Specifically, Malleus Maleficarum pointed out that women were more susceptible to witchcraft because of the inherent weakness of their gender. Medieval people deeply believed in witches, and the 1486 publication of Malleus Maleficarum, the Hammer of the Witches, gave them details about how to identify and deal with witches. From the 15th to 18th centuries, more than 500 people were executed as witches in Britain estimates suggest 40,000 to 100,000 people were killed across Europe, three-quarters of them women.
One of my classes is on gender, race, class and religion in the UK, and so a couple of weeks ago we talked about Europe’s medieval witch hunts and visited Colchester Castle, the scene of the most witch executions in Britain. I’m leading a study abroad in London this fall.