One question that everyone wants to know, is if European witchcraft really exists. If it exists merely as a concept, a body of beliefs or whether it exists objectively is the question that baffles people. But whether witchcraft exist or not the concept of witchcraft dominated the period of the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance and the Reformation and down t

In the Middle Ages, pagan religion and folklore were the next elements in the formation of witchcraft ( Russel 660). "The Weld Hunt, and example was a model of the witches Sabbath" (660). It was about the spirits and ghosts who strayed around exposing and ruining everything (660). If anyone approached who was a human being would be killed (660). Pagan festivals of light and fertility were maintained in revised form. "One particular was "need fire" festivals on the 31 of October changed into Halloween by Christians on the Eve of All Saint's Day. To the churches minor definition of minor demons were dwarves, fairies, trolls and other small nature spirts derived from the thoughts of witches (660).

o the Eighteenth century. "Estimated over 100,000 to 200,000 people were executed and millions were tortured and terrified by the government" (Russel 658). Therefore, witchcraft brought the darkest periods in the European history.

she turned into a black cat and saw fairies that tried to kill people. She was put on trial and also burned at the stake ( Stallman 17 - 20). Terror of witchcraft grew in both Catholic and Protestant religions between 1560 - 1660 while there was wars going on in the different regions (Eliade 419).

Interpretations of the meaning of European witchcraft have varied in the extreme. "Serious writings about witchcraft from the nineteenth century was limited to polemical attacks upon or defense of belief in witchcraft"( 658 - 659). In 1899 Charles Leland published Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches showed evidence that witchcraft was the survival of a fertility cult (658 - 659). This piece of work influenced Margret Murray, an antroropologists, that lead a school called Murrayite school to argument that witchcraft did exist as a ancient pagan religion centered on the worship of a honored god that was called Dianus (658 - 659). Having little historical basis the Murrayite theory is now rejected by scholars(Marwich 3043).

s of evil. The men were considered powerful and that is good to avoid prosecution of any kind. Women tended to live longer, even with the child birth death statistics they survived plagues and famines better. This meant women lived longer than men without their legal and social protection.

An other element in the development in witchcraft in Europe was Christian heresy. It had been established by the fifteenth century. Its chief elements were pact with the devil, formal repudiation of Christ, the secret nocturnal meeting, the ride by night, the desecration of the Eucharist and the crucifix, orgy, sacrificial infanticide and cannibalism (417). At the first formal trial in 1022 is were sorcery was linked with the Devil. "In this trial the accused was said to hold orges underground at night, to call up evil spirits, to kill and cremate children conceived at previous orgies and use their ashes in blasphous parody of the Eucharist, to renounce Christ and desecrate the crusifix, and to pay homage to the Devil" (417).

Some common words found in the essay are:
Catholic Protestant, Reformation Eighteenth, Europe Christian, Saint's Day, , William Shakespeare, Margret Murray, Throughout British, Weld Hunt, Isoble Gowdie, european witchcraft, middle ages, burned stake, marwich 3042, accused witchcraft, 658 659, magic simple sorcery, witchcraft exist, witch craze, witchcraft people, eliade 419, trial burned stake,
Approximate Word count = 2003
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)