Cathy Smith, Dean of Research and Knowledge Exchange.
We can trace a belief in witches and witchcraft right back to classical antiquity but there is only one sustained period in Western European history (16th and 17th centuries) where witches were actively prosecuted by Church and State, considered to be in allegiance with the Devil and actively working to undermine Christian society.
Why did the belief in witches flourish in this period, why were witches considered to have extraordinary powers, why were most of those accused women and what sort of evidence was used against them?
Given that witches were accused of crimes that we cannot rationalise today – what triggered kings, judges, political advisors and theologians to actively believe in the power of witches and reform laws across many European countries to ensure that witches faced the ultimate punishment of death in their thousands?
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