Trina wasn’t going to waste any time launching into this lesson. They had a lot of ground to cover this year - figuratively and literally - and she wanted to get started. “Morning! Don’t dawdle, we don’t have time for you to not be ready to take notes.” In saying that, she gave the students a moment while she took a drink of water, preparing herself to lecture. This would be a big one. “So the first stop on our wizarding world tour of sorts this year is Salem, Massachusetts, in the northeast of the United States of America.” She waved her wand at her world map, making a little symbol appear over where Salem was. “It was what you might call a flashpoint for the breakdown of magical and non-magical relations. Let’s take a step back for a moment, however, to the 1670s and 80s.”
“For context, Salem was a town that was growing and changing. It’s a port town, so trade was a big thing. But as you might have learned by now, change is often met with big resistance. This was led by the Puritans, who were devoutly Christian and very…let’s just say old fashioned. The Puritans, living in Salem Village, were constantly at odds with the residents of Salem Town over everything. Land rights, church rights, you name it. The village hired their own leaders - being ministers - from about 1672 until the fallout of the trials.”
“In 1689, the village hired Samuel Parris to be the leader. He was your fairly typical devout leader, you know, idleness is evil, play is evil, no happiness only work et cetera et cetera. Samuel Parris had a daughter, Betty, and a niece, Abigail Williams. Jumping ahead to 1692, the nine-year old Betty and eleven-year old Abigail suddenly started acting very strange. Like they were possessed, so to speak. Screaming, throwing things, complaining of strange ailments. And they weren’t the only ones - a few young girls started behaving oddly. A type of mass hysteria, some said. Or poisoning - a theory that was posited later with a further understanding of science. But given the general God-fearing behaviour and the general anti-sorcery fervour, the overall belief was that it was an act of witchcraft, that the girls had been possessed by demons and corrupted by witches.” Trina paused, giving them a few moments to catch up as she waved her wand and passed out some sheets.
“Here’s some general information about witch trials we can refer to throughout the semester. Keep these safe - we’re not going to go into it all now, but there’s some context for you to read about in your spare time. Anyway, the first three people named as witches, allegedly having corrupted Betty and Abigail and some other girls in the village, were three women on the outer of society. The first, Sarah Good, was poor and homeless, accused of tormenting and scorning children. The second, Sarah Osborne, did not attend church, and had re-married an indentured servant…or, calling it what it is, a slave. And the third, speaking of, was a woman named Tituba, an enslaved West Indian woman, accused of telling salacious stories from the Malleus Maleficarum, fortune-telling - all kinds of racial stereotypes. These three were easy targets. They were only the first, many others were eventually accused, including children. Notably, Dorothy Good, the daughter of Sarah Good. She was four years old.” Trina shook her head, pausing to let that sink in. “Hunting down witches became almost a hysteria in and of itself. People’s bodies were examined for unusual marks, such as moles, birthmarks. You know, typical signs of the devil.”
“All up, between 200 and 300 people were accused, and 30 people were found guilty. 19 were hanged - 14 of them being women - five died in jail, and one man was crushed to death when he didn’t give a plea. Gruesome, I know.” Trina looked at the clock, taking a drink of water to soothe her throat as she finished up for the lesson. “Alright, well done today. Make sure you have a read over those notes. To play into the stereotype, if you’re interested in the Malleus Maleficarum let me know. It’s a bit…full on, hence the restriction, but it is truly fascinating reading, especially when you consider how, despite the fear of sorcery, skills such as astronomy, arithmancy and divination were so relied upon in the hunt for witches.” Trina raised an eyebrow. “That goes for anything in the Restricted Section, by the way. You’ll have to be upfront about what you want to read and why, but as long as you’re honest with me, I’m happy to help you out.” She waved her wand to open the doors, letting the students out after a lengthy lecture.
Homework
RP the lesson. No homework, cause it’s a long lecture! Notes are optional if you’re interested in learning more about witch hunts and are in the pinned topic in the classroom, located here. If your student is ever interested in accessing the restricted section for a plot or just their general interest, please feel free to ask!
“For context, Salem was a town that was growing and changing. It’s a port town, so trade was a big thing. But as you might have learned by now, change is often met with big resistance. This was led by the Puritans, who were devoutly Christian and very…let’s just say old fashioned. The Puritans, living in Salem Village, were constantly at odds with the residents of Salem Town over everything. Land rights, church rights, you name it. The village hired their own leaders - being ministers - from about 1672 until the fallout of the trials.”
“In 1689, the village hired Samuel Parris to be the leader. He was your fairly typical devout leader, you know, idleness is evil, play is evil, no happiness only work et cetera et cetera. Samuel Parris had a daughter, Betty, and a niece, Abigail Williams. Jumping ahead to 1692, the nine-year old Betty and eleven-year old Abigail suddenly started acting very strange. Like they were possessed, so to speak. Screaming, throwing things, complaining of strange ailments. And they weren’t the only ones - a few young girls started behaving oddly. A type of mass hysteria, some said. Or poisoning - a theory that was posited later with a further understanding of science. But given the general God-fearing behaviour and the general anti-sorcery fervour, the overall belief was that it was an act of witchcraft, that the girls had been possessed by demons and corrupted by witches.” Trina paused, giving them a few moments to catch up as she waved her wand and passed out some sheets.
“Here’s some general information about witch trials we can refer to throughout the semester. Keep these safe - we’re not going to go into it all now, but there’s some context for you to read about in your spare time. Anyway, the first three people named as witches, allegedly having corrupted Betty and Abigail and some other girls in the village, were three women on the outer of society. The first, Sarah Good, was poor and homeless, accused of tormenting and scorning children. The second, Sarah Osborne, did not attend church, and had re-married an indentured servant…or, calling it what it is, a slave. And the third, speaking of, was a woman named Tituba, an enslaved West Indian woman, accused of telling salacious stories from the Malleus Maleficarum, fortune-telling - all kinds of racial stereotypes. These three were easy targets. They were only the first, many others were eventually accused, including children. Notably, Dorothy Good, the daughter of Sarah Good. She was four years old.” Trina shook her head, pausing to let that sink in. “Hunting down witches became almost a hysteria in and of itself. People’s bodies were examined for unusual marks, such as moles, birthmarks. You know, typical signs of the devil.”
“All up, between 200 and 300 people were accused, and 30 people were found guilty. 19 were hanged - 14 of them being women - five died in jail, and one man was crushed to death when he didn’t give a plea. Gruesome, I know.” Trina looked at the clock, taking a drink of water to soothe her throat as she finished up for the lesson. “Alright, well done today. Make sure you have a read over those notes. To play into the stereotype, if you’re interested in the Malleus Maleficarum let me know. It’s a bit…full on, hence the restriction, but it is truly fascinating reading, especially when you consider how, despite the fear of sorcery, skills such as astronomy, arithmancy and divination were so relied upon in the hunt for witches.” Trina raised an eyebrow. “That goes for anything in the Restricted Section, by the way. You’ll have to be upfront about what you want to read and why, but as long as you’re honest with me, I’m happy to help you out.” She waved her wand to open the doors, letting the students out after a lengthy lecture.
Homework
RP the lesson. No homework, cause it’s a long lecture! Notes are optional if you’re interested in learning more about witch hunts and are in the pinned topic in the classroom, located here. If your student is ever interested in accessing the restricted section for a plot or just their general interest, please feel free to ask!
