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en43rs t1_j1iqd9f wrote

Reply to comment by annatheorc in Simple/Short/Silly History Questions Saturday! by AutoModerator

Because witches are based on medieval antisemitic stereotypes: in medieval art Jews are sometimes represented with big noses and pointy hat. The hats are loosely based on a hat some Jews wore in some areas.

After expelling the Jews from their lands European Christians started using their antisemitic stereotypes on a new marginalized enemy: the "witches". It wasn't intentional to be clear, it's was basically just "that's what bad people look like".

Interesting facts: Spain expelled their Jews way later than the rest of Europe (1492 compared to the 1200s-1300s in other places) and there weren't that many witch hunts in Spain (but a lot of paranoia about "secret Jews")

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annatheorc t1_j1itf4f wrote

Thank you for explaining! That's terrible. Do you know what the marginalized group called witches was? Where they people the group decided to hate or were they their own distinct group with their own culture? We're witches a gendered group like they're mostly seen as today?

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en43rs t1_j1j804t wrote

Contrary to the Jewish people (who are, you know, actually a thing) there is no single definition of who is a witch. There is not a parallel community that was tolerated and then marginalized. Who was targeted vary from time to time and place to place. In some places mostly men, in other mostly women. Sometimes the witches are lone actors, for the 17th century puritans there was a global conspiracy against Christendom (akin to contemporary global conspiracies). But usually it’s the people who are different or not liked. Foreigners, unmarried adults, those who live alone or are not as pious as others… and women who do not fit the mold. Widows, those who know “secrets” (traditional midwives and healers),… it varies a lot but it’s those who are already “suspects”.

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