The Invisibility of Male Witches in British Culture from the Early Modern Period to Modern Day

Year 2023, , 341 - 345, 01.12.2023

Alper Tulgar

https://doi.org/10.5152/JSSI.2023.23401

Abstract

In popular literary works, films, and television series, the impression is given that all people
accused, tried, and executed for witchcraft in early modern Europe between 1563 and 1736, as
required by the Witchcraft Act, were women. As a result of this false impression, the existence of
men accused of witchcraft and executed is ignored. In the historical texts, it is seen that there is
no gender discrimination among the people accused of witchcraft. The pacts they make with evil
spirits are more important than the gender of those accused of witchcraft. Although witchcraft
accusations were not sex-specific in that era, studies later focusing on that period have created
the idea that men were excluded from the trials. Especially feminist readings focusing on women’s
executions have created the false impression that, due to gender roles in that period, women
suffered from male patriarchy. It is an undeniable fact that the vast majority of people executed
were women and that men were in the minority group; however, dismissing the male executions
altogether does not serve the purpose of condemning the trials. The fact that all the prosecutors
in the British judicial system were men in early modern period and that women were not able to
practice law plays an important role and has reshaped reality because while men were perceived
as prosecutors of women’s executions, women were merely the ones accused and oppressed.

Keywords

British culture, early modern period, witches, witchcraft law

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