Witch Persecution

The dark side of the age

The reign that produced great theatre also had a shadow over it. In these years, innocent people, the great majority of them women, and often poor and elderly, were accused of witchcraft. ⭐ They were not guilty of any magic. They were victims of fear, superstition and prejudice, blamed when things went wrong. ⚠️ Watch what this does to the idea of a golden age. A society can create wonderful things and, at the same time, treat the vulnerable with terrible injustice. Your task is to understand why the persecution happened, and what it tells us about the era.

The golden age, and its shadow

A strong answer holds two truths about the same years together, because they were true at once.

Order how an accusation arose

Historians have traced how a typical accusation came about. Put the stages into order.

• A misfortune strikes a village, such as a failed harvest or a sudden illness
• Frightened people look for someone to blame
• Suspicion falls on a poor, older woman living on the margins
• Neighbours offer unreliable so-called evidence against her
• An innocent woman is accused of witchcraft

Why the vulnerable were blamed

Suspicion fell most often on poor, older women. Why did the accusations target them in particular?

• They were vulnerable and on the margins, which made them easy scapegoats when frightened people looked for someone to blame
• They really were practising harmful magic
• They were the wealthiest and most powerful people in the village
• They chose to be accused for the attention

Words for understanding the persecution

Five words that let you explain why it happened, rather than just describe it.

Spot the reasons it happened

Three of these help explain why the persecution happened. Choose the three.

• A time of religious upheaval and fear
• Misfortunes such as bad harvests being blamed on witchcraft
• The scapegoating of vulnerable people
• The fact that witches were genuinely real
• A government scheme to help poor women

Why fear turned into persecution

No single thing caused the persecution. Several pressures pushed in the same direction. These were unsettled and frightening years. Religious change had shaken old certainties, and belief in the Devil and in evil forces was strong. Hard times needed an explanation. When harvests failed or children fell ill, frightened people reached for a cause, and a widespread belief in magic, even backed by the law, meant that fear could turn into the hunting of innocent neighbours.

Match each idea to its meaning

Find the fair explanation

A student explains the persecution. Select the ONE sentence that explains it correctly and fairly.

• Innocent people were persecuted because fear, superstition and hard times led frightened communities to scapegoat the vulnerable.
• The accused were persecuted because they really were dangerous witches.
• The persecution happened for no reason at all that can be understood.
• The persecution was a fair and sensible response to a real threat.

A worked example: blaming the outsider

Imagine a group hit by a run of bad luck that no one can explain. Rather than accept that it was chance or something hard to face, some people start to blame an outsider among them. The outsider has done nothing wrong, but they are different, or weaker, or easy to point at, so the blame sticks. The real causes are never addressed; a scapegoat is punished instead. Hold that idea. Frightened people who cannot explain their troubles often turn on the vulnerable, and understanding that pattern is the key to understanding the persecution.

Complete the account of the persecution

The supposed use of evil magic was called _____. A person unfairly blamed for the troubles of others was a _____. The widespread belief in magic and the supernatural was _____. A false claim that an innocent person was a witch was an _____. The cruel and unjust treatment of the accused was _____.

Judge what the persecution tells us

What does the persecution of witches tell us about Elizabethan England?

• That fear, superstition and injustice ran alongside the culture, so a simple golden age is too rosy a picture
• That witchcraft was real and had to be stopped
• That it was a gentle and tolerant society
• Nothing, because it affected only a few people

Golden, and cruel

The strongest answers hold both, because the same society achieved great things and committed a grave injustice.

Judge the persecution like an examiner

You are marking three claims about the persecution. For each, choose the soundest judgement.

• An essay says the accused really were witches. Is that safe?
• An essay says the age was simply a merry golden age. Is that safe?
• An essay says a single cause explains the persecution. Is that safe?

Write: why were witches persecuted

Why were witches persecuted in Elizabethan England, and what does it tell us about the age? Weigh the causes and reach a judgement. This is written in English and is not auto-marked.

• Give two reasons the persecution happened
• Explain why the vulnerable were blamed
• Say how this complicates the golden age
• Reach a supported judgement