Gender, Sexuality and the Cultural Understanding of Witchcraft Surrounding the Decline of the Early European Witch Trails

Abstract

Complex understandings of early modern European female sexuality changed as religion became more prominent, and this transformation contributed to the frequency and density of witch trials across Europe. This thesis has three aims. The first is to investigate the relations between societal views of female sexuality and the witch trails in early European society. The second is to examine the ways in which cultural understanding, social conformation, and a deviation of norms were causal attributes to accusations of witchcraft. The third is to study the reasons why witch trials ended in Europe, and its relation to cultural expectations. A focus will be on regional areas in Europe such as England, Ireland, Scotland, and the Holy Roman Empire. This research revealed the connection between female sexuality and the increase in witch trials to be significant. Instead of showing a connection between female sexuality and the decrease of the witch trials, we saw instead that the cultural understanding of witchcraft changed, causing a decline in the witch trials.