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GCSE History · key term
The supposed use of supernatural powers, particularly harmful magic associated with the Devil, which early modern people could treat as a serious crime.
Used by Edexcel and OCR
Paper 1
Revise: Nature and Changing Definitions of Criminal ActivityBelief in witchcraft existed before the sixteenth century. In medieval England, it had generally been treated as a lesser offence dealt with by Church courts. In the early modern period, it became a much more serious crime tried in secular courts: courts outside the Church’s jurisdiction.
Paper 1
The supposed use of supernatural powers, particularly harmful magic, which people in early modern Britain could treat as a criminal offence.
Revise: Changing nature of crimePoverty made wandering beggars a greater concern, while religious beliefs helped make accusations of witchcraft seem particularly threatening.
The alleged use of supernatural powers; Elizabethans particularly associated harmful magic with causing illness, death or other misfortunes.
Describe fears and accusations of witchcraft as contemporary beliefs, not evidence that harmful magic actually occurred.
Distinguish accusations of witchcraft from evidence of wrongdoing. Explain what people believed, rather than presenting harmful magic as real.
For 1736, distinguish supposed harmful magic from deception: the law stopped treating supernatural witchcraft as a crime but still punished people who pretended to possess magical powers.
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