A TIME LINE OF WITCH TRIAL HISTORY

                            and other spooky things

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672-735ca- Bede wrote History of English, a history of Christianity in England.
His book is referred to in the Malleus Maleficarum

900ca- Canon Episcopi

1233- First Papal ordinance directly dealing with witchcraft- Bull by Pope
Gregory IX (Ugolino, Count of  Segni), to  Conrad of Marburg, bidding him to
proceed against the Luciferians. July 30 of that year, Conrad of Marburg
murdered on the highway in pursuit of his duties.

1258-, Bull by Pope Alexander IV (Rinaldo Conti), to Franciscan Inquisitors,
bidding them refrain from judging any cases of witchcraft unless there was some
very strong reason to suppose that heretical practice could also be amply
proved.

1431-, May 30, Joan of Arc burned at the stake in Rouen.

1459-, The horrors of Vlad Dracula , The Impaler.

1484- December 9 The Bull of Innocent VIII, decreeing Inquisitors Sprenger and
Kramer, authors of  Malleus Maleficarum-, rights to "be empowered to proceed to
the just correction, imprisonment, and punishment of any persons, without let
or hindrance, in every way as if the provinces, townships, dioceses, districts,
territories, yea, even the persons and their crimes in this kind were named and
particularly designated in Our letters."

1485ca- Inquisitor of Como

1486- Maximilian I, Emperor of Germany and King of the Romans signs papers in
Brussels giving permission to Sprenger and Kramer to carry out their duties,
and commanding cooperation with them.

1493-1541 Paracelsus.  Physician who claimed that everything he learned came
from an old witch.

1515-1588 Weyer, Johan.  Born in Brabant (Belgium).  German physician.
Believed most witches were melancholy mentally disturbed old women, incapable
of harm.  Believed that the belief in witchcraft was caused by the devil.  in
1563 wrote De Praestigiis Daemonum.  Was forced out of Netherlands by the
Catholic Governor, Duke of Alba.  His book was denounced by Jean Bodin.

1529-1596 or 1530-1590 Bodin, Jean.  French Judge.  In 1580 writes De la
Demonomanie des Sorciers .  Claims that those who denied the existance of
witches were themselves witches.

1530-1616 Remy, Nicholas.  French Lawyer fighting against witches.  In 1595
writes Demonaltry and sites 128 cases.

1566  The Chelmesford witches

1566-1625 King James VI of Scotland aka James I of England

1584- Publication of The Discoverie of Witchcraft-, by Reginald Scot,
suggesting that maybe witches don't really exist.

1590-1591The North Berwick Witches.

1604--1611-  The blood secret of Countess Elizabeth Bathori of Transylvania-

1608- Publication of Compendium Maleficarum-, by Francesco Maria Guazzo

1628- July 24 Letter- written by Johannes Junius to his daughter before his
execution for witchcraft.

1657-March, Jennette Huart-and others strangled and burned as witches in Sugny,
Belgium.  Read about it in in French or in English

1645-1692-The New England witch trials, including that of Margaret Jones

1663-1728 Mather, Cotton- defends the trials and executions in New England.  In
1689 writes Memorable Providence Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions

1692- Salem Witch Trials: 5 hung on July 19 - August19, -five were hung, on
September 22, another 8. (a dog was also executed.)

1782-Last witch burned in Europe.

1782-Anna Goeldi, hanged at Glaris in Switzerland, June 17, -1782.

1792-The last trial and judicial execution in Europe itself was probably that
of two aged beldames, Satanists, who were burned at the stake in Poland, 1793-,
the year of the Second Partition, during reign of Stanislaus Augustus
Poniatowski.

1920-Joan of Arc declared a saint.

1929- Montague Summers writes introductions for old books used for
Inquistion(available from Dover), praising their works.

Today- old people, mostly women, are being killed as witches in South Africa.