Kings hired witch-hunters to preserve their power; demonologists climbed into official posts and used them to enlarge their line of work. One Catholic clergyman put out propaganda: a handbook on how ...

The second great European witch hunt arrived with Protestantism and the waning power of the Catholic Church. In late 16th-century England, Protestant evangelists targeted all magic, claiming that ...

Like other studies — Robin Briggs’ “Witches and Neighbors” and Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe” are two of the best known — it is crammed with little stories ...

As strange Czech traditions go, one of my personal favorites is pálení čarodějnic (witch burning) which occurs each year on April 30th. Although the historic tradition of burning witches at the stake ...

The burning of witches in Czech can be traced back to long before Christianity reached that part of Europe. At the time, local communities believed that the night before May 1st was when witches ...

The European witch hunts were most intense from approximately 1450 to 1750, a period marked by religious upheaval and social instability. Key factors contributing to these trials included: ...

On burning witches, women and ... the Salem Witch Trials are commonly written off as Puritanical paranoia caused by a rye fungus and the witch hunts that plagued Europe during the Renaissance are ...