How were witches in the middle ages killed?

Question: How were witches in the middle ages killed!?

history homework pls help!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Firstly, it's important to remember that very few of the people (mostly woman, but not exclusively) killed were actually witches!. They were usually elderly women, and almost always people who knew herb lore and other ways of healing!. Many midwives were killed as witches because they had this knowledge!.
These are some ways they were killed:
1!. burnt at the stake
2!. drowned
3!. hung
I think they also tortured suspected witches so it is likely that some people died from things such as blood loss or infection!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

In Medieval times or the Dark Ages, most of Europe was slowly being converted to Christianity by a sword-wielding Catholic Church!. Previous to these conversions Europeans had believed in pagan religions for thousands of years!.
The Church and it's fanatics, believed these pagan religions were witchcraft and Satanic!.

The Church believed that pagan witches could not drown, so a manner in finding out if someone was a witch was to repeatedly dunk them in water!. Of course everyone drowned, meaning they weren't a witch, but it was a practice that continued well into the Salem Witch period!.

Burning someone at the stake was method used particularly against women, ie Joan of Arc!. Burning a woman at the stake meant they would remain clothed so no nudity was involved!. The British and the Spanish would burn witches by having them on top of a heap of wood kindling, so you could see the victim suffer!. The French preferred to build a wall of wood kindling around the victim so you wouldn't see them suffer, Joan of Arc was burned this way!. The Catholic Church apparently approved of burning because it did not include blood, which was sacred, and it meant that person would not have a body to take into the next life!. It should be noted that burning at the stake was also used for other crimes as well; treason, sodomy (homosexuality), and heresy!.

Witchcraft in England was also punishable by hanging!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The Middle Ages was not actually a period when witches were much persecuted!. The main period of persecutions for witchcraft was from about 1450-1750, the age of the so-called 'Renaissance' , and the Early Modern Period!. There were very few witchcraft trials before 1450, and very few after 1750!.

People convicted of witchcraft might be burnt, or sometimes hanged!. Hanging was the normal method of executing witches in England and in the American colonies for instance!. However, courts were generally reluctant to try witches because of the difficulty of obtaining proof, and juries were reluctant to convict!. overall, about 50% of defendants in witchcraft trials were acquitted!.

Nor is persecution of witches somethign peculiar to Christian countries (as a comment above suggests)!. People were often convicted of witchcraft in the pagan classical world for instance, and sometimes people are still put to death as witches in pagan societies in Africa for instance!. The church in fact generally tried to avoid getting involved in witchcraft cases!. Charges of witchcraft were normally brought against people by their own neighbours rather than by the church, and tended to occur at times of social tension and anxiety, as during wars, epidemcis of disease, bad harvests etc!. This is what happened in Salem for instance, where the situation was very tense, with a new king in england menaing a new governor in the colonies, Indian attacks, disease, all contributing to an anxious situation for the colonists!.

People charged with witchcraft were not usually herbalists (as a comment above suggests) they might be people who had aroused the suspicion or dislike of their neighbours for some reason, and who were thought to want to make mischief!. People who had a reputation as healers ("cunning men" or "wise women" as they were sometimes known) were seldom accused of witchcraft, and in fact when they did feature in witchcraft trials, it was generally in the role of identifiying likely suspects!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Heretics and witches (the two terms are alike) were people who did not follow the path of God and aimed to destroyed christianity through the creation of their own beliefs!. Usually they had a small band of followers!. Trials (much similar to the ones of today's courts) were conducted by the Inquisition with the goal of declaring the accussed guilty or innocent!. Unfortunately you were guilty until proven innocent in the middle ages and this almost always lead to the accussed death!.

Witches and Heretics were most commonly burnt at the stake!. Tied to a wooden pole and set alight!. However in other less frequent instances, witches were also forced into barrels that were locked shut and tossed into river systems!. If they floated they were not a Witch, yet the current pulled them away deep into the ocean, eventually sinking them!. If the barrel plunged into the water she was successfully condemned a witch and left to drown!. also hangings took place from time to time!. It is crucial to understand that priests and the Inquisition judges were the most influential people when it came to convicting the witches!. Generally, a neighbour could claim someone was an "evil sorceror" because they took dislike to them!. This was a time of sheer stupidity and the modern church has acknowledged their wrong doing!.

Glad to help!.

Edit: Louise, while you are welcome to post your comment, you are unwelcome to critisize my factual information with opinions from books, which is very rude!. I also notice you were having a go at someone elses viewpoint!. My post does not concern you nor does anyone elses!. You should keep your beliefs to yourself, as I do, if I disagree with someones contribution!. I can identify many flaws and incorrect statements in your writing to, but I am mature enough not to comment on them!. Please remember to focus on your own post, instead of others!. Thank you!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

OK, because many people in Christianity thought witches still existed, they used trials and murder to root out these witches!.
One was the drowning tale!. A suspected witch had stone tied to her feet and thrown into a deep lake!. If she drowned, she wasn't a witch, if she floated, she was a witch!. However this didn't matter to the suspected witch, who died either way!.
A witch could be hung or burnt at the stake!. Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Witches were discovered using a witch hunting textbook called the Malleus Maleficarum, the Witch's hammer!.

They were asked to repent and return to God!. If there repentence was unsatisfactory, they were burned at the stake, thrown in the river, or stoned!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

they wer either
a) drowned
b) burnt
c) thrown of a peak

THe idea behind all of these was that if they were witches they could survive these events!. These guys were insane!!!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Check out this website, it might help you
http://www!.unexplainedstuff!.com/Magic-an!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

mostly, burned aliveWww@QuestionHome@Com