Witchcraft in Scandinavia
Scandinavia experienced significantly less witch-hunting than did the lands of the German Empire immediately to its south. As elsewhere in Europe, belief in harmful sorcery…
Month: February 2018
Night Flight
Witches were widely supposed to have the power to fly through the air. In particular, they were thought to fly to their secret nocturnal gatherings,…
Starkey, George
George Starkey (1628–1665) was an American physician and alchemist. George Starkey became interested in Alchemy early in life. In the 1640s, he studied medicine at…
Lully, Raymond
Lully, Raymond (c. 1235–c. 1316) Spanish philosopher whose works were important to Alchemy. Raymond Lully—also known as Ramon Lull—was well known in his time, and…
Loos, Cornelius
Cornelius Loos (1546–1593) A Catholic priest and scholar, Loos was a strong opponent of witch-hunting who ultimately suffered condemnation as a heretic for his beliefs.…
Flade, Dietrich
Dietrich Flade (?–1589). Probably the highest-ranking victim of any witch-hunt in European history, Flade was a prominent citizen of Trier, an archbishopric and also at…
Witchcraft in Colonial America
Witchcraft was not a significant problem, and witch-hunts were extremely rare, throughout almost all of the European colonies in the New World. The major exception…
Bonae Mulieres
Literally meaning “good women,” bonae mulieres was a common term by which authorities writing in Latin described various women or female creatures found in many…
Bekker, Balthasar
Balthasar Bekker (1634–1698). One of the most important and perhaps the most thorough opponent of witch-hunting in the 17th century, Bekker was a Dutch clergyman.…
Bayle, Pierre
Pierre Bayle (1647–1706). An important philosopher, born in France and later a professor at the university in Rotterdam, Bayle was a strong advocate of liberalism…