What Led To The Rise Of Witchcraft

Ivy Zheng
Ms. Adams
Western Civilization
22 March 2016

The Rise of Witchcraft
The world of witchcraft is infused with mystery, fear and gloomy facts and myths. Throughout the centuries, witchcraft has been associated with magic, pagan worship, sorcery, and religion. The rise of witchcraft persecution grew because of unstable governments, influence of the church, and the idea of women being smarter or more knowledgeable than men which led to the ideas of witches. Human history manipulated witchcraft for its own purposes, often laying the blame of society's perceived ills on the phenomenon of witchcraft. The belief that witchcraft is predominantly evil provokes fear in societies, which in turn made the general public more suspicious of what
it did not understand.
Stable communities are less likely to accuse people of witchcraft while unstable communities are more suspicious of the practice. The spread of witchcraft spread through weaker societies, lessening the government's responsibility for a struggling government, according to World History, "When governments and communities were weak, more officials accused and had trails for witchcraft" (Spielvogel 458). Through the pervasive negativity of witchcraft, governments and communities ensured that the people are concerned with issues other than governmental and communal problems. The negative propaganda of governments had the scare tactic that caused people to look to their leaders for help instead of condemning their political and economic actions. Therefore, it was in the best interests of unstable communities to diffuse the belief that witchcraft was evil, ensuring such propaganda "...projected into the needy through accusation and persecution as witches" (Spielvogel 458). Such misleading information caused widespread fear that overtook the more pressing urgency of an unstable government. By creating a community full of fear, governments ensure that people remain uneducated and fearful of what they do not understand. It can be understood that one cause of the rise of witchcraft can be attributed to unstable communities. On the other hand, when governments were thriving "...and grew stronger, less officials wanted to disrupt their cities with trials of witches" (Spielvogel 458). Healthier governments would mean more money for communal growth and knowledge. The positivity of a healthier government would also mean a more open and liberal outlook towards witchcraft. As a stable community, people looked to more positive attributes of witchcraft, and not "malevolent witchcraft" (Cameron, 32-34). Therefore, stable communities did not need to put fear into people through witchcraft. Such communities ensured a healthy community.
The influence of the Church was another factor in the rise of witchcraft.
Most people in the Middle Ages were illiterate and depended on the word of the Church. Therefore, the teachings of the Church were paramount, and "Ecclesiastical and secular officials were often convinced that wise women were just as dangerous as practitioners of maleficent magic" (Horsley). Women were seen as the weaker sex and not to be trusted. Women who were gathering herbs for medicinal treatments were distrusted by the Church because their ideas might go against Church teachings at the time. Moreover, by condemning women simply on their gender convinced male-dominated societies of the power of male control, and was a way for the Church to keep control of its communities. The Church in fact, "...had certain demonological theories that believed wise women and healers had potential supernatural powers... of being witches" (CITATION??). By accusing women of witchcraft, the Church could convince the male population that women were the weaker and more dangerous sex, which began with Eve being evicted from the Garden of Eden. In this way, the Church maintained male dominance and authority over women. In fact, the Church believed that "Any supposed supernatural cures or effects not sanctioned by the Church were viewed as resulting from the Devil's help" (CITATION) As the Church had control of the people during the Middle Ages, it was easy for men to be convinced by this argument. Yet, the Church which was not secular and open to new ideas, also believed this to be true and perpetrated the belief. This belief held women back and ensured they would be the scapegoats for the wrong in society. The influence of the Church was a powerful factor in the rise of witchcraft in the Middle
Ages.
Finally, the end of patriarchy and the end of feudalism was one more factor that influenced the rise of witchcraft. As women were homemakers and many fell ill to the conditions of the Middle Ages, they began to look to herbal medicines in an innocent attempt to "...learn how to make medicine for the sick" (CITATION??). Ironically, women were seen as the homemakers, yet if they went in search of herbal cures for medicine, they were branded "witches" by men. This fact proves that men did not want to recognize the power of women, which led them to distrust anything different. They also feared they would lose social superiority and male dominance. Women were seen as housekeepers, who did not enter the realm of men. In fact, women who showed, "characteristics normally appropriated to men by men, such as independence or aggression, and who failed to fulfill functions thought appropriate to women, such as the nurture of men and children" were condemned. Such women were seen as weakening the hierarchy of men and the control of male-dominated society and many say, the downfall of patriarchy. As feudalism grew and more women took on work, the structure of the patriarchy was questioned.