If the theory that these witch trials were a kind of social safety valve or outlet for social tensions and anxieties is correct, what anxieties and worries seem to be the most significant in these sources?

Sources: Malleus Maleficarum (EMR 16) and the witchcraft trials of Françatte Lamonte and Suzanne Gaudry (EMR 17)

Instructions: In the last week of our first module, we’ll be looking at the phenomenon of confessionalization—the formation of religious identities and communities based around adherence to doctrinal statements—and the peculiar phenomenon of witch hunting in Early Modern Europe. While most people think of witch trials as a medieval phenomenon (both literally and metaphorically), trials for witchcraft were actually exceedingly rare in the Middle Ages; the majority of witch trials were held in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Although both men and women were put on trial for accusations of evil supernatural acts (or maleficia), women seem to have been disproportionately targeted in these hunts. One of the most formative texts for the formation of opinion that witches were not only real (which was debated in the medieval period) but also active and seeking to do harm in the world was the Malleus maleficarum, The Hammer of the Witches, by two Dominican inquisitors in Germany. Written at the end of the 15th century, the Malleus is an inquisitorial manual, explaining the reality of witches, their activities, and, most importantly, how to find and prosecute them. Over the course of the next 250 years, wide-spread witchcraft trials appeared across Europe in numbers far larger than they ever had before. Nevertheless, what is perhaps most interesting about these trials is not the issue of witchcraft itself, but rather the social anxieties they betray.
For this essay, read the excerpts of the Malleus Maleficarum (EMR 16) and the witchcraft trials of Françatte Lamonte and Suzanne Gaudry (EMR 17) in your Early Modern Record reader. Then, craft an essay of 4-5 pages that poses an argument in answer to the following:
If the theory that these witch trials were a kind of social safety valve or outlet for social tensions and anxieties is correct, what anxieties and worries seem to be the most significant in these sources? How did early modern people seem to find witchcraft a convincing explanation for those anxieties and tensions?
Tip: Avoid simply telling me what the sources say, because that’s not what this assignment is about. Remember that it’s a comparative analysis we’re after here, so if you’re struggling to come up with questions to ask the source, be sure to consult the Making a Historical Argument introductory materials in your reader. It would also be a good idea to read the essay submission guidelines and grading rubric, which can be found in your course syllabus and above on this page.

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