23. Misreported Fact: Medieval Witch Hunts
Ask people what comes to mind when thinking about the medieval world, and a common assumption is that the era was one of widespread superstition, in which witches were burned with regularity. It is true that people back then were superstitious, especially compared to today. However, their superstitions were not expressed in witch hunts. While there were some witch trials in the Middle Ages, they were rare, and were usually done by the secular authorities, not directed by the church.
Indeed, throughout the Middle Ages, the church often contended that magic was just silly nonsense that did not work. The European witch craze was more of a sixteenth and seventeenth century phenomenon. It took off after Heinrich Kramer wrote the infamous Malleus Mallificarum in the late fifteenth century, in an attempt to convince a then-skeptical public that witches were real. When the book first came out, the church actually condemned it, and warned inquisitors not to believe what it says.
