To start with we shall first discuss the meaning of the witchcraft. Witchcraft had been assigned many meaning by several people but in real meaning a witch is a person who possesses a supernatural, or a power suspected to cause harm, misfortune or even injuries to others. Witches defined in this broad perspective had some characteristics or they possessed a similar trait such as isolation from the community, the act of being malicious, or even inheritance of this witchcraft from another witch. The witchcraft was associated to both men and women, though in many communities the they associated it to women. In European history the meaning of witch and witchcraft had more detailed definition. A witch was a person who exercised maleficent power by virtue of having made agreement with the of the devil.
In an estimates in early modern witch trials claimed that about 80-90% of the population were women in the European country. According to Barstow he argued that though the witches possessed an abnormal power he had little faith in modern society as healers or even diviners. In fact, he associated the most stereotype of witchcraft with the women. According to Kramer and Sprenger, in their book of witch- hunter they described women as unfaithful, sexually insatiable, unfaithful and they even quated this classical, biblical and medieval sources. However, in same category Julio Caro mentioned in his book Basque Witchcraft of the sick that old women were his typical witches. He continues to say that a woman will become a witch in initial failure of her life as woman, after frustrated love affairs have leaving her with importance or disgrace.
In another circumstance woman are blamed to be the source of problems. According to Jeffrey Burton he says that women are all center of the problem in society. He argues that the folk magic or witch craft was another valid alternative for women. He accepted all concept definitions of witchcraft terming it as violent, feminine discontent which involved criminal activity since he associated witch craft wit deviation rather than the traditional religion. According to his argument he claims that the European witch was not just to be understood from as sorceress but as incarnation of the hag.
In addition, on women witchcraft, William Monter’s in study of witchcraft affirm that the widespread use of magic in Europe, is linked with women for use of magic in need of compensation for the legal and economic disadvantages. He continues that he lays his persecution that sex was their crucial factor more important than even age, poverty or any other thing. He continues to say that single women were also, designated victims of witchcraft. He concluded by stating that the female according to gender analysis were the most influenced with witchcraft and magic.
Also, on gender analysis Christiana Larner a sociologist produced the most detailed investigation on witchcraft. Through his skills in sociology, history and also religion he accepted the idea of use of witchcraft by the poor village females. He firms that gender was the central issue and that women were the potential witches and thought to be associated with thoughts of evil. The issue of witchcraft was sex-linked and was persecution of women such as the same thing could be associated with men on killers being a persecution of men as far gender was concerned.
According to Cotton Mather of the Apocalypse of the withes the early generations during the colonialism were susceptible to influence of the magic or devil. However, through interpretation of the Bible the life of the Puritan was characterized by continues struggle between good and devil. The devil they believed selected women and children since they were the easiest target and to continue to despise in his work. During the year 1688, still on colonial time the children of Mason Goodwin contracted strange diseases which was a symptom of demonic possession. Mather however, treated them with prayers while still fasting to express her spiritual realm. Later in 1689 he published the whole incidence terming it as witchcrafts and possessions by the devil.
In addition to witchcraft and gender there were few scholarly studied engaged in gender and the question on why so many witches were women until 1990s. According to Christina Larner in the book Witchcraft and Religion bring out the question which many feminists were asking on was witch hunting really a woman hunting. Larner incorporated the idea of gender into realm of serious scholarship, hence prompting other historians to engage on the subject of the witchcraft. However, without losing the significance of gender relations in the subject of witch craft trial, Larner argued that Patriarchy and misogyny were not necessary the root of the witch hunt but rather condition that fostered the hunts. Larner affirmed that witchcraft witch craft was associated to sex-related crime rather than sex-specific crime by carrying out an investigation on how sex-related influenced the outbreaks. However, Larner does not negligence the idea of high number of accused women as and concede the deeply entrenched misogyny.
In contemporary the major critic of the argument that a witch-hunt was a woman-hunt was that the witch oppression could not have been a thoughtful form of suppression against women because women also accused witches. On addition to Larner’s argument Clive Holmes suggested three ways in which women partake in proceedings against women. These ways included testifying possessed women, reporting on physical searches on witch and possessed women and also to testify their experience as the victims of the witchcraft attacks. However, to summarize his conclusion both women and men belief in reality and existence of witchcraft and feared witches, therefore both men and women took part in accusation of witches.
In addition, Larner affirms that men viewed women’s as Life bearing and menstruating abilities which was mysterious and dangerous if uncontrolled according to men. In his argument Lyndal Roper really support the Larners argument that the witch-hunt was a witch hunter rather than a concealed woman hunt since the society in real sense believe in supernatural and magic in everyday life. However, Roper was more interested in a thing that made women more vulnerable to occasions and the position of women in Europe during the sixteen century. She was also interested in partiality of older women among the accused witches. In her conclusion, Ropers argues that the witch craze was about women. The witches could do mysterious things like killing Babies, ground their carcass into powders and use that powder to add more power.
Another scholarly is Diane Purkiss analyzed who also outlined the idea of witchcraft and gender. In her research also, on how women are more close to witchcraft and witches as well as how they are related to the society Diane examines female witnesses and characters at witch trials. She continues to add that the stories that relayed on depositions were powerful fantasies through which the women exchanged their fears and concerns of housekeeping and motherhood. Furthermore, she expressed that despite the witch being ant-mother, they were anti-housewife thus threatening women who were responsible for bearing and raising children.
In conclusion, despite the significant contribution of these historians have made to the study of gender in history thy also failed to give any substantial attention to highlighting the witchcraft about men as a gender. However, some historians such as Lara Apps have been trying to consider male witches as the subject of witchcrafts as far as gender is concerned. However, during the ancient period people used to thought witchcraft as the female thing. But still the aspect of male witchcraft has no detailed evidence to answer the question on whether the male witch was regarded as effeminate and really fitted in the fantasy of witchcraft figure.
1. Julian. Goodare, “A Source-Book of Scottish Witchcraft (review),”The Scottish Historical Review 86, no. 2 (2007): xx, doi:10.1353/shr.2007.0078.
2. Goodare, “short title,” xx.
1. Judika Illes, The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z of the Entire Magical World (London: HarperElement, 2005), xx.
2. Illes, short title, xx.
1. Liv Helene Willumsen, The witchcraft trials in Finnmark, Northern Norway (Bergen: Skald, 2010), xx.
2. Willumsen, short title, xx.
Bibliography
Goodare, Julian. “A Source-Book of Scottish Witchcraft (review).” The Scottish Historical Review 86, no. 2 (2007), 338-340. doi:10.1353/shr.2007.0078.
Illes, Judika. The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z of the Entire Magical World. London: HarperElement, 2005.
Willumsen, Liv Helene. The witchcraft trials in Finnmark, Northern Norway. Bergen: Skald, 2010.
Levack, Brian P., ed. The witchcraft sourcebook. Routledge, 2015.
