorcerers, but that was not the norm. 

Execute all people in the Netherlands

The Spanish Inquisition started in 1478 and lasted until the nineteenth century. This Inquisition spread to other countries, including Portugal, parts of modern day Italy, and the Netherlands. The Inquisition of the Netherlands was established by King Charles V of Spain and continued to work with particular diligence during the reign of his son Philip II, who was a strong advocate of Catholicism. In addition to Spain, Philip II inherited from his father the Netherlands, Naples, Milan, Sicily, and some lands of the New World. To eradicate heresy in his domain, Philip strengthened the courts, and supported them with the use of spies and torture.

During the reign of Charles V, the people of the Netherlands were largely Catholic. But with the beginning of the rule of King Philip II of Spain, the Protestant Lutherans and Calvinists were becoming more important, which intensified the carrying out of the the Inquisition. 

Many inhabitants of the Netherlands did not recognize Philip as their king due to religious reasons, excessive taxes, and the harassment of wealthy merchants. This discontent went from riots and escalated into a large-scale popular uprising in the 1560s. Then Philip sent one of his best military leaders, General Alba, to be the Governor of the Netherlands. With the arrival of Alba and his troops, the fires of the Inquisition broke out: just bad words were enough to send a person to death.

On February 16, 1568, the entire population of the Netherlands - at that time it was three million people - was sentenced to death, apart from a few exceptions. 

On this day, Philip II presented a special memorandum, which stated that "except a select list of names, all residents of the Netherlands were heretics, distributors of heresy, and therefore were traitors to the whole state." The Court of the Inquisition adopted this proposal, and shortly after, Philip confirmed the decision with a document in which he ordered it to be carried out immediately and without concessions. 

Philip II ordered Alba to proceed with the execution of the sentence. Mass executions began in the country, leading many nobles to flee to the German lands. Alba wrote back to Philip that he had already made a list of the first 800 people who would be executed, hanged, and burned after Holy Week. Hundreds of people were subjected to terrible torture before death: men were burned at the stake, and women were buried alive.

According to historians, during his six-year tenure in the Netherlands, Alba personally ordered the execution of 18,600 sentences. But over time, the resistance in the Netherlands was put down, and the Inquisition took on a weaker form.

The end of the Inquisition

The Inquisition was practiced in different European countries – and European territories outside of Europe, particularly the Spanish Empire - with different levels of intensity from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries. It was often a time of cruel torture, bloody punishment, searches, suspicions, and accusations by the Catholic Church against heretics. And it was only by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the religious investigative apparatus of the Inquisition was reorganized, and ultimately wholly abolished.

Spain abolished the Inquisition only in 1834. But the decline of the church court system began earlier, with the ascension to the throne of King Charles IV of Spain in the late eighteenth century. A changing domestic situation and ideas from other countries affected Spain, as the ideas of the French Revolution and enlightenment started to become more important.

All over Europe the times had changed and the Inquisition was over.

This article was brought to you by Jessica Vainer, writer of AU Edusson, an Australia-based writing service.

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References

https://www.britannica.com/topic/inquisition

https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-inquisition

https://readofcopy.com/lib/contemporary-narrative-proceedings-against-dame.pdf?web=api.tourtan.io

http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/witch/wtimlin.html

https://dutchreview.com/culture/society/calvinism-netherlands-dutch-calvinist-nature/

http://www.reformation.org/heroic-holland.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt