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Spanish Persecution Of The 15th-17th Centuries: A Study Of Discrimination Against Witches At The Local And State Levels, Laura Ledray
Spanish Persecution Of The 15th-17th Centuries: A Study Of Discrimination Against Witches At The Local And State Levels, Laura Ledray
Departmental Honors Projects
Persecution has occurred in society since the beginning of human interaction. Individuals labeled as witches were often targeted for persecution, particularly in Europe from the 15th until the 17th century. This paper focuses on the Spanish Inquisition and examines why the Inquisition was more lenient towards individuals accused of witchcraft in comparison to the secular councils in various Spanish regions. The hysteria commonly associated with witch-hunts did not consume the Spanish Inquisition officials, even as the rest of Europe was hunting heretics. The meticulous methods used by the Inquisition and how those methods influenced their final rulings on …
Finding The Witch’S Mark: Female Participation In The Judicial System During The Hopkins Trials 1645-47, Shannon M. Lundquist
Finding The Witch’S Mark: Female Participation In The Judicial System During The Hopkins Trials 1645-47, Shannon M. Lundquist
Departmental Honors Projects
Between the years of 1645 and 1647 in East Anglia, a series of witch trials known as the Hopkins Trials took place. In all, 250 witches were accused and 100 hanged. The ability to convict a person of the crime of witchcraft relied heavily on evidence which was hard to come by given the nature of the crime of witchcraft. Tangible proof of an intangible crime was needed; this came in the form of witch’s marks. To the learned population, marks were a symbol of the witch’s covenant with the devil. To the lay person, they were called ‘teats’ and …