Why the witch-hunt victims of early modern Britain have come back to haunt us
It was no sort of burial, but from the perspective of the thousands of women accused of, and executed for, witchcraft in early modern Britain, Liliass fate had a degree of dignity.
Most women were burned, rather than buried, their identities erased by authorities and families out of fear and shame, says Claire Mitchell QC, who is campaigning for a legal pardon for, and monument to, the estimated 2,558 Scots who were executed in the brutal centuries of femicide after Scotlands 1563 Witchcraft Act (the same year England enacted its own bloody statute). She adds: This lack of historical record makes it harder as a society to have the reckoning with history that we dearly need to have.
If its a case of cultural amnesia, its hiding in plain sight. Halloween 2021 and online fast-fashion retailers are jolly with witchy inspo: cross-fusions of witch costumes and bunny girl outfits; miniature pointed hats worn at a jaunty angle, with a lipglossed pout. Meanwhile, designer Viktor & Rolf riffs on wicked witches in its haute couture shows (raven-winged leathers and laser eyes); witchcore trends on social media (an interior and lifestyle aesthetic centred on dark interiors, gemstones and, oddly, bread-baking); and influencers including the Modern Witch peddle a novel iteration of magical capitalism (spell-casting for business curse-removal, anyone?).
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/24/why-the-witch-hunt-victims-of-early-modern-britain-have-come-back-to-haunt-us?fbclid=IwAR0SvsumVHx3IDA5vkvMe-m-zpJCz-JVrpdajavy7PNPDGtj3XE-A0U_Xbw
niyad
(119,931 posts)Women's Rghts And Issues? Thanks in advance.
BigmanPigman
(52,259 posts)history book in a lesson and learned that "witches" were persecuted in the US due to their sex. Apparently male doctors didn't like having mid-wives take away some of their business. They called them witches to get them out of the business.
One of my relatives was the only person in PA to be tried for witchcraft. The family farm was doing well while their neighbors weren't so they were jealous. When some of their property was missing they blamed her, even stating they saw livestock elevate. She was cleared for lack of evidence (she made it disappear they said). William Penn himself said she was innocent. After the trial they moved to NJ.
http://www.quakersintheworld.org/ideas-for-educators/69
https://www.sacred-texts.com/ame/row/row06.htm