A Wrinkled Face, a Furr’d Brow, a Hairy Lip [and] a Gobber Tooth’: Searching for the Victims of the Early Modern European Witch-Hunt, c.1450-1750

Abstract

This article explores the European witch-hunts of the early modern period (c.1450-1750) and asks the simple question: who were its victims? The prevailing image of the archetypal witch has its roots in research first published as far back as the early 1970s. Examining the five key aspects of the long-established witch stereotype in turn, this paper draws on some of the best modern scholarship and a wide range of contemporary sources in order to assess its merits as well as its flaws. In doing so this essay cautiously presents a modified profile of the early modern European witch. However, it also questions the wisdom of relying on such stereotypes, which by their nature do not encourage truly nuanced analysis, to provide us with accurate history. This article argues for a more sensitive approach to analysis that accounts for the enormous complexities of contemporaries’ lived experience.