What type of people do you

think were accused of

using witchcraft and why?

Image Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MassachusettsIllustration "Arresting a Witch"

What crimes/actions were witches accused of ?

Image Courtesy of Glasgow University Library, Special Collections

Witches and Witchcraft

To explore witch trials and their outcomes

To discover what punishments supposed witches received for practicing witchcraft

…Aims of the lesson:

Martin Williams

“The Trial of George Jacobs, August 5, 1692”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1855.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Discuss what you think is happening in the picture.

Who are these people?

People affected by witchcraft faint

Young girl accusing George Jacobs of being a

Warlock

George Jacobs – accused of witchcraft

What do you think this lady is doing?

Hanged in

Salem,

New England,

1692

The people of Salem suffered a great deal prior to 1692. Taxes were high and a number of people were killed by Indians, who were thought to be agents of the Devil.

In fact the people of Salem who had arrived as colonists from Europe before 1692 suffered so many hardships that it is no wonder that many thought that the Devil was amongst them causing things to go wrong.As you know belief in witchcraft was not new in the 1600’s. In

England the church had given licenses to ministers to cast out devils and Matthew Hopkins had been employed to round up witches for execution.

Events in Salem, Massachusetts, New

England

George Jacobs was an old man who had to have the aid of two sticks while walking. When accused of witchcraft and taken before the magistrates, one of whom began the trial with the words, “Here are those that accuse you of acts of witchcraft”, George Jacobs replied bravely, “Well, let us hear who are they and what are they.”

When his servant stood forward and accused him ofpracticing witchcraft George Jacobs replied with: “You tax me for a wizard: you may as well tax me for a buzzard. I have done no harm.” The magistrates asked him to recite the Lord’s Prayer and he apparently “missed out several parts of it”.

George Jacobs was condemnedto death and hung in 1692.

Attacks by Indians 1689-1691

The children

named people within the

community who they said were witches

The children were said to be

bewitched when they fell into fits

Children in Salem met to practice Occult Arts

Twenty people were hung and hundreds

arrested due to the accusations

The trials ended in 1693. No ‘witch’

was killed again in the American

Colonies

These paintings and illustrations have been reproduced with the kind permission of

Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts. Click upon the picture that you would like to

studyNext set of pictures

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What do you think is happening here?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Who do you think this person is supposed to be?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What do you think is happening here?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What do you think is happening here?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Who do you think this person is?What is he doing?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Who do you think this person is?What may his job be?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What may this man be trying to do?

“Examination of a witch”. By T.H. Matteson, Oil on canvas, 1854.(Photo by Mark Sexton). Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Write a paragraph describing the scene shown in the picture.

Remember to add and explain as much information as possible.

Click here for help

Write a paragraph describing the scene shown in the picture.

Remember to add and explain as much information as possible.

Click here for help

* Briefly explain what the whole scene is about - then,* Describe what is happening in each part of the painting in more detail.

i) Who are the people shown?ii) Why are these people here – what are their jobs?iii) What may the outcome of this event be?

Witch Tests and TrialsWitch examinations often involved looking for a witch-mark. This was supposed to be where familiars sucked blood fromthe witch.

Sometimes large pins were pushed into the witch-mark. If the person did not cry out in pain (or if she did not bleed from

the wound!) she was a witch.

Other witches were ducked or thrown into water with their hands tied. If they sank (and drowned!) they were saidto be innocent and if they floated they were guilty and hung or burnt.

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Who do you think these people are?

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What could be happening

here?

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Who could this be?

What could she be saying?

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What could the following people be saying?

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What could the following people be saying?

Illustration, "Witchcraft in New England,"a 19th century engraving, depicting 17th century New EnglandCourtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What could the following people be saying?

Write a paragraph describing the scene shown in the picture.

Remember to add and explain as much information as possible.

Click here for help

Write a paragraph describing the scene shown in the picture.

Remember to add and explain as much information as possible.

Click here for help

* Briefly explain what the whole scene is about - then,* Describe what is happening in each part of the picture in more detail.

i) Who are the people shown?ii) Why are these people here – what are their jobs?iii) What may the outcome of this event be?

These paintings and illustrations have been reproduced with the kind permission of

Peabody Essex Museum, Massachusetts.

Click upon the picture that you would like to study

Recap

Here is an example of some of the punishments that were used during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.

"Old Boston Town House Square, about 1657“ Stocks Old Boston Townhouse, ca, 1657

Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts

Types of punishme

nt

Can you think of any other forms of punishment that may have been used?

Write a paragraph describing the types of punishment that people accused of witchcraft could receive.

Remember to add and explain as much information as possible.

Click here for help

Click here for help

* Briefly explain each punishment

- What type of punishment was it? - What would the outcome of the punishment be?

Write a paragraph describing the types of punishment that people accused of witchcraft could receive.

Remember to add and explain as much information as possible.

Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What do you think is happening in this picture?

Click the forward arrow for more help

Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

What do you think is happening in this picture?

Click the forward arrow for more help

Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Click the forward arrow for more help

Highlight areas of the picture that you would like to discuss

Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Who can you see and what are they doing?

Why did people treat those suspected of witchcraft in this way?

Worksheet

Image courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts.

Witch Trials and

Punishments

Image courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts

End

Extension

Extension Work and Revision:

For more information upon Witchcraft you could visit The University of Glasgow website - Special Collections Department.

http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/

You may also like to visit Peabody Essex Museum:

http://www.pem.org

for additional information upon witchcraft and The Salem Witch Trials.

Although institutions and organisations have kindly agreed that we can provide links and use some of the images found on their sites, they are not responsible for the way in which those images have been used.

Nor are they responsible for any of the written content found within this presentation.