Medieval Europe Didn’t Have Witch Hunts
When many picture the Middle Ages, a common assumption is that the era was one of widespread superstition, in which church authorities burned witches left, right, and center. It is true that medieval people were extremely superstitious, especially when compared to the modern era. However, their superstitions did not find expression in witch hunts. While there were some witch trials in the Middle Ages, they were relatively rare, and were usually done by the secular authorities, not directed by the church.
Indeed, throughout most of the medieval era, the standard message disseminated by churchmen when it came to magic was that it was 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.
