Witch Hunts in the Western World by
Brian Pavlac is a comprehensive account of the witch hunts that occurred in
Europe and America. This is a nuts and bolts, serious chronicle of events. It
is very balanced. The history of witch hunting as it occurred in Europe and
America is chronicled. Many individual cases are examined. The ideology behind
witch hunting is also detailed, as is the ideology that was espoused by its
critics. This book is light on analysis, however.
Witch
hunting mostly occurred between 1400 and 1800. It usually originated on the
local level. Although the hunts were sometimes taken up by national and
religious leadership, a higher level authority more often than not tended to
stop or slow the persecutions. It was mostly women who were accused. However,
there were some hunts that involved even numbers of men and women and a few
that targeted mostly men. The accusations usually involved the use of magic as
a means to harm others, as well as consorting with the devil, demons or other
witches in various ways. The accused
would often be tortured. Under torture, the victims often implicated many
others so the circle of accused witches grew. Thus, while some persecutions
involved only one or two individuals, others turned into mass hunts involving hundreds
of people. Those convicted were often, but not always, executed. People were
often burned alive. This book details one story after another of brutal torture
and execution. Thus, many readers will find this work disturbing. War,
religious arguments and other social pressures often helped to kindle the
fires.
Many
scholars and religious leaders supported the persecution. Multiple books and
tracts were written that encouraged it. However, others opposed it. Some famous
thinkers were opponents who spoke and wrote against it. Rene Descartes and Erasmus
were among the notable opponents.
The
author writes of Descartes.
“his “Cartesian doubt” required proof for something so fantastic as
witches. His promotion of the scientific method showed that witches could not
be proven as real. The tenets of rationalism fortified the skeptics of witch
hunting.”
This
book reads a little bit like a textbook. Pavlac does not embellish his writing
much. There is a little analysis, but it is fairly sparse. One interesting
thing that the author does is that he briefly surveys various theories on the
underlying cause of these historical events. He does explain which theories he
favors and why he favors them.
One
area that the author does explore is the view that witch-hunting represented an
anomaly for Western society and for Christianity. The author explains that
prior to 1400, when people dabbled in magic, it was considered silly
superstition. Many theologians and religious and political leaders dismissed it
at harmless and not worth the attention of authorities. It was starting around
1400 that this attitude changed. Dabbling in magic became a serious offense and
a capital crime. After 1800, the more relaxed view returned. The author writes,
“Before 1400 witches did not concern most
educated people in Europe. In 1600 most educated people saw witches as a danger
to society. By 1800 almost no educated people believed that witches existed at
all.”
Pavlac
sees the changes as originating in variations in ideology. With that, the
analysis here is sparse. I wanted to know more. Despite the author’s clear
intent to provide a balanced, unbiased view, the text could have dug deeper
into the underlying causes of these events.
I
chose this book as I was looking for general history on witch hunting in Europe
and America. Several historians had either written or told me that many of the
popular books out there contained poor research or were too agenda driven. This
book was recommended as one of several good sources.
This
is a good book for a reader who wants to know the facts related to witch
hunting in Europe and America. I learned a lot from it. With that, it seems primarily
aimed at students and academics. Folks looking for an engaging read might want
to look elsewhere. For those who are very interested in the subject, this book
as part of a broader reading plan is invaluable for its completeness and
objectivity. I recommend this work for readers who are so inclined.
