The European Medieval Witch Hunt Nightmare for Celibate Women in the Dark Ages
Why did medieval Europe exterminate witches?
After the Renaissance was introduced to Europe, ** religion did not relax its control over thought, so the Inquisition took it"Uplink and down"policy--"down"It is theology and science**, aimed at the humanists who fight against theology;"on"It's for religion. The basic idea is that there is no shortage of indigenous primitive religions on the European continent, but there is also a struggle for explanatory power between religions;Explanatory power determines faith, faith calls believers, believers bring benefits, and who wants to share the benefit cake with others
What is a witch?They are a product of native European culture and religion and are believed to use witchcraft, magic, astrology, and other supernatural abilities.
In real life, they are actually more inclined to use herbs to treat others, and predict people's fate based on personal experience** weather. Isn't that déjà vu?Isn't this similar to the role of fortune tellers and goddesses in ancient China?Whether in China or in Europe, in the era when science was not yet developed, there was such a land, and only there could people survive.
In medieval Europe, witches were used as synonymous with misfortune in a religious context;In cases such as the collapse of a house, the death of a child or an animal, all misfortunes are blamed on witchcraft. Religions encourage people to express their inner anger in order to rally believers and prevent dissent, and people need a scapegoat to express their dissatisfaction. Women, as the most vulnerable group, are the first to be affected.
The witch hunt is ostensibly a religious crusade, but in the end it is a kind of man against woman. In the Middle Ages, the extermination of witches began in the 12th century and reached its peak in the 16th century.
The ** against witches is related to the rise of ** religion, in which the two opposites of Satan and God are inextricably linked, and those who oppose the church are often labeled as Satan-worshippers, hence the has"Witches"with"Wizards"said. However, with the publication of the witch-hunting manual, The Hammer of the Witches, the situation of witches became dangerous, and the church began to gather women on a large scale, and the situation began to spread.
On the one hand, this can be seen as sexist, but on the other hand, it is also a consequence of the church's promotion of abstinence. They believe that Satan harms people by corrupting them in the first place.
Some of the documents accusing witches are related to demonic sex, and most of the people framed as witches are young and beautiful reclusive women;People who own cats are more likely to be suspected of being witches. If they are accused of being witches, they are sentenced to death and their property confiscated. Politics and the judiciary also love to hunt witches because of the potential to create wealth.
Most of these ** witches were burned at the stake, why were they burned to death?First of all, religious taboos forbid"Eating the blood of any animal or shedding the blood of other animals", so the burning at the stake avoided this altogether. In addition, Europeans believed that fire purified everything. They also believe that if the witch's body is not burned at the stake, she will become a vampire, and that the danger can only be eliminated by the complete destruction of the body.
In addition to burning at the stake, there was also waterboarding. First, the woman's hands and feet were lifted up and then thrown into the water;If she drowns, prove her innocence;Usually, as long as she is flooded, there is no way to avoid drowning. If she hadn't drowned, she would have been branded as a witch. Since the church believes that witches can fly because they are light, if they can swim in water, they must be witches. Regardless of the outcome of this identification method, most of the women who experienced it were saved.
If, in addition to the waterboarding diagnosis and fever diagnosis, a woman runs away with red-hot wine for a while, and three days later there are wounds on her body, then she must be a witch, but if there are no wounds on her body, then she is not a criminal, so how can ordinary people endure it?
There is also the acupuncture diagnostic: if a woman is pricked by a needle without bleeding, she is definitely a witch.
All of these bizarre descriptions come from The Hammer of the Witches, and around the time of The Hammer of the Witches, about 100,000 women died as a result of these bizarre regulations and the Church's hunt.
It is blamed on low productivity, unequal behavior, human greed, and religious strife. But witch hunts are not ubiquitous in Europe. Traditionally Catholic regions such as Spain and Italy disdain witch hunts because they believe in the Church.