In the early Christendom, the consensus among the clergy was that witchcraft and sorcery didn’t exist in the sense that later became dominant – that meaning the connecting to Satan and devils. In the early medieval period, it was instead connected to paganism, and that in itself should be eradicated.
The accused witches association with the devil began in the 15th century, and what later has been known as the witch trails began in Valais in Switzerland. This was a region plagued by civil war that had led to mistrust between villages and even neighbours, eventually leading to accusations of witchcraft.
From Switzerland, the hysteria spread throughout Europe, claiming thousands of lives. Torture was often used to get people to confess to sorcery and consorting with Satan. The punishment for this was often, but not always, death.
Many books and guides how to spot, interrogate and punish witches and wizards were written, most famous of these is Malleus Maleficarum – the Hammer of Witches – written by Heinrich Kramer.
Contrary to popular belief, most of these trials were not conducted by the church, but by secular courts, often local/regional ones.
Another belief is that those condemned of witchcraft were burned alive at the stake. This DID happen – and the practice varied geographically – but most usual was that the victim was first strangled, hanged or beheaded, and then the body was burned.
In the next post I will write about how the witch hysteria spread to the Nordic countries.
Sources:
Harrisson, Dick. Häxprocesserna
Harrison, Dick. Ondskans tid