Witch-hunt
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | {{Template}}A '''witch-hunt''' is a search for [[witch]]es or evidence of [[witchcraft]], often involving [[moral panic]], [[mass hysteria]] and [[mob lynching]], but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official '''witchcraft trials''' | + | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |
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| + | "Vicious, tireless, [[Matthew Hopkins]] the [[Witchfinder General (film) |Witchfinder General]], scourge of the ungodly, flayer of the demented, burst into 1645 like a black-winged merciless [[Attila]], leaving behind him a trail of gibbet-hung corpses and vermin-infested gaols filled with beaten, terrified women – like bloody footprints across the length of Suffolk."--''[[Witchfinder General (novel)|Witchfinder General]]'' (1966) by Ronald Bassett, page 139 | ||
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| + | A '''witch-hunt''', or a '''witch purge''', is a search for people who have been labeled [[witches]] or a search for evidence of [[witchcraft]]. The [[Witch trials in the early modern period|classical period of witch-hunts]] in [[Early Modern Europe]] and [[European Colonization of the Americas|Colonial America]] took place in the [[Early Modern period]] or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] and the [[Thirty Years' War]], resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 100,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like [[Africa]] and [[Asia]], contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from [[sub-Saharan Africa]] and [[Papua New Guinea]], and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Cameroon]] today. | ||
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| + | In current language, "witch-hunt" metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty, and so on, but with the real purpose of intimidating political opponents. It can also involve elements of [[moral panic]] or [[mass hysteria]]. | ||
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| + | ==List of witch trials== | ||
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| + | * [[Basque witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Bideford witch trial]] | ||
| + | * [[:nl:Heksenprocessen te Bredevoort|Bredevoort witch trial (in Dutch)]] | ||
| + | * [[Derenburg witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Islandmagee witch trial]] | ||
| + | * [[Liechtenstein witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[North Berwick witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Ramsele witch trial]] | ||
| + | * [[Roermond witch trial]] | ||
| + | * [[Salem witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Spa witch trial]] | ||
| + | * [[St Osyth Witches]] | ||
| + | * [[Torsåker witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Trier witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Vardø witch trials]] | ||
| + | * [[Wiesensteig witch trial]] | ||
| + | * [[Witches of Warboys]] | ||
| + | * [[Würzburg witch trial]] | ||
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| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Femicide]] | ||
| + | * [[Gendercide]] | ||
| + | * [[Inquisition]] | ||
| + | * [[Torture of witches]] | ||
| + | * [[European witchcraft]] | ||
| + | * [[Execution by burning]] | ||
| + | * [[Christian views on witchcraft]] | ||
| + | * [[List of people executed for witchcraft]] | ||
| + | * [[Satanic ritual abuse]] | ||
| + | * [[Scapegoating]] | ||
| + | * [[Trial by ordeal]] | ||
| + | * [[Fishing expedition]] | ||
| + | * [[Medical explanations of bewitchment]] | ||
| + | * [[Alonso de Salazar Frías]] | ||
| + | * ''[[Auto-da-fé]]'' | ||
| + | * [[Donas de fuera]] | ||
| + | * [[James VI]] | ||
| + | * [[Marie-Josephte Corriveau]] | ||
| + | * [[Matthew Hopkins]] | ||
| + | * [[Pierre de Lancre]] | ||
| + | * "[[The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street]]" (Episode from the original series ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'') | ||
| + | * [[West Memphis Three]] | ||
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"Vicious, tireless, Matthew Hopkins the Witchfinder General, scourge of the ungodly, flayer of the demented, burst into 1645 like a black-winged merciless Attila, leaving behind him a trail of gibbet-hung corpses and vermin-infested gaols filled with beaten, terrified women – like bloody footprints across the length of Suffolk."--Witchfinder General (1966) by Ronald Bassett, page 139 |
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A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern period or about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 100,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today.
In current language, "witch-hunt" metaphorically means an investigation that is usually conducted with much publicity, supposedly to uncover subversive activity, disloyalty, and so on, but with the real purpose of intimidating political opponents. It can also involve elements of moral panic or mass hysteria.
List of witch trials
- Basque witch trials
- Bideford witch trial
- Bredevoort witch trial (in Dutch)
- Derenburg witch trials
- Islandmagee witch trial
- Liechtenstein witch trials
- North Berwick witch trials
- Ramsele witch trial
- Roermond witch trial
- Salem witch trials
- Spa witch trial
- St Osyth Witches
- Torsåker witch trials
- Trier witch trials
- Vardø witch trials
- Wiesensteig witch trial
- Witches of Warboys
- Würzburg witch trial
See also
- Femicide
- Gendercide
- Inquisition
- Torture of witches
- European witchcraft
- Execution by burning
- Christian views on witchcraft
- List of people executed for witchcraft
- Satanic ritual abuse
- Scapegoating
- Trial by ordeal
- Fishing expedition
- Medical explanations of bewitchment
- Alonso de Salazar Frías
- Auto-da-fé
- Donas de fuera
- James VI
- Marie-Josephte Corriveau
- Matthew Hopkins
- Pierre de Lancre
- "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" (Episode from the original series The Twilight Zone)
- West Memphis Three
