Unit 33 - The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580-c1750
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Detailed and concise study notes from the North Berwick Witch Hunt depth study. Ideal for revision Edexcel History A level.
Covering the following (from the spec) -
DEPTH: THE NORTH BERWICK WITCHES IN SCOTLAND 1590-91 AND THE AFTERMATH TO 1597
The origins of the persecution:
• Gilly Duncan...
Unit 33 - The witch craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580-c1750
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DEPTH STUDY 1 PACK
INTRODUCTION: THE NORTH BERWICK WITCHES 1590-7
Who was accused of being a witch in North Berwick?
What processes were used to identify a witch?
SCOTTISH WITCH-HUNTING
• Scottish witch-hunting contained many typical features
o A large number of women were accused
o They were charged with fraternizing with the devil
o A case of Maleficium was central to the case
HOWEVER - IT’S INTERESTING TO CONSIDER THE ROLE OF JAMES I AND HIS INTERTWINEMENT WITHIN THE
WITCH-HUNT. HE IS ARGUABLY ONE OF THE CENTRAL REASONS WHY THIS WITCH-HUNT ESCALATED.
• James uses the witch hunts as a political tool to get rid of his enemies.
• Witch-hunting in Scotland was more widespread and more intense than in England
o Scotland had a less complex system of government meaning there was less oversight
if things got out of hand
o According to law, torture could only be used upon the king’s consent, but a relatively
weak monarchy meant it occurred regardless. The privy council and parliament
could also legalise torture if the crime was deemed treasonous
§ 1591 torture warrant signed by James exists
§ Pre-trial torture saw beating, sleep deprivation, pricking for the Devil’s mark
- these were used to gain confessions which may then be used in a case
o Majority needed for conviction rather than unanimity
o The Calvinist church meant stricter hunting of Catholic elements
o Scotland was relatively poor and had a deeply patriarchal society
o There was a historical belief in fairies and folk magic.
• Religious situation in Scotland was very divided
o In the 1560s, Calvinists seized power and swept away Scottish Catholic institutions.
However, catholic resistance remained, and this led to religious tension
o By the 1580s, the Scottish clergy had more power to influence Scottish government
than the secular government in England
o The Kirk held a great deal of power and arguably influenced the monarch
o By the late 1580s, the General Assembly (Calvinist leaders) put pressure on the
government to prosecute witches.
• The Scottish legal system: there were 3 main secular courts where witches could be tried
o The Court of Judiciary: in Edinburgh, the highest court
o Circuit Courts: traveling courts held in various shires and presided over by judges
, o Regality Courts: exercised judicial powers devolved from the from the Crown to try
serious crimes. These were presided over by local landowners and NOT trained
judges. These had a higher conviction and execution rate.
• However, the Scottish Privy Council routinely performed judicial services
The Context of the Case
• Scotland was a rural and undeveloped country
o 1/5th of the population lived in small and scattered towns, the other 80% in villages
o Edinburgh was the largest town – 18,000 people (compared with 250,000 in London)
• Most of society lived in subsistence farming i.e. farming to have enough food to live on
Levack (2007) – There was a succession of harvest failures and resultant famine in the 16th century
which led to “a general sense of anxiety” in Scotland.
• There seems to have been no major increase in witchcraft cases following the 1563 Act
o 60 cases in the 1560s
o 6 cases in the 1570s
o 14 in the 1580s
• Before 1590, suspected witches were charged with Maleficium rather than making a pact with
the devil/meeting at Sabbats (which were two very different types of crimes – making a pact
with the devil cannot be proven/disproven whereas Maleficium is a conscious action)
Larner (1981) claims that the differences between the witchcraft trials before 1590 and North
Berwick are “clear cut”
-> this difference can be attributed to the influence of King James.
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