" (Klaits, 19).
There are many different reasons why the belief in witchcraft was on the rise during the medieval era. People used witchcraft to explain chance happenings in life, different religious beliefs of people, and sexual biases that existed between men and women. Witchcraft also spread because of the way authorities interrogated and tortured witches.
John Klaits best describes how the belief in witchcraft flourished by saying, "many accusations of witchcraft resulted from ordinary village quarrels." (86) Chance happenings in life were often blamed on witchcraft. For example, "when a cow stopped giving milk or a child grew ill, the farmer/parent might conclude that a witch had cursed the household." (Klaits, 87) People believed that a witch might have cursed their home because they refused to give them charity. Beggar women were more often than not, were victims in witchcraft trails. (Klaits, 87) An example of this blame can be seen here:.
The overwhelming majority of fully documented witch cases fall into this simple pattern. The witch is sent away empty handed, perhaps mumbling a malediction; and in due course something goes wrong with the household, for which she is immediately held responsible. The requests made by the witch varied, but they conformed to the same general pattern. (Klaits, 87).
The differing religious views during the times also played a role in the increasing number of accusations of witchcraft. Jews were among those accused of witchcraft during the medieval era. The reason why religions opposite of Catholicism were coming under the microscope is because of the Inquisition. The majority of the European states embraced Catholicism as the official religion, thus the start of the Inquisition and religious intolerance. The authors of the Malleus Maleficarum addressed issues of heresy and witchcraft by saying, "Whether the belief that there are such beings as witches is so essential a part of the catholic faith that obstinacy to maintain the opposite opinion manifestly savours of heresy.
