Robert Thurston (2)
Auteur de The Witch Hunts: A History of the Witch Persecutions in Europe and North America
Pour les autres auteurs qui s'appellent Robert Thurston, voyez la page de désambigüisation.
Œuvres de Robert Thurston
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Partage des connaissances
Membres
Critiques
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 2
- Membres
- 61
- Popularité
- #274,234
- Évaluation
- 3.5
- Critiques
- 3
- ISBN
- 96
- Langues
- 9
The stereotypical charges were first thrown at Jews and heretics, regardless of gender. Religious division meant constant vigilance for possible "enemies" within the ranks. What happened next was a change in judicial procedures. The Church campaign against heresy meant that more power was given to secular courts, setting the stage for public accusations and lynchings. Witchcraft was a "cult of the devil," thus a heresy.
But what about as an attack on women? Disagreeing with Barstow's "Witchcraze," Thurston explains that misogyny as the sole qualifier is not only anachronistic, but it dismisses the previous deaths of thousands of heretics. Among many other factors, including sexism, was the gradual removal of the warrior society. No longer raiding for loot, men stay at home. Scarcity leads to women being ousted from more lucrative positions in society and the terms of marriage shift. The "dowry" replaced the "brideworth." "Without independent financial value, the women's figurative value inevitably decreased." Combine that with an increasingly militant Church, and the idea forms that women were more "susceptible" to the devil.
But Thurston is adamant that such attitudes ultimately came from the top. "With the right encouragement from above, the lower classes can supply an almost unlimited number of suspects..." Fantastical descriptions of a witches' sabbat were prompted and encouraged. In other words, it was taught. And as the reader learns in the end, this is certainly true for the Salem Witch Trials.… (plus d'informations)