The most famous heretic was Joan of Arc. She led an entire army before the church cracked their whip and decided her preaching went against God’s principles.
In medieval Europe, the people were so scared of witches entire villages were killed by it. In the Swiss Alps, for example, mountain men believed that women were putting hexes on them, so they decided they needed to be killed. It’s amazing how a written document can put a panic in people so easily. The documents written about witches did just that. Ranging in length and matter, the documents made people run wild and suspect every little detail of life as being terrorized by the devil.
I feel bad for women that had to live in Europe during these times. It seems as though this created hysteria was a way for men to silence women. For example, if a women spoke her mind, she could easily be admonished as a witch, and whomever didn’t like her would be rid of her. The reason it was so easy for people to be labelled witches, was because of spectral evidence. This was basically a type of evidence, where a witness could claim that a person attacked them through their specter. It’s easy for the witness to claim, and almost impossible for the defendent to defend. Spectral evidence was one of the many reasons why so many died. There was no way for the people to prove they were following the devil.
