Scream in the dark: Witches

Witches, also known as witches and witches, are the names of women who use witchcraft, magic, astrology and such supernatural abilities in Western culture. There are always different definitions of witches, and I always think that the term "witch" tends to be derogatory until I finish watching the American series "American Horror Story 3: Coven  , which gives a completely new identity to witches. 

Based on my curiosity, I consulted some data about witches and found out how unfortunate it was to be a witch in the Middle Ages.

In 1484, two clergymen wrote a book called "Malleus Maleficarum" (The Witch Hammer), which detailed many ways of identifying witches and launched the powerful Witch trials in the early modern period.

The trial of witches in the Middle Ages had a very dark side. The "witches" who were executed were innocent women. The unfair trial of women can be seen from the narrative of "Malleus Maleficarum" : 

"If the defendant lives an immoral life, then of course it proves that she has dealings with the devil; and if she is pious and dignified, then she is obviously in disguise, in order to use her piety to distract people from doubts about her devil dealings and evening participation in the sorcery society. If she appears to be frightened during the interrogation, then she is obviously guilty, and her conscience exposes her feet. Believing in her innocence and remaining calm, she is certainly guilty: because witches are used to lying shamelessly. If she pleads guilty to the charges she has brought, it proves her guilty; if she is fearful, desperate, depressed and silent because of the terrible falsehood she has brought against her, it is the direct evidence of her guilt if an unfortunate woman is in prison. Turning her eyes in agony meant that she was looking for her devil with her eyes; and if her eyes were dull and motionless, it meant that she saw her devil and was looking at him. If she found the strength to withstand torture, it meant that the devil had sustained her, and therefore had to torture her more severely; if she could not bear it, under punishment. Breaking out of breath means that the devil lets her die, so that she will not confess or reveal her secrets."

In the name of "wizard hunting", about 100,000 people were executed in three centuries, most of them women, especially in some medieval European areas. But not all of Europe fell into wizard hunting fever at that time. Wizard hunting mainly spread to Protestant Nordic countries and their neighboring Catholic areas. But in the southern countries, such as Spain, which was less influenced by Protestantism. In Italy, however, witch hunting is not very popular. Especially in Italy, witch hunting is very limited in time and space. The suppression is not only sporadic, but also very long. Especially in Italy, where the 17th century's Hunt has passed, only the eastern Trento had a long-lasting burning campaign in the early 17th century, but this area has already belonged to Germanic culture.

The closed thought of the Middle Ages made many women sacrifice innocently in the massacre. Although it is still uncertain whether the witches really exist, the mystery left by the witches continues to spread in the world.