Witches: between myth and history
With JESÚS M. USUNÁRIZ, Full Professor OF MODERN HISTORY
A village in the Pyrenees. 500 years ago. It is night. In the houses, the lamps are extinguished, the wind blows the shutters and someone claims to have seen lights in the bush. The next morning, a rumor spreads: a woman has been accused of witchcraft.
Now that Halloween is approaching, a date full of symbols that evoke witches, spells and mysteries, we ask ourselves: what is historical in all this? Who were the people accused? What beliefs surrounded them and how did the authorities act in these cases?
Jesús María Usunáriz, Full Professor of Modern History at the University of Navarra, joined us to talk about it.
Lessons learned from this episode:
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Historical meaning of "witch".
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Historical sources on witchcraft
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The role of evil in trials
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Origin and expansion of the "witch-hunt" in Europe
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The best known cases in Navarra
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Trials and proceedings
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The profile of the defendants
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Social causes of the accusations
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Doubt, reason and opposing voices
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The end of the witch-hunt and its bequest
Listen to it on Spotify