Michael Osorio

Dr. Erin Jordan

Hist 404

The first article by Robin Briggs goes into how bewitchment was the scapegoat for any

illness and misfortune one might have had in life. (pg 53) Briggs brought up examples of

“Voodoo death” where one is in such an emotional state their body functions stop working and

they collapse. Many people at the time believed witches had cursed these ill people that's why

they died such a quick death. Briggs mentioned how modern medicine now know that emotions

play a big role in our immune systems. The main point of this section of the article was that

witches or other people are responsible for any sort of problems. Briggs noted that “Whenever

possible the diagnosis of witchcraft was attributed to a third party”. (pg55) Briggs also clarifies

that the villages aren't the half fits that blamed everything on witches but people who held more

view about causation. (pg55)

In the next section, Briggs talks about the two large-scale systems that explain failures

and success. (pg.56) The first system was religion, God was the active force in everyone's life

and he decided who got rewards and punishment for your deeds. The church had to use clever

tactics to explain famine and diseases. The second system was the Greek inspired natural

philosophy and its fictitious categories that supposedly governed the world. Witchcraft was just

one of many illogical explanations used to ease the masses about diseases. At this time period

baffled doctors could reasonably conclude that witchcraft was the culprit of illnesses, by simply

looking at a urine sample. Briggs uses a great example of Thomas Darling who took his urine toa

doctor who suggested worms then said witchcraft after the illness got worse.(pg57)
 Briggs then discusses how infant mortality was high during this time period and that

many mothers blamed witches for their baby’s death. Many babies across Europe would die with

no obvious reason was attributed to difficulties breastfeeding and witchcraft. Even though

midwives would fit into the witch category they were actually rarely accused. Since they were

carefully selected individuals that could be trusted it made no sense for them to be accused of

witchcraft. The death of animals mostly cattle and other farm animals were also blamed by the

work of witches. Poverty was also blamed on witchcraft, not just that but family bonds were

being tested since Europe was going through a phase of hardships for many.

In the next article by Wolfgang Behringer he writes about how most witchcraft execution

happened in German speaking countries and bad weather and food shortages where also major

factors in the witch persecutions . In the article behringer notes that Germany was going through

a mini ice age during the 1600s and there was a rise of witchcraft accusation relating to weather

manipulation at this time s well. Since there was a crop shortage price inflations began to occur

this caused many people trouble to feed themselves. Southern Germany experienced the worst of

the inflation which caused mass malnutrition this weakened immune systems and allowed the

spread of disease to occur. The following witch hunts that occurred where related to the inflation

problems. This whole campaign against the witches in Germany can be summarized with three

concepts weather, hunger and fear. Both authors come to the same idea that when famine,

misfortune etc. happen people especially the clergy elites need a scapegoat to blame and

unfortunately witches were theirs.