In the History of Witchcraft, we cover everything you need to know about the hunts and trials that cut a bloody swathe across Europe and the American colonies from the Medieval times to the Early Modern age.
Welcome to HISTORY WITCHCRAFT
WITCH HUNTING • The witch-hunters of early modern Europe and America saw thousands tortured and sentenced to death, but what was a witch-hunt and why did this notorious practice happen?
Who Were the Witch-Hunters?
Are you a witch?
The Salem Witch Trials
The Dawn of the Witch • In the ancient world magic was a part of everyday life, but as cultures grew and new religions emerged, the idea of witchcraft and those who practised it became twisted and demonic
Hecate: Goddess of Witches
MAGIC IN THE ANCIENT WORLD • Magic has been present since the earliest human cultures
15 Most Notorious Witches • Meet the individuals whose status of witch – whether true or not – have helped shape the folklore of witches
Timeline of Persecution • Being suspected of witchcraft was a dangerous and often fatal position to be in for several centuries of European history
witches' Sabbath • Claes Jacobsz van der Heck, 1636
Lighting the Pyre • How medieval Europe went from disbelieving in the power of witches to fearing a sinister secret society bent on subverting the masses
From Templars to Trials
Gunnhild, Mother of Kings • Her legend steeped in witchcraft, power and intrigue, Gunnhild’s story marks the moment where fact and fantasy blur
Power and Sex in the Sagas • Gunnhild takes a lover, yet ends it with a curse
Magic of the Finnar • The dark northern magic of Gunnhild
Joan of Navarre, the Royal Witch • Explore the life of Joan of Navarre, Queen of England, the treasonous witchcraft accusations against her and how not all was as it seemed
The Reputation of Queen Joan • What did contemporaries think of her?
Betrayal of the Knights Templar • In seven years the Order was hunted, dismantled and executed. Was this justice for their sacrilegious practices, or were they the victims of a twisted plot?
KEY FIGURES • The men who destroyed the Order, and those who fought to defend it
TEMPLAR HIERARCHY • Although they’re remembered as knights, the Templars were a slick organisation, and each man had his role to play to keep it operating
The Templars Across Europe • When the pope ordered Christian monarchs across Europe to arrest Templars, not all were willing
Guilty or Innocent? • Was there any truth to the crimes the Templars burned for?
Downfall of a Duchess • Eleanor Cobham was almost Queen of England, but accusations of witchcraft left her publicly humiliated and locked up for life
History’s royal witches • Eleanor Cobham wasn’t the first – or last – royal woman to be accused of using witchcraft
The Fate of Condemned Witches • If found guilty, women could suffer agonising deaths, but repentance might save a life
Elizabeth Woodville, White Queen & Black Magic • Was witchcraft behind the fairy-tale marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville?
The price of love • Just what might you find in a Medieval love spell?
Saul and the Witch of Endor
James VI and the Witches • After personal experience of black magic – or so he thought – James VI of Scotland waged a vigorous war against witchcraft
The King’s Idol • Meet the man who James VI saw as his intellectual equal
A Continent Gripped by Conspiracy • Scotland wasn’t unique in the persecution of witches, but the role played by the crown was without equal
The Witch Redeemer • Not everyone supported the idea of witch hunting
A Scottish...