Witch-Hunting in European and World History - Ronald Hutton

This lecture confronts the worldwide phenomenon of the persecution of suspected witches, now a serious, contemporary problem condemned by the UN in 2021.

It will show what has been unusual about Europe in this global pattern, and why the notorious early modern witch hunts there commenced and ended.

This lecture was recorded by Ronald Hutton on 5th June 2024 at Barnard's Inn Hall, London

Ronald is Gresham Professor of Divinity.

He is also Professor of History at the University of Bristol.

The transcript of the lecture is available from the Gresham College website:

[Vivisectus]

Prof Hutton should be on the Unesco list of (inter) national treasures.

[whssy]

I love watching a guy who sounds like all the vicars I remember from my childhood, talking about the things that vicars would never talk about.

[UlyssesHaq]

So much humanity and compassion in this presentation. Enlightening and captivating!

[RatzoMcFatso]

Prof Hutton is a real force. So brilliant and so empathetic.

[wyvrennemacdaniels]

im a simple nerd. i see Professor Ronald Hutton, and I click. ❤

[johnmurray]

Fascinating. Did not expect the contemporary angle at all, not something I had thought about or was aware of. Always a great lecture from Prof. Hutton.

[KernowekTim]

Superb, as always. Thank you Professor Ronald Hutton. And thank you Gresham College. My subscription to this channel has been one of my better life choices.

[luannschomel]

Each time I listen to a lecture from Professor Hutton, I can't help but think what I could have achieved, if I had had just one educator like him...😊

[thomasklima]

When the world seems insane i'll pop over to youtube for Prof. Ronald Hutton and Irving Finkel and suddenly i'm reassured.

[annecampbell]

Professor Hutton is a pleasure to listen to. Appalling that witch persecution is still a thing. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
PS you are very stylish.

[semaJ]

Yet another brilliant lecture by Prof. Hutton.

[raniafowler]

Love listening and learning from Ronald Hutton! Many thanks for making these videos and sharing them with us!

[Ets]

I’m so sorry I couldn’t listen the feedback was so jarring to my ear, I can’t believe someone didn’t know better to fix it, I can’t imagine trying to sit thru this wonderful lecture by a truly brilliant man.

[jasonhatfield]

Your lectures get better and better, Prof. Hutton.

[thelostone]

Great insights!
Years ago, I was in northern Norway and came across a book with the English translations from all the hand written notes from the witch trials from the 1600s. I didn’t buy it and always regretted it, but my partner was just there and tracked down a copy for me. It is eye opening and it makes the Salem witch trials look like an unfortunate car accident.
But it’s so clear we are just hard wired to have our in and out groups and unscrupulous people and groups will insure others suffer just because [insert any reason here]? It breaks my heart because when I think of how far we’ve come, we’re always sliding backwards….

[TheNeech]

Gresham really need a decent live sound engineer, Ronnie Hutton Rocks way to hard for this subpar audio!

[verhalenvrouwe]

Very interesting lecture.
As a side note regarding the voodoo death, I recall a case of someone being cursed through voodoo and was said to die on a certain day. This man believed he would die that day. The only reason he survived was because he was brought to a dark room so he had no perception of time and was let out after that day had passed.
Another side note: I noticed that witch hunts started ramping up during the time Christianity was divided into Catholics and Protestants, but this lecture did a great job putting into perspective why this happened. I also read before that in early medieval times it often wasn't the person who was accused of witchcraft that was put to death, but the accuser because believing in magic and therefore in witches was heretic.

[daydays]

I love these lectures by Professor Hutton 🙂
So good to have them on line. Thank you Gresham Thank you Professor Hutton

[dorteweber]

excellent lecture, beautifully delivered.

[DemstarAus]

So interesting to me that people accused witches of evil when tribes and communities have engaged in magic rituals for all sorts of purposes. Traditions all across Europe and the World had brides carry fertility symbols on their wedding days. Used amulets or idols representing different things that are burned, carried, or placed in the home. People buried food sacrifices in their fields, or sacrificed animals for abundance. They perform religious rites that involve chanting, candles, music, specific robes, carried out on specific days... pot and kettle if I've ever heard of one! The idea that a witch is anything different from the village seer, shaman, or priest is incredible.