Before I begin to unravel a piece of history about witches in the late 15th century, let's understand what TED-Ed is. TED's mission is ideas worth spreading; TED provides a reputable platform for the world's best ideas worth spreading. As TED grew into the cultural phenomenon it is today, TED's method of ideas worth spreading was only the tip of the iceberg of knowledge and cultural dispersal.
Therefore, TED created various initiatives, including TED-Ed - TED's youth and educational initiative - which "aims to spark and celebrate the ideas of teachers and students around the world." Today, "TED-Ed has grown from an idea worth spreading into an award-winning education platform that serves millions of teachers and students around the world every week."
TED-Ed is a great way to expose yourself to ideas worth spreading in a creative way, such as original animated content. Today I'll be sharing a little of what I learned from the TED-Ed video "Ugly History: Witch Hunts" by Brian A. Pavlac.
Many of us already understand the history of witchcraft and specifically the dubious witch hunts that occurred from the late 15th century to the 18th century. Women and men accused of witchcraft were punished for their alignment to Satan. These tainted women and men were called witches. It's important to note that while both men and women were accused and punished, women were usually the majority of the punished. While the term witch holds many different meanings across history and nations, during the witch trials, a witch was any woman (or man) who gained magical powers by obeying Satan rather than God.
The concept of witches inhabiting everyday life spread like wildfire around western European churches in the late 15th century. The growing awareness of witches leads to the pivotal moment that started the trials: Heinrich Kraemer's book "Malleus Maleficarum," which means Hammer of Witches. This novel spurred more akin stories that created further traction around the "prevalence" of witches.
These texts mainly demoralized women as witches because it was believed that "women were easier targets for the devil's influence." These texts placed a target on women's heads, and any misfortune that happened to a woman was blamed on her affinity towards the devil. These misfortunes included a miscarriage, a sick cow, and even a stillborn. Imagine being a mother who miscarried or gave birth to a stillborn, and instead of getting deserved compassion, you are interrogated and tortured for being a witch.
Women of all statures of society were accused of witchcraft. The accusations started with societal outcasts, but even queens were accused of witchcraft. Anne Boleyn, the infamous second wife of Henry VIII of England, was accused of using witchcraft to bewitch the king.
The witch trials lasted for a little over two centuries. Women and men were tortured until they falsely confessed to witchcraft. Regardless of a confession, most that were interrogated were punished. The punishment for witchcraft ranged from a simple fine to being burned at the stake.
The people conducting the witch trials genuinely believed they were purifying their community by ridding it of evil. Various institutions of power enabled harm to be conducted on behalf of these beliefs for quite some time. The witch trials came to an end when people started writing about the lack of evidence behind the accusation of witchcraft. Scholars, judges, physicians, etc. published texts combating the physical abuse and illuminating the use of false confessions within the trial practices. These texts slowly declined the witch hunts until witch hunts became a fragment of history.
The notion of witches continuously comes back to our mainstream consciousness. The infamous play: The Crucible by Arthur Miller , Ryan Murphy's American Horror Story: Coven, Andrew Fleming's The Craft, and of course Disney's Hocus Pocus; these stories re-imagine and reconstruct the perceptions of witches in their distinct ways. It's interesting to view re-imaginings of history that seemed so gruesome in the past.
Witches are relevant even till this day. CNN released an article illustrating how there's been a recent search for a woman's remains who died for being a "witch." Lilias Adie, a Scottish native, died in confinement during her trial. She was accused of being a witch and even sleeping with the devil. Antique collectors scavenged her bones. And now Scotland is looking for her remains so she can be given a proper burial.
TED-Ed is a great platform to learn about issues and histories that may have been as explored in your history classes. If you have any other TED-related content you'd like to see on our blog, contact us!
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