Source:
http://hysteriasinhistoryperiod2.wikispaces.com/Witch+Hunts+of+Renaissance+Europe
Questions:
1. We all learned about how logical and reasonable people's thinking became during the Renaissance, but aren't there any trials that is still determined or based on religious or supernatural beliefs?
2. Is any trial's conviction still based on religious or supernatural beliefs in the Renaissance.
3. How did the "so called" "Witch" come into existence.
4. If we know that there are no witches, and that it is almost impossible to prove someone a witch, why is so many people convicted of witch craft, found guilty, and burned to death in the Renaissance.
Connections:
We just finished studying about the Renaissance period in Europe, even though we didn't study in great detail. But we did learned that the Renaissance is a break in the Medieval tradition because there are more great thinkers in the Medieval tradition and people start to think more logically with reason and evidence to prove statements instead of allowing religious and supernatural belief to affect their decisions and outlooks, but the most notorious Witch trials in the Renaissance is the exemplary of people's outlook being affected by religious and supernatural beliefs, thus contradicting what we've learned.
New Knowledge:
http://hysteriasinhistoryperiod2.wikispaces.com/Witch+Hunts+of+Renaissance+Europe
Questions:
1. We all learned about how logical and reasonable people's thinking became during the Renaissance, but aren't there any trials that is still determined or based on religious or supernatural beliefs?
2. Is any trial's conviction still based on religious or supernatural beliefs in the Renaissance.
3. How did the "so called" "Witch" come into existence.
4. If we know that there are no witches, and that it is almost impossible to prove someone a witch, why is so many people convicted of witch craft, found guilty, and burned to death in the Renaissance.
Connections:
We just finished studying about the Renaissance period in Europe, even though we didn't study in great detail. But we did learned that the Renaissance is a break in the Medieval tradition because there are more great thinkers in the Medieval tradition and people start to think more logically with reason and evidence to prove statements instead of allowing religious and supernatural belief to affect their decisions and outlooks, but the most notorious Witch trials in the Renaissance is the exemplary of people's outlook being affected by religious and supernatural beliefs, thus contradicting what we've learned.
New Knowledge:
- Then came illness, disease and illusions, which are things that people do not know what caused these problems, which decimated the nations' populations in Europe at let time, decimating the economy, and put everyone into poverty, sickness, and depression.
- Then because of stress and illness, people became neurotic and mentally and psychologically ill that they start to blame and accuse some people for the cause of all this.
- Because of high fear and uncertainty other people believes what the prosecutor said.
- Already accused person accuse other person as witches simply to save themselves.
- Neighbors accusing neighbors, family members accusing family members.
- During the trial, religious, and illogical techniques are used to determine if a person is a witch or not, they were put in water, tortured, and eventually executed when found guilty - (This means that they test positive for wield tests like water test, in which they are thrown into the water with rocks tied to their body to see if he/she can float/swim or not, if he/she swims, he is convicted and executed, if he/she didn't, then he/she drowned. It is actually not possible for anyone to be truly convicted as witch, since there are no witch.).
- Most of the reasons and evidence used to accuse the person as witches are spectral evidences. "In 1706, Grace Sherwood faced charges of witchcraft in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her trial, held at the dawn of the Age of Reason, brought to light the conflict between science and superstition. Witnesses testified that Grace caused ghosts to attack people, but the court was unconvinced by what it termed "spectral evidence." It is unknown exactly what happened during that trial, as the records burned in a later fire, but Grace Sherwood is known to have lived to old age. Shortly after the trial, spectral evidence was officially banned from trials.”
- 270 trials took place, more than 9 million women burned or hanged as witches, almost everyone, including high society leaders are accused at least once.