Common Knowledge About The Middle Ages That Is Incorrect, Part 3: Witch Burnings

At the height of the witch burning craze, thousands people, largely women, were falsely accused of witchcraft. Many of them were burned, hanged, and executed, typically under religious pretense. But this phenomena largely didn’t happen in the Middle Ages, and if so it only occurred at the very end of this period.

Witch burnings did not begin en masse until the Renaissance period and did not peak until the Enlightenment period in the eighteenth century. Although executions by being burn at the stake were somewhat common in the Middle Ages, they were not used on “witches”—only heretics and other disobeyers of Catholic teachings received this ignominious death. Witch trials and their accusations of weather manipulation, transforming into animals, and child sacrifices, have no documented occurrence before 1400.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

The Age of Illumination: Science, Technology, and Reason in the Middle Ages, by Scott Rank

SPECIAL OFFER FOR HISTORY UNPLUGGED LISTENERS

This episode is brought to you by Hello Fresh.

Achieving your 2019 goals is as easy as enjoying delicious, home-cooked meals with HelloFresh, because HelloFresh makes conquering the kitchen in 2019 a reality with deliciously simple recipes. HelloFresh does all the planning, shopping, and prepping, so you can focus on enjoying the New Year and a healthier you. Get seasonal, simple recipes and pre-measured ingredients delivered right to your door every week so you can enjoy cooking and sticking to your goals

You get fresh, pre-measured ingredients and easy to follow 6-step pictured recipe cards are delivered to your door each week in a special insulated box. You get three plans to choose from: Classic, Veggie, and Family, with the option to switch between for when your tastes change.

Get started with 6 free meals – that’s 2 free meals in each of your first 3 boxes. Go to HelloFresh.com and enter the promo code unplugged60 for a total $60 off.”You get $20 off your first 3 boxes.