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.
1
Piety and Heartwork in Covenanter Scotland
I speak with Dr Louise Yeoman
57 min
2
045 - Wittenberg to Witches
I chat with Wittenberg to Westphalia's Ben Jacobs about witch trials, copyright law, and memes!
34 min
3
044 - Early Modern English Witchcraft with Prof...
I speak with Darren Oldridge, Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Worcester
37 min
4
Extra - Sound Education Experience
My account of my time in Boston, at Harvard and BU, for Sound Education
19 min
5
Bonus - What's it like to make a History Podcas...
I have a chat with Brandon from Dead Ideas about the business of podcasting
41 min
6
Introducing Pax Britannica
A Podcast History of the British Empire
5 min
7
043 - Salem, Massachusetts
Why did the colony of Massachusetts explode into a witch panic in 1592?
33 min
8
042 - Witchcraft in Russia with Prof. Valerie K...
An Interview with Prof. Kivelson of the University of Michigan
47 min
9
041 - Halloween - From Pagan, to Christian, to ...
Ancient Human Sacrifice | Christian Veneration | Bargain-bin Costumes
46 min
10
040 - The Pilgrims
The first English colonists make their mark on the New World
26 min
11
039 - A War of Words
Witchcraft and early Christianity in the Latin West
31 min
12
038 - The Wroth of Woden
Anglo-Saxon Paganism meets Christianity
33 min
13
037 - Suffer Not a Witch to Live
Early Christianity in the eastern Roman Empire
25 min
14
036 - Burn to Ashes
The Downfall and Death of the Witchfinder General
32 min
15
035 - A Magazine of Scandal
Parliament starts to become concerned over the 'Witchfinder General'
25 min
16
034 - The Witchfinder General
Old grudges and fears come to the fore in Essex, as word spreads that witch-finders roam
32 min
17
033 - Satan's Kingdom Divided
The Witchfinder-General is born
35 min
18
032 - Never a Cross Left
The Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins, did not exist in a vacuum.
33 min
19
031 - It's Treason, then.
We also look at the simmering discontent among elements of the English population to the limited prosecutions of witches, spearheaded by the Stuart court.
29 min
20
030 - The Lynching of John Lambe
This week, we have a shorter episode while I brush up on my Civil War knowledge. Doctor John Lambe was the personal magician of the Duke of Buckingham, a favourite of James and an ally of Charles. Yet, the reputation of Dr Lambe was so poor that even...
17 min
21
029 - By the Sword of the Magistrate
In today's episode we see the tide turn on the English witch trials. By the end of his reign, James is unwilling to entertain the more ludicrous accusations and his heir, Charles I, continues this approach. Puritanism, the new bogeyman of the Anglican...
34 min
22
XXVIII - The Burning of Prospero
At the great Council of Nikaea, an issue that threatened to split an empire apart was finally settled. Yet, when one of the Emperor's own sons rejects the decision, his brother is dispatched at the head of a Legion to bring his errant son to heel and...
33 min
23
027 - A Wonderful Discovery
Today we look at the political intentions behind the pamphlet, the Wonderful Discovery of Witches in the County of Lancaster, and how it was purposefully written to match the published opinions of James I. We further examine how James began to regret...
30 min
24
026 - Demon Women and Foul Devices
Was James VI and I truly the witch-hunting, demon-studying zealot that he has traditionally been seen as? Today we take a look at the court of King James, and hear about the trials that dotted his early reign. This episode primarily makes use...
30 min
25
025 - Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot
James Stuart begins his reign in England
25 min