Witchcraft can be found in different kind of culture all over the world, like the Celtic, Greek, African, Egyptian and Asian (Moorey 18-20). The most well known one is the Celtic tradition of the craft. It is because during the classical time, the Witches' religion and the Celtic religion have inter-influenced each other greatly (Johnson). The ancient history of the craft mainly consists of a large part of persecution and discrimination against the pagans by the public. This was due to the fact when Christianity grew stronger and expanded its political power; it set laws to suppress its "rival". One of its opposition was Witchcraft. The old Gods now becomes the evil of the new religion (Johnson and Our History).
"In 1755 . . . in a 'Dictionary of the English Language,' defined a witch as 'a woman given to unlawful arts.' . . . The book 'Errores', written in 1450, declared, 'Witches . . . often make verbal pacts and promises with the Devil . . . '. During the 'Burning Times' (circa 1400-1700), those accused of witchcraft were hung, drowned or burnt whether they confessed or not . . .by 1700, at least 200,000 women and girls had been killed (DiLorenzo).
Other similar cases of persecution were Pope Innocent VIII who produced the Bulls against the Witches in 1484 and two infamous German monks created their anti-Witchery plan, the Malleus Maleficarum (The Witches Hammer), two years later. The Archbishop of Treves was convinced that the local Witches had caused a severe winter and therefore 120 men and women who were thought to be the troublemakers were burned to death in 1586. Witches were the most convenient scapegoats for every aspect of life. Besides religious reasons, Witches studied a lot and had a broad knowledge of botany, meteorology, anatomy, veterinary science, psychology, astronomy, and primitive physics. What we called "science" now was considered as "magic" in the superstitious population of that time (DiLorenzo).
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