The Witch Trials: What Knowledge Was Really Being Suppressed?

BY NICOLE LAU

Between 1450 and 1750, approximately 40,000 to 60,000 people were executed for witchcraft in Europe and colonial America. The vast majority—about 75-80%—were women. They were accused of flying on broomsticks, consorting with the devil, casting evil spells, and causing crop failures, illness, and death. They were tortured until they confessed. They were burned at the stake, hanged, or drowned.

But what were they really doing? What knowledge were they really practicing? The historical evidence suggests that many of those accused were: Herbalists (women who knew which plants healed and which harmed). Midwives (women who assisted in childbirth, who knew women's bodies and reproductive health). Healers (women who treated illness with folk remedies, prayers, and rituals). Wise women (women who counseled, who read fortunes, who preserved oral traditions). Independent women (women who owned property, who refused to marry, who challenged male authority).

The witch trials were not about magic. They were about power. About controlling women. About suppressing women's knowledge—of healing, of the body, of nature, of autonomy. The trials destroyed centuries of women's wisdom—herbalism, midwifery, folk medicine, and spiritual practices. And in doing so, they paved the way for male-dominated medicine, for the medicalization of childbirth, for the loss of plant knowledge, and for the erasure of women's spiritual authority.

What you'll learn: The scope of the witch trials (numbers, locations, timeline), who was accused (demographics, reasons), the Malleus Maleficarum (the witch-hunter's manual), what knowledge was suppressed (herbalism, midwifery, healing), the role of misogyny and patriarchy, the transition to male medicine, and the modern reclamation of the "witch" as healer and wise woman.

Disclaimer: This is educational content exploring the historical witch trials and the suppression of women's knowledge, NOT claims about literal witchcraft or supernatural powers. Multiple historical and feminist perspectives are presented.

The Scope of the Witch Trials

The Numbers

The European Witch Hunts (c. 1450-1750): Approximately 110,000 people were tried for witchcraft. Approximately 40,000-60,000 were executed (estimates vary—some scholars say as many as 100,000). The majority were women (75-80% of those accused and executed). The peak: 1580-1630 (the height of the witch craze—thousands executed per decade). The locations: Germany (the epicenter—about 40% of all executions). Switzerland, France, Scotland, England, Poland, Scandinavia. Colonial America (Salem, Massachusetts, 1692-1693—20 executed, but relatively small compared to Europe). The decline: By 1750, the trials had mostly ended (the Enlightenment, skepticism, and legal reforms ended the witch hunts).

Who Was Accused?

The Demographics: Women (75-80% of the accused—especially older women, widows, and unmarried women). The poor (those without protection, without resources to defend themselves). The marginal (outsiders, immigrants, those who didn't conform). Healers and midwives (women with knowledge of herbs, childbirth, and folk medicine). Independent women (women who owned property, who refused to marry, who challenged authority). The accused were often: Elderly (post-menopausal women, no longer useful for reproduction). Alone (widows, spinsters, women without male protection). Outspoken (women who argued, who refused to submit, who had opinions). Knowledgeable (women who knew things—about plants, about bodies, about healing).

The Malleus Maleficarum: The Witch-Hunter's Manual

The Hammer of Witches (1487)

Written by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger: Two Dominican inquisitors. Published in 1487 (in Germany). Became the handbook for witch-hunters (used for over 200 years). The Malleus Maleficarum argues: Witches exist (and they are real, dangerous, and everywhere). Witches are mostly women (because women are weak, lustful, and easily seduced by the devil). Witches must be hunted (identified, interrogated, tortured, and executed). The book provides: Instructions for identifying witches (signs, tests, accusations). Instructions for interrogation (torture methods to extract confessions). Instructions for trial and execution (legal procedures, sentencing, burning). The Malleus Maleficarum is: Deeply misogynistic (blaming women for witchcraft, for sin, for evil). Influential (it shaped the witch trials, legitimized the hunts, spread the hysteria). A tool of control (used to suppress women, to enforce conformity, to eliminate threats to male authority).

The Misogyny

Why Women?: The Malleus Maleficarum claims: Women are more susceptible to witchcraft because: They are weaker (in body and mind). They are more lustful (and thus more easily seduced by the devil). They are more credulous (believing in superstitions and magic). They are vengeful (using witchcraft to harm those who wrong them). This is: Pure misogyny (blaming women for evil, for sin, for the devil's work). A justification (for targeting women, for torturing women, for executing women). A reflection (of the deep fear and hatred of women—especially independent, knowledgeable, powerful women).

What Knowledge Was Suppressed?

Herbalism: Women's Plant Knowledge

The Wise Women and Herbalists: For centuries, women were the primary healers in their communities. They knew: Which plants healed (willow bark for pain, foxglove for heart conditions, ergot for childbirth). Which plants harmed (belladonna, hemlock, aconite—poisons, but also medicines in small doses). How to prepare remedies (teas, tinctures, poultices, salves). When to harvest (moon phases, seasons, times of day). This knowledge was: Passed down (mother to daughter, wise woman to apprentice—oral tradition). Practical (based on centuries of observation and experimentation). Powerful (effective treatments for common ailments). The witch trials targeted herbalists: Accused of poisoning (using plants to harm, to kill). Accused of sorcery (using plants for magic, for spells). Their knowledge was lost (as herbalists were executed, their knowledge died with them). The result: The loss of plant knowledge (centuries of women's herbalism, erased). The rise of male medicine (doctors, trained in universities, with no knowledge of plants). The medicalization of healing (moving from folk remedies to pharmaceuticals).

Midwifery: Women's Knowledge of Birth

The Midwives: For millennia, women assisted other women in childbirth. Midwives knew: How to deliver babies (positions, techniques, when to intervene). How to manage pain (herbs, massage, breathing). How to handle complications (breech births, hemorrhage, infection). How to care for mother and baby (postpartum care, breastfeeding). This knowledge was: Experiential (learned through apprenticeship, through practice). Essential (childbirth was dangerous—midwives saved lives). Exclusively female (men were not present at births—this was women's domain). The witch trials targeted midwives: Accused of infanticide (killing babies, causing stillbirths). Accused of using magic (spells, charms, rituals during birth). Accused of sexual deviance (knowledge of women's bodies was suspect). Their knowledge was suppressed (as midwives were executed or driven out). The result: The loss of midwifery knowledge (centuries of women's expertise, erased). The rise of male doctors (who took over childbirth, often with forceps and interventions). The medicalization of birth (moving from home births with midwives to hospital births with doctors).

Healing: Women's Folk Medicine

The Healers: Women were the primary healers in their communities. They treated: Illness (fevers, infections, wounds, chronic conditions). Pain (headaches, toothaches, menstrual cramps). Mental and emotional distress (anxiety, grief, trauma). They used: Herbs and plants (the foundation of folk medicine). Prayer and ritual (invoking saints, angels, or spirits for healing). Touch and presence (comfort, care, compassion). This knowledge was: Holistic (treating the whole person—body, mind, spirit). Community-based (healers were part of the community, trusted and respected). Effective (many folk remedies worked—and some are still used today). The witch trials targeted healers: Accused of causing illness (using magic to harm, to curse). Accused of fraud (charging for healing, claiming powers they didn't have). Accused of heresy (using prayer or ritual outside the church's control). Their knowledge was lost (as healers were executed, their practices were banned). The result: The loss of folk medicine (centuries of women's healing knowledge, erased). The rise of professional medicine (male doctors, trained in universities, with no knowledge of folk remedies). The separation of healing from spirituality (medicine became secular, scientific, divorced from the sacred).

The Role of Misogyny and Patriarchy

Controlling Women

The Witch Trials as Gender Violence: The witch trials were not about witchcraft. They were about controlling women. The trials targeted: Independent women (women who owned property, who lived alone, who didn't need men). Knowledgeable women (women who knew things—about plants, about bodies, about healing). Outspoken women (women who argued, who refused to submit, who challenged authority). Sexual women (women who were seen as too lustful, too seductive, too free). The trials enforced: Patriarchy (male authority over women, in the family, in the community, in the church). Conformity (women who didn't conform—who were too old, too poor, too independent—were eliminated). Fear (women learned to be silent, to be submissive, to hide their knowledge). The result: Women's power was broken (their knowledge suppressed, their autonomy destroyed). Male authority was reinforced (in medicine, in religion, in society). The witch became a symbol (of female evil, of female danger, of what happens to women who step out of line).

The Transition to Male Medicine

From Wise Women to Doctors: Before the witch trials: Women were the healers (herbalists, midwives, folk practitioners). Healing was community-based (accessible, affordable, holistic). After the witch trials: Men took over healing (doctors, trained in universities, licensed by the state). Healing became professionalized (expensive, exclusive, scientific). The transition: Was violent (women were executed, their knowledge was suppressed). Was gendered (men became doctors, women became nurses—subordinate, assisting). Was about power (controlling who could heal, who had authority over bodies). The result: The loss of women's healing knowledge (herbalism, midwifery, folk medicine). The rise of male-dominated medicine (doctors, hospitals, pharmaceuticals). The medicalization of women's bodies (childbirth, menstruation, menopause—all became medical conditions, controlled by male doctors).

The Modern Reclamation

Reclaiming the Witch

The Feminist Reinterpretation: In the 20th and 21st centuries: Feminists reclaimed the witch (as a symbol of female power, resistance, and knowledge). The witch became: A healer (not a devil-worshiper, but a woman who knew plants and bodies). A rebel (not evil, but a woman who refused to submit to patriarchy). A wise woman (not a hag, but a keeper of knowledge, a spiritual guide). The reclamation: Honors the victims (the women who were executed, whose knowledge was lost). Recovers the knowledge (herbalism, midwifery, folk healing—revived and practiced). Challenges the narrative (the witch trials were not about magic, but about misogyny and control). The modern witch: Is a symbol (of female empowerment, of reclaiming lost knowledge, of resistance to patriarchy). Is a practitioner (of herbalism, of healing, of spirituality—continuing the traditions that were suppressed). Is a reminder (of what was lost, of what was stolen, of what we're still recovering).

Recovering Lost Knowledge

The Revival: Modern movements are recovering the knowledge that was suppressed: Herbalism (studying plants, traditional remedies, folk medicine). Midwifery (home births, natural childbirth, women-centered care). Folk healing (holistic practices, spiritual healing, community-based care). Women's spirituality (goddess worship, Wicca, paganism—reclaiming the sacred feminine). The recovery: Is incomplete (much was lost forever—oral traditions, unwritten knowledge). Is ongoing (researchers, practitioners, and communities are piecing together what remains). Is political (reclaiming women's knowledge is an act of resistance, of healing, of justice). The result: A new generation of herbalists, midwives, and healers (carrying on the traditions that were nearly destroyed). A new understanding of the witch trials (not as a hunt for evil, but as a suppression of women's power and knowledge). A new respect for women's wisdom (the knowledge that was burned, but is being reborn).

Conclusion: The Knowledge That Was Burned

The witch trials were not about witchcraft. They were about power. About controlling women. About suppressing women's knowledge—of healing, of the body, of nature, of autonomy. Forty to sixty thousand people were executed. Mostly women. Herbalists, midwives, healers, wise women. Their knowledge was burned with them. Centuries of plant wisdom, of birth knowledge, of folk healing—lost. But not entirely. The knowledge survives. In fragments, in traditions, in the practices of those who remember. The witch is being reclaimed. Not as evil, but as healer. Not as devil-worshiper, but as wise woman. Not as victim, but as symbol of resistance. The knowledge that was burned is being recovered. Slowly. Incompletely. But it's being recovered. And the witch—the healer, the herbalist, the midwife, the wise woman—is rising again.

The flames rise. The witch burns. But she is not evil. She is a healer. An herbalist. A midwife. A wise woman. She knows plants. She knows bodies. She knows birth. She knows healing. And for that, she dies. Forty thousand. Sixty thousand. Mostly women. Their knowledge burned with them. The plants. The remedies. The rituals. The wisdom. Lost. But not entirely. The knowledge survives. In fragments. In whispers. In the hands of those who remember. The witch is being reclaimed. The healer. The wise woman. The keeper of knowledge. Rising from the ashes. Recovering what was lost. Reclaiming what was stolen. The witch trials were about power. About control. About suppressing women. But the knowledge endures. The witch endures. Rising. Healing. Remembering. Forever.