The Myth of the "Burning Times"

[Lark]

One of the lasting popular myths in Wicca is that of the so-called "Burning Times" when allegedly 9 million women died for refusing to give up their Pagan beliefs and convert to Catholocism. We are given the story of women in their hundreds walking into the sea to drown rather than be burned. We are sometimes even told about the Pagan women who were burned at Salem, MA. Sadly this myth seems to be a hard one to make go away even when all the evidence clearly shows that it is incorrect.

In the first place no 9 million women died. There probably weren't even that many women in Europe during the time period in question. Nor did 9 million men, women and children die. Research has shown that the number is probably in the range of 40,000-60,000 during the period from 1200 CE to the Salem trials in the early 1600. Nor is there any credible evidence that any large groups of women walked into the sea to escape death at the hands of the Inquisition.

Secondly, the people who died were mostly Christian heretics. In fact if one reads through the records of the Inquisition in Spain one can find accounts where people who claimed to have been practicing Witchcraft were released as being deluded fools but not the heretics that the Church was looking for. By the time of the "Burning Times" most of Europe was well and thoroughly Christianized. And in Iceland which continued to have an active Pagan population the charge of being Pagan was not thought of as a burning offense.

Nor was it a war against the women. The idea that it was the Church warring on the women of Europe is a modern one which first appeared during the feminist writings in the 1970's and is not supported by fact. In Germany deaths were about equal as to sex, and in Iceland more men than women were killed.

Remember that the Witches that people hated and feared during the "Burning Times" are not Witches as we think of them today. Nor were they Pagans. People feared witchcraft because it was thought that those who practiced it could cause death and disease of people livestock and crops. For people who didn't have the scientific background we have today it was easy to blame witchraft for the unexplained. Think of the Black Death that killed nearly 1/3 of the population of Europe. If you didn't understand the idea of germs and disease transmission a frightened person would easily ascribe it to witchcraft. And if no way to stop the disease were known other than killing the witch before s/he killed you and your village think how easy it would be to do what you had to do in your fear to survive.

Some other facts to consider. No one was burned at Salem, MA. All but one were hanged and the last was crushed under rocks. In England those convicted were hanged. Certainly there were burnings in Scotland, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. But again these were far fewer than the myth would have us believe and were not Pagans dying for their faith.

The problem with the continuing myth of the "Burning Times" is that it locks us into an Us vs Them mentality which does little except encourage hate and fear that has as little actual basis in fact as did the fear of witchcraft in those times. We are creating a climate of fear based on the same sort of witchhunt that started the whole process of killing people back then. Only this time it is WE who are the witch hunters and our non-Pagan neighbors who are the witches.

Here are some recommended websites and books on the topic of the "Burning Times" that you will find, I believe, completely debunk the whole idea of the "Burning Times" as it is put forth in some Pagan books who seek to create a myth that binds us together as the perescuted outsiders. I encourage you to do some serious reading and thinking and ask yourself whether you want to retain a myth in our religion that does nothing except encourage the hate of others. Last time I checked that was not what Wicca is all about.

Books:

"Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton
"Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles" by Ronald Hutton
"Counting the Witch Hunt" by Ronald Hutton
" Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath" by Carlo Ginzburg
" Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Period of the Witch Trials" (Witchcraft and Magic in Europe) by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark
"The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry into the Salem Witch Trials" by Marion L. Starkey
"The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of New England Under Siege" by Marilynne K. Roach

Websites:

"Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt" - by Jenny Gibbons - http://www.tangledmoon.org/witchhunt.htm

"Women and Witchcraft" - http://wicca.timerift.net/women_essay.shtml

"Estimates of the Number That Died" http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/remembrance/current.htm

"The Impact of New Evidence" http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/remembrance/impactof.htm#The%...

Those should get you started on the latest in historical/archeological research into the subject of the Witch Trials.

-Lark-

[Aradia]

Well said, Lark! I completely agree and feel that there is no place for false or exaggerated histories - especially since this path is one of enlightenment and discovery. The Gods know there are enough people who have been, and are still being, oppressed and persecuted. We don't need to claim such a history for ourselves. You are very right in saying that this simply breeds an 'us vs them' mentality.

Another great book that helps uncover the facts behind the history of Witchcraft is David Waldron's "Sign of the Witch" -- http://www.cap-press.com/books/1772

[RavenStar]

"...Only this time it is WE who are the witch hunters and our non-Pagan neighbors who are the witches.."

Well said.

=)

[Bradley J Hunter]

Kinda harsh to say that we are the witch hunters considering, I mean you say there is evidence to say it didn't happen but what if it did, and not to mention Salem. There is no doubt that the Christian society murdered witches throughout history and if not they have completely shunned our religion, caused us to be abused for being evil and also completely riden our faith into the underground, it is only recently that our faith has started to rise again. I find it funny that history has soo many male figures and very few women (that is starting from the times of the Christian empire origin) before then, women such as Budika (miss spelt I know) were seen as idols and men and women were equal, the times of the Cro-Magnon worshipped the moon as she gave them light to hunt and also was much like women and they respected that and women. But since the turn of the Christian/Catholic era, things such as the literary Canon have been formed where you MUST be a dead, white, european, male to be famous or classed in such, racial wars, sexism and male dominance have become strongly embeded into society... think about it people! Under our beliefs women and men were and always have been equal, one does not care of race or creed and the earth was sacred! No way, I cannot stand by and allow a coment to be made stating that our religion was to no offence to Christians, yeah we may not have caused their hatred but they have and to this day class us as evil. I have gone through too much religious hate and abuse to stand by and let people say the Christians done nothing to us. Yeah 9million women may or may not have died but they have caused enough pain for 9million or more men, women and children to die inside from their hate and condemnant. I'm sorry for my aggression in such matter but I am passionate that under a pagan belief system as things WERE, society would be better and my pain would not have been felt.

[Jake]

Pfft. That's not very dramatic, how are you supposed to appeal the the masses with such low numbers? 9million sounds so much better in my opinion, and if we can get rid of these sources, we can help influence everyone of the dangers Christianity has! Then, we can passively influence Christians to become pagan! =D


^_^ I wasn't too sure of the numbers but knew that it was exaggerated often to prove some point. I remember reading about the some Salem stuff, though I do not know much about American history. ^.^ All I gotta say is 'I put a spell on you... and now your gone' is about as much as I know of Salem.


Nice read, I gotta catch up on my history lol (been a loooong time)