European Witch Trials and Forgotten History

The Salem Witch Trials in the American colonies in the 1690s were not unique. Rather, they relied on centuries of practice in Europe during the Early Modern Period. It is history that deserves to be remembered.

This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As images of actual events are sometimes not available, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.

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Script by Tracy Douglas

#history #thehistoryguy #witchtrial

[moonmullins]

Sir, thank you for doing these great videos. Im 57 yrs old headed to 58 on a fast track. I have a very high stress non pleasure inducing job and it is strangely calming and refreshing to just sit here and soak up the knowledge you pass out to us in the digital viewing world. I wish you all the best and hope you have at least half the enjoyment and pleasure of making the videos as I do watching them. Thank you so much again.

[CauliflowerMcPugg]

In the town in Britain where I come from there a place that use to be a pond where they dunked suspect witches. One of the accused is said to have cursed the area. Later on it was filled in, built over and for years even when I lived there any shop that opened on that plot soon went out of business.

[kinglerxstbtpc]

There is so much more to history than we are ever taught in school. Thank you for continuing my education.

[Simon_de_Cornouailles]

My wife is a witch.
20 years ago she smiled at me and now I am the father of 3 children.

[briansmith]

Very good episode. An ancestor of mine was charged with practicing witchcraft in 1612 close on the heels of the Pendleton Witch trials. In the lesser known Witches of Samlesbury trials, the reason behind the charges lay with the conversion to Anglicanism by the future Lord of Samlesbury. The Southworths had been staunch Roman Catholics facing financial ruin at the hands of Bloody Bess (Queen Elizabeth) with several becoming priests on the Continent. And therein lay the trouble. The English had a set of beliefs surrounding witches that were at great variance with the Continental beliefs. The Roman Catholic priest behind the Samlesbury trials, Father Christopher Southworth, had been schooled on the Continent and the story he concocted for the young girl making the charges, one Grace Sowerbutts (have to love that name) had accusations that were foreign to English ears. One of the women charged was Jane Southworth, a recent widow and the mother of the next Southworth lord and it was her conversion to Anglicanism that instigated the charges. If she were found guilty not only would she lose her life but her offspring would be barred from inheriting the estate and it would devolve to the next in line who was conveniently a Roman Catholic, thus saving the manor from the ruinous taint of Anglicanism. The charges were dismissed but not until after Lady Southworth had languished in the dungeon of Lancaster Castle for 10 weeks, leaving her 10-year-old son alone as their husband/father James had died just two months before the charges were made. Within a few decades of this incident, another Southworth priest would be the last Roman Catholic priest to be hanged, drawn and quartered for being a priest. The charges dated back to 1632 but the execution at Tyburn of the 72-year-old frail man only came about during Cromwell's Protectorate on 28 June 1654. Vivid, and horrifying accounts of the barbaric act are plentiful with the one in the Venetian Archives being one of the best. His body parts were surreptitiously gathered, stitched together and spirited out of England only to be lost for two and a half centuries. After being discovered in the early 20th century, the remains were returned to England and Father John Southworth was declared a Saint by Pope Paul VI on 25 October 1970. His remains, covered with a silver face mask, can be viewed today in a glass coffin in the Chapel of Saint George and the English Martyrs in Westminster Cathedral in London.

[condorboss]

Charles MacKay's " _Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds_ " has a chapter on the witch trials in Europe. Despite the dated language, it's a worthwhile read.

[MegaNinjaMonkeyZord]

It may be history to us, Saudis beheaded "witch" in 2011 and "sorcerer" in 2012

[slingshot]

It's history we are trying to forget. Guess it cut's both ways. Anyway, I love you History Guy! It's history. You can't always report our finest moments. I'm reminded of Montey Python and the Holy Grail, where the woman accused of being a witch was weighed on a giant scale and she out weighed the other side, and she said "at least it was a fair trial".

[Zakalwe-]

Depressing stuff but fascinating as ever! As one who lives near both Berwick and North Berwick, I can reveal that the ‘w’ in Berwick isn’t pronounced. North Berwick is therefore pronounced ‘North Beh-Rick’ with an emphasis on the ‘r’ for the rhotic speakers amongst us. Some villages have actually discarded the ‘w’ from their name over the centuries, as it’s never pronounced ( for example, ‘Darnwick’ has become ‘Darnick’).

[rob-vy]

"Well, we did do the nose..and the hat..but she's still a witch!"

[JL-cnqi]

Gossiping women? Imposible, this must be supernatural..

[dandog]

The cruelty and stupidity of human beings knows no bounds.

[Peasmouldia]

Impossible for me to think of Matthew Hopkins without visualising the magnificent Vincent Price in that role.

[floridaarmyvet]

What a wonderful channel. Thank you from Florida

[PerspectiveEngineer]

A nice one History Guy.

Half a million subscribers!
Seems like only yesterday there was 10, 000 of us...

We knew a good thing when we saw it. Thanks DB

[michaelporzio]

Modern witch hunt, please do an episode on the McMartin Preschool trial in the 1980s. Shocking parallels. Love your channel

[maxtew]

Just in time for the crescendo to Samhain. Thank you for another enjoyable installment.

[MisterSiza]

Just proves confessions under torture is highly unreliable.

[calvinr.johnsonjr.]

Thanks man this was a awesome video for the right month. Love the witch hysteria that was of that era

[donmacleod]

Good episode. The story of James I of Scotland is history is one worth retelling. He was murdered in a sewer at Perths Friars Preachers Monastery. He was attempting to escape his assailants through the sewer, unfortunately he had had the other end of the sewer blocked up a few days earlier because of the loss of tennis balls from the adjacent tennis court.