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The Witch Craze in Britain, Europe and North America, c1580–c1750

The existence and growth of scepticism, c1580–c1750

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

Recall questions on what scepticism actually meant, the Boy of Bilson and other exposed frauds, spectral evidence, Jane Wenham, and why judges stopped convicting.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What growing scepticism about apparitions as evidence helped end trials?

Key term

What is meant by scepticism about witchcraft?

Numbers

What was the case of Jane Wenham?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What growing scepticism about apparitions as evidence helped end trials?

    Model answer

    Doubt over spectral evidence.

  2. 2

    What is meant by scepticism about witchcraft?

    Model answer

    Doubt not usually about whether the Devil existed, but about whether particular accusations could be proved and whether the courts' methods produced reliable evidence.

  3. 3

    What happened to William Perry, the boy from Bilson?

    Model answer

    William Perry's fraudulent possession was exposed in 1620 by Bishop Morton, who tricked him into revealing his deception, and it became a standard example of imposture.

  4. 4

    What was the Bury St Edmunds trial of 1662?

    Model answer

    A trial at which Sir Thomas Browne testified for the prosecution and two women were hanged; it was later cited both as precedent and as a warning.

  5. 5

    What was the case of Jane Wenham?

    Model answer

    The last person condemned for witchcraft in England, in 1712; the judge secured her a pardon and the case provoked a pamphlet war that discredited prosecution.

  6. 6

    Why did frauds damage the credibility of witchcraft prosecution?

    Model answer

    Every exposed imposture suggested that other accusations rested on the same mixture of malice, suggestion and attention-seeking.

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