In medieval Europe, it was generally believed that witches coated themselves with "devil's oil" made of babies every night, then slipped in through cracks and keyhole, climbed up the chimney, rode on broomsticks, spindles or spaceships, and flew to the gathering place of demons to attend witches' parties ... If they had evil thoughts, they would be tempted by demons, and women's abortion and debauchery were often considered to have suffered from witches' witchcraft, hail, crop failure and diseases.
From the15th century, Christian priests persecuted witches for nearly 300 years according to the "quotation" in the Bible that "a sorcerer should not let her live". In this dark 300 years, countless good women have been wrongly labeled as "witches", or beheaded, or tied to the stake and burned to death. 1487, the church published a professional book on witch hunting, malleus maleficarum. With the spread of modern printing invented by Gutenberg in Europe, this book was reprinted nearly 30 times in the nearly 200 years from 1487 to 1669, which triggered a lasting witch hunt. Malleus maleficarum describes in detail the specific interrogation methods for "witches" and the effective methods to ensure the success of the interrogation. This kind of trial has neither prosecution procedure nor defender. In addition to torture as a means of extracting confessions, there are so-called "witch" tests.
According to the theory provided in the book, because the "witch" is enchanted by the devil and is no longer sensitive to pain, she can torture at will. Such as burning the defendant's hand with a red-hot iron block. If the hand is burned, the defendant is guilty; Let the defendant put a sacred ring in boiling water with his hand, and then tie a bandage and seal on his hand. If there is no trace after 3 days, he is innocent, and so on ... A more incredible identification method is: tie the defendant's hands and feet and throw them into the lake-if she sinks to the bottom of the lake, it means she is innocent; On the contrary, if she floats on the water, it means that she is blessed by the devil and must be sent to the stake. As a result of this absurd practice, whether the defendants are "guilty" or not, they will only die. Legend has it that there was a saying in Europe that year: "Don't witches ride broomsticks?" The way to test whether a woman is a witch is related to her weight. Those who are underweight are witches. "
Due to different statistical sources, future generations have been unable to give an accurate answer to the number of "witches" who died in the witch-destroying frenzy. Various statistics range from hundreds of thousands to millions. Bambeck, a small town in Bavaria, was once a town with 6,000 people, but within five years, 600 people were convicted as witches and died in the fire. In Wü rzburg, another small town with a similar population, at the same time, nearly 900 "witches" were buried in the fire, which is equivalent to one "witch" being executed every two days. 1597, German widow Clara, making a living by doing short-term work? Although geissler is 67 years old, she is still falsely accused as a "witch". She was accused of living with three demons, causing more than 240 deaths, causing the house to catch fire nine times and even burning down the city ... She swallowed her breath under torture. At the end of the interrogation record, this sentence was written: "The devil didn't want her to give anything more, so he tightened her neck." Judges and priests benefit from it: they enjoy people's gratitude to them, and after burning a witch, they also ask the family of the deceased for firewood and money for holding a celebration party.
At that time, Europeans regarded cats as witches' accomplices and killed them. This greatly reduced the number of cats in the Middle Ages and was almost extinct. The cat disaster led to the proliferation of mice, which triggered a terrible plague and killed more than 25 million people in Europe. In Switzerland, people stab a bag full of cats with a sharp knife until the cat is stabbed to death; In Copenhagen, people throw cats from the tall bell tower and listen to their dying cries. 1533, when Queen Elizabeth I held the coronation ceremony, the screams of boxes of cats in the fire were accompanied by the priest's loud prayers.
Fortunately, the nightmare will eventually end. /kloc-at the beginning of the 0/7th century, the voices of western European countries against witch persecution became stronger and stronger. 16 14, the Spanish heresy court concluded according to a detailed fact report of a magistrate in the northern region that the statement about the existence of witches was completely fictitious and groundless, and most of the convictions lacked authenticity. From then on, the judicial department of the church needs to strengthen rectification and management, and no more accusations about witches are allowed. By 1650, witch trials in Spain were basically banned.
Then, with the rise of the massive Renaissance and Enlightenment, materialist philosophy has been more and more widely spread and popularized, and the rationality and legitimacy of personal views have been recognized more and more in the cognitive process; On the other hand, the status of nature and country is also divorced from the theocracy of God. Scientists and philosophers constantly improve their understanding and explanation of nature, breaking the superstition of magic and witchcraft. Civilization finally defeated barbarism, and Western European countries also banned the trial of witches under the strong pressure of the Enlightenment (northern Germany 1649, France 1672). 17 14 Frederick William I, king of Prussia, issued a special imperial edict prohibiting the abuse of justice to persecute witches: all punishments and trial results must be approved by the emperor.
The last witch in Germany died on 1775, while the last witch in Europe was Anna Goldie, who was beheaded in Switzerland on 1782.