Question

Research Elizabeth beliefs about witches and witchcraft:

1 ) Why did the Elizabethans believe in witches and witchcraft ?

2 ) What kinds of people were thought to be witches ?

3) What happened to people who were thought to be witches ?

4 ) Can you find any images of witches from the Elizabethan period ?

5 ) Can you find any images of witches today

Answer 1

Answer:

While king of Scotland, James VI became utterly convinced about the reality of witchcraft and its great danger to him, leading to trials that began in 1591. James was convinced that a coven of powerful witches was conspiring to murder him through magic, and that they were in league with the Devil. In 1597, with the end of the trials, James published his study of witchcraft, Demonology. When James became king of England in 1603, the book was published in London as well. James I’s fascination with witches was well known, and no doubt Shakespeare composed Macbeth in 1605 or 1606, using Holinshed’s Chronicles as his source, to please his new king.