Were all "Witches" in the Middle Ages forced to confess?

Question: Were all "Witches" in the Middle Ages forced to confess!?

Or was there a regime that only involved Inquisition and Judgment!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Well, there wasn't a great deal of witch hunting in the middle ages!. They weren't actually very interested in witches during the medieval period!. The era of the witch hunts was from about 1450-1750, with the peak period being from the 1580s-1620s, during the early modern period!.

Most witch trials began with people being accused of witchcraft by people who lived in the same local community!. These accusations tended to occur during periods of unusual hardship, when there were bad harvests, epidemics of diseases, or wars!. Courts were, on the whole, quite reluctant to try witches as witchcraft was very difficult to prove!. Overall, about 50% of accused witches were acquitted!.

In Europe, torture was sometimes used to extract confessions from accused witches, though it was not used much in england or in the American colonies!. Normally evidence was produced by those accusing the witches, and sometimes the witch's body would be searched for devil's marks (a large mole might be thought to be where the witch suckled the devil)!. Juries were, on the whole, quite reluctant to convict for witchcraft, hence the 50% acquittal rate!.

The Salem witch trials were very unusual in that the local authorities were unusually willing to believe the unsubstantiated accusations made by the young girls and other witnesses!. Another unusual factor about these trials is that only those who refused to confess were found guilty and hanged, anyone who admitted the charge was spared, it being thought that they might be brought to repentence and their souls saved!. The Salem affair was actually very untypical of witch trials in general!.

There is no evidence that anyone accused of witchcraft was involved in 'natural healing' as a comment above claims!. In fact, there were people in the medieval and early modern period who were respected for having healing powers, they were generally known as 'wise women' and 'cunning men', and they were not normally the target of witchcraft persecutions, they tended to be highly respected members of the local community!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

anybody that people ACCUSED PUBLICLY of being a witch ( in some countries or some areas) was jailed, possible tortured and killed!. but no, not every witch was accused or forced to confess!. Most of those accused were not witches - just old, or powerless, or sometimes young beautiful women!.

A rule that created the Spanish Inquisition was that no one could be killed unless they confessed!. This led to many creative torture methods, that usually did not cause the person to bleed!.

But there were old women who used herbs as medicines that were never accused of being witches!.

You might want to find a tape of "the burning times"
i don't know if there is a book, too!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

The entire purpose of the Inquisition was to drive out heresy!. You were presumed guilty, and although you had the right to legal representation, few lawyers were willing to defend heretics - the shameful label could easily spread to friends and acquaintances!. You had to prove that you were not guilty, which is much harder than proving that you are innocent!. A lifetime of regular and faithful Church attendance mattered for nothing!. Witches were "known" to have supernumerary nipples (3 or more), and had other clues that automatically proved you were a witch, such as having a black cat!.
Suspects who confessed before being tortured still had to be tortured, to "confirm" the confession!. While being tortured you were required to name any and all heretics you knew; denying you knew any usually brought on unbearable torture, such as having your feet or genitals roasted!. At this point people usually babbled out all the names they could remember!. Worse yet, the torture had to be paid for, and if you couldn't pay it your family had to!. Heretics who gave up (recanted) their heresy were strangled at the stake!. People who refused to recant were burned at the stake (along with their cats)!. Quite a system it was - both Protestants and Catholics used it against themselves and Jews, and burning witches was part of the fun!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No!.

The term "WITCH" in the Middle Ages is an EXTREMELY broad term!.
A medicinal herbalist could be called a "witch" at any given time!.
Any local healer!.
Pregnancy Mid-wives were notorious for accusations!.
Your sweet old grandmother who mixed up a little formula for your upset tummy could be called a witch!.
People that were "odd"!.
People with facial and/or body deformities!.
The old lady that lived at the edge of town and didn't care too much for people!.
Any person who practiced the "old ways" like dowsing for water!.
People of foreign heritage!.
People others were scared of!.
Etc!.

The fact of the matter was that there were very FEW witches!. Rather practitioners of the "old religion"!. "Witches" of the Middle Ages were NOT devil worshipers!.
Devil Worshiping was a Christian concept!.
Real "witches" were NOT Christian!.

The Middle Ages in Great Britain had a population of conquerors of Danish (Norseman & Viking), Anglo-Saxon (German) heritage!.!.!.!. i!.e!., Pagans!.
The "locals" were Celts, Britanians!. also Pagans!.

Which was like the pot calling the kettle black!.

There were NO witches being made to "confess"!.
There WERE regular people abducted, accused, and tortured by the Roman Catholic Church for being Satan Worshipers, which in itself was a ridiculous concept seeing that they weren't Christain and didn't believe in Satan!.!.!.!.!.!.OR!.!.!.!.!.they WERE Christian and someone didn't like them and accused them of being witches to destroy them, take their land, their money, their wives and daughters, etc!.

Some places did have a more systematic involvement but it was mostly haphazzard!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

In medieval times, people accused of witchcraft were often tortured to exact confession but those who refused to confess were put to an ordeal!. A variety of ordeals were available!. One of the commonest was to throw the accused into a deep pool of water!. If the person drowned he or she was ruled innocent, but anyone who survived was convicted and then hanged (in England) or burned alive (elsewhere) Another ordeal that was commonly used was to have the accused pick up a red hot iron bar!. Only if the person's hand remained unburned were they regarded as innocent!.

The Spanish Inquisition began as a dogna enforcement organization for the Roman Catholic church and was concerned with heresy!. However, anyone accused of witchcraft might also be prosecuted by the Inquisition if they said or did anything that directly conflicted with the church's teachings!.

Sadly, true "witches" were (and are) what we now call "naturopaths" and used natural healing methods, such as herbal treatments!. It was fictitious works written by over-zealous monks with too much time on their hands who equated witchcraft with Satanism and led to the persecution of what were, for the most part, good, decent people!.

One awful result of the hysteria connected with witchcraft was that a man who raped a woman could avoid punishment by claiming that the woman was a witch who had cast a spell on him, making him unable to resist the temptation to rape her, thus causing his victim to be punished and enabling him to go free to rape again!. Another result was that anyone who was unpopular in a community could be got rid of by being accused of witchcraft!.

Because of the way the "justice" system of the day worked, it was up to an accused person to prove their innocence!. This is why the term "witchhunt" is often applied to accusations of wrongdoing among the political community!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

You got very good answers from others here!. Witchcraft trials vary from country to country and by century!. In Central Europe at in Kingdom of Bohemia, the witchhunt happened mostly around 1650-1700, and very little during renaissance era (1480-1620)!. These trails very carried on mostly in German speaking area of the kingdom while very little witchhunting took place in Czech speaking areas!.
There are some interesting facts about witchcraft during renaissance!. It was illegal to accuse woman by commoner if there was no proof of witchcraft!. If person accused proved to be innocent there accuser could face witchcraft ordeal… There is a case from southern Moravia around 1500’s where woman was falsely accused of witchcraft!. After successful defense she sued the person for defamation of her personality and was awarded money and the accuser burned on stake!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

No!. Those that were able to withhold confession until they were tortured to death were presumed innocent!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Yes and the church ruled high!. If the church said you should die then you did!. The church ruled everything and everyone even the King!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

All confessed!.!.!.most executed!.!.!.but not all!. taggerWww@QuestionHome@Com

I don't know about the middle ages, but in the 1600s in Salem, MA!. Rebecca Nurse never confessed!. She is reported to have said "I am innocent as the child unborn, but surely, what sin hath God found out in me unrepented of that He should lay such an affliction on me in my old age!."
John Proctor was another of the executed, who never confessed, but not because of lack of effort by their persecutors!. I'm sure there were more!.
"Not everyone in Salem supported the witch trials!. Wealthy farmer John Proctor sternly denounced the proceedings and warned against listening to the young girls!. When his maidservant, Mary Warren, began to have fits, he sat her down at her sewing wheel and threatened to beat her unless she stopped!. But as the hysteria grew, Mary’s fits returned!.

After the examination of Rebecca Nurse—the pious grandmother accused of witchcraft—Proctor was enraged, saying: “If they [the afflicted girls] were let alone, so we should all be devils and witches!.” Such comments were eventually used against him!. Some townspeople believed that someone with so little concern for the afflicted girls must be guilty himself!.

But Proctor’s wife Elizabeth was accused first!. As John staunchly defended her innocence at the trials, the girls suddenly pointed their fingers at him—the first man to be named a wizard!. Mary Warren confirmed the accusations against him!. The only evidence against them was spectral—the afflicted girls claimed the Proctor’s apparitions, or specters, were tormenting them!. Their hysterics proved enough for the court, and both John and Elizabeth were imprisoned!.

Proctor wrote an impassioned letter to the Boston clergy, claiming “we are all innocent persons!.” He described the unfairness of the court proceedings and how torture was used to extract confessions!. His letter may have made an impact on the clergy, but it was not in time to affect the trials!. On August 5, both John and Elizabeth were found guilty!. Elizabeth’s life would be spared because she was pregnant!. But John was hanged on August 19, 1692!."Www@QuestionHome@Com