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On June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop was hung as a witch in the community of Salem Village of the Massachusetts colony. Bishop was the first of twenty that died, all of whom professed their innocence. By the end of the madness, more than two hundred persons stood accused of witchcraft. They attempted to prove their innocence or they falsely admitted guilt in order to save their own lives. Citizens did not discuss the episode for many years after the trials were ended. The whole episode was an embarrassing blemish on the history of the state, and there was little atonement for the unjust hangings of those who had proclaimed their innocence. Three hundred years later, Salem, Massachusetts is very different. The image of the witch on a broomstick has been commercialized, and the city has become known as the "Witch City." The city makes over $25 million a year in tourism and is one of the largest tourist attractions in all of New England. This change raises some very important questions, such as how did this change occur? Why did it occur? Is Salem unique? How did perceptions change over time, and why? This thesis attempts to answer these questions by examining a variety of sources. This thesis strives to explain how a tiny New England town that experienced the tragic phenomenon of the witch trials and hangings, evolved into the present-day Witch City. / Master of Arts

<p>In May 1675, the local court in the northern Swedish parish of <em>Nordingrå</em>, which had approximately 1,000 inhabitants, held a preliminary investigation on 113 persons accused of witch-craft and superstition. For the majority of the 113, the main accusation was to have travelled to <em>Blåkulla</em>, a place where witches according to Swedish folklore participated in satanic festivities and rites led by the Devil himself. The preliminary investigation was held at the request of The Royal Witch-craft Commission. Nordingrå belonged to the province of <em>Ångermanland</em>, one of the Swedish provinces with the highest number of witch trials in the 1670s. The trials in Nordingrå have, more or less never been examined before, mainly due to the fact that no sentences or penalties were ever imposed.</p><p>The purpose of this paper is to examine social relations and social conflicts in Nordingrå with the records from the witch trial 1675 as the primary source. The theoretical background for the paper is Emmanuel Le Roy Laduries study of the Occitan village of Montaillou along with Hannah Arendts theory on the banality of evil.</p><p>One of the paper´s main conclusion is that the relations of power can be traced in the trials, but that they, on the other hand, become less significant the further the trials go. One reasonable interpretation of this fact is that the trials in Nordingrå reflects the tendence of juridical centralization in the 17th century.</p><p>The social conflicts in the parish are more obvious in the accusations of superstitions than in the accusations of travels to<em> Blåkulla</em>. For example the conclusion can be drawn that at least a number of inhabitants in Nordingrå had a religion on their own, which did not always match the orthodoxy of the Protestant church. At the same time the accusations of superstition do not play a particularly important role in the trials. The main impression of the trials is, on the contrary, that they do not follow a given pattern regarding who can be put on trial, except for the fact that most of the trialed were women. Against the accused, a number of at least 173 witnesses appeared, most of them children and young people under the age of 24. The witnesses in general did not only tell the court which crimes the accused witches had committed, but also which crimes they had committed themselves.</p>

In May 1675, the local court in the northern Swedish parish of Nordingrå, which had approximately 1,000 inhabitants, held a preliminary investigation on 113 persons accused of witch-craft and superstition. For the majority of the 113, the main accusation was to have travelled to Blåkulla, a place where witches according to Swedish folklore participated in satanic festivities and rites led by the Devil himself. The preliminary investigation was held at the request of The Royal Witch-craft Commission. Nordingrå belonged to the province of Ångermanland, one of the Swedish provinces with the highest number of witch trials in the 1670s. The trials in Nordingrå have, more or less never been examined before, mainly due to the fact that no sentences or penalties were ever imposed. The purpose of this paper is to examine social relations and social conflicts in Nordingrå with the records from the witch trial 1675 as the primary source. The theoretical background for the paper is Emmanuel Le Roy Laduries study of the Occitan village of Montaillou along with Hannah Arendts theory on the banality of evil. One of the paper´s main conclusion is that the relations of power can be traced in the trials, but that they, on the other hand, become less significant the further the trials go. One reasonable interpretation of this fact is that the trials in Nordingrå reflects the tendence of juridical centralization in the 17th century. The social conflicts in the parish are more obvious in the accusations of superstitions than in the accusations of travels to Blåkulla. For example the conclusion can be drawn that at least a number of inhabitants in Nordingrå had a religion on their own, which did not always match the orthodoxy of the Protestant church. At the same time the accusations of superstition do not play a particularly important role in the trials. The main impression of the trials is, on the contrary, that they do not follow a given pattern regarding who can be put on trial, except for the fact that most of the trialed were women. Against the accused, a number of at least 173 witnesses appeared, most of them children and young people under the age of 24. The witnesses in general did not only tell the court which crimes the accused witches had committed, but also which crimes they had committed themselves.

The work focuses on issues of witch trials and the Šumpersko Jesenicko. This is a proposal for the festival "AD CAELOS PROSPERO" on 325th anniversary of the burning Šumperk Dean K. A. Lautner, which will be held in the spirit of witch.

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This diploma thesis focuses on the issue of the persecution of witches in the Czech lands, precisely speaking in Bohemia and Moravia, including the necessary European context. Thesis mapped the origin and development of the formation of the dangerous sect of witches and legal basis for persecution servants of the devil designated persons. The chronological definition of work can be dated between years 1400 - 1800, however the medieval period includes a short overlap, which appears to be necessary from the standpoint of the reflection of development of formation of diabolical witchcraft. The core of this thesis becomes early modern period, the period from 1500 to 1800. Attention is also paid to the conclusions of foreign historiography and interdisciplinary approaches to the researched topic. Thesis is also trying, in addition to the analysis of theoretical concepts related to issue, ask about the possibility of application of these concepts in Bohemia and Moravia. Specific cases of judicial proceedings are based mostly on black books. Based on the interrogation protocols the diploma thesis is trying to determine a degree of knowledge of the elements cumulative concept of witchcraft in the domestic environment, including highlighting their limited reception. No less attention is paid to issue...

The purpose of this essay is to explore actions of the representatives of the church during the first of the trials of what later developed to the great swedish witch-hunts between the years 1668–1676. The method of this study is microhistorical, where you look at local events that then can be applied on a bigger scale. The theoretical ideas applied are Michel Foucault theories of a society at war, and the dynamics between central power and peripheral power in that kind of situation. By applying these theories, the relations between central juridical directives and the enforcement of these in a local place can be studied. The main subject of interest for this essay is clerical representative Lars P. Elvius, who, during the trials, were the one responsible and the one the rest of the court relied on for interpreting the crimes of witchcraft, maleficum and other crimes of supernatural art. By looking at the directives and laws concerning witchcraft, how he interpreted the testimonies of the accused and what kind of verdict was given at the end of the trial, the relationship between central directives and peripheral enforcement is made clear. This study is part chronological and part thematic; the directives and laws presented first, followed by the interpretation during the trial categorized thematically, with correlating testimony and crime, and finally the verdict at the end of the trial.