The History of Witchcraft
Witches didn't exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.
26
024 - Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair
Shakespeare | Macbeth | Joan of Arc
43 min
27
023 - Ten Thousand Hells
Drama is perhaps one of the most recognisable products of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. This week, we look at two of the more famous plays from this period which use the supernatural in their narratives; Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus,...
23 min
28
022 - Fairies, Demons, and a Cat called Satan
This week, we hear about the witch beliefs commonly held by your common or garden peasant in Elizabethan and early Stuart England. The priority for your average Joe was the ability of witches to effect the physical world, and how they could help or...
30 min
29
021 - Gloriana? I Hardly Knew Her!
Elizabeth Tudor | Puritans | Legal Changes
41 min
30
020 - Witchcraft in Tudor England
Henry VIII | Poisoning | Prophecy
21 min
31
019 - The Eternal City and the Evil Eye
The Roman Empire | The Evil Eye | Stone Penises
33 min
32
018 - Halloween - From Pagan, to Christian, to ...
Ancient Human Sacrifice | Christian Veneration | Bargain-bin Costumes
45 min
33
017 - Poisoners, Soul-Drawers, and Mathematicians
Ancient Greece | Divine Sorcerers | Mathematical Wizards
41 min
34
016 - The Legacy of the Magi
Ahriman, Zoroastrianism, and the Persian Empires
30 min
35
015 - The Sorcerers of the Pharaohs
Ancient Babylon, Assyria, and Pharaonic Egypt are the topics of today's episode
24 min
36
014 - The Scattering of the Knights Templar
England, Portugal, and Cyprus - How did each ruler treat their newly-criminalised Templars?
29 min
37
013 - The Crushing of the Knights Templar
The Iron King of France set's his sights on the rich and powerful Templar Knights, and nothing will stop him
42 min
38
012 - The Rise of the Knights Templar
A band of knights conceived to protect pilgrims became a rich and powerful entity in the space of just a few years...
29 min
39
011 - Mountaintop Madness
The Republic of Geneva, Calvin, and how a witch trial created a country
38 min
40
010 - The Wisest Fool in Christendom
The last great Scottish trial under the reign of James Stuart
27 min
41
009 - The Devil's Greatest Enemy
The North Berwick Witch Hunt | The Exile of Earl Bothwell | Newes from Scotland
47 min
42
008 - The Cradle King
The bloodsoaked early years of James VI's reign
23 min
43
007 - To Kill a King
James VI of Scotland had one hell of a tough time getting married...
14 min
44
006 - The Synagogue of Satan
What was the Witches' Sabbat, and why was everyone so obsessed with it? Also, Debunking Dunking!
21 min
45
005 - "I Have Forgiven the Devil"
The Würzburg witch hunts were the deadliest in all of Germany
23 min
46
004 - Reigns of Terror
Two of the deadliest witch panics in all of European history were the ones held at Fulda and Bamberg
32 min
47
003 - Heartland of the Witch Craze
The Holy Roman Empire was a hotbed of witch panics in this period. In this episode we take a look at two very different trials
34 min
48
002 - A Century of Fire
What caused the deadly witch hunts of the early modern period?
36 min
49
001 - The Hammer of the Witches
Henricus Institoris does a spot of witch hunting
38 min