Response Questions to Documents regarding Medieval Witchcraft

1. Why did the Church devote such energy to the destruction of witches?

The Church gained a sense of mass hysteria from the idea that not only was witchcraft harmful for a community and nation, but also from the notion that witchcraft was hard to detect and "spreads like an infection".

2. Why might the obstruction of inquisitors occur?

People who were aware of the mass hysteria and its effect on the justice system of the inquisitors grew to distrust the entire system. Thus, these people were likely to obstruct any "witch-hunt" behaviors.

3. Why might a person, as the young man described in The Ant Hill, make such a full confession of his witchcraft?

Sometimes, confession of witchcraft was a much easier way than receiving punishment. Once someone confessed, they were either spiritually helped or killed instantly, if they really wanted to hear a confession but the prosecuted didn't provide one, much prolonged torture usually occurred.

4.Why did authorities employ torture in cases of witchcraft?

Inquisitors found torture to be the most effective way of extracting confessions from the accused. Though the confessions may not be true, they at least would provide reason for unknown occurrences. 

5. What was the procedure followed by the inquisitor when torturing a suspect?

The inquisitor would revisit the accused person he had tortured to confirm a confession he achieved during the torturing process. This act assumes that the confession achieved from torturing was not always accurate, thus disintegrating the original purpose of torture.

6. What does The Witch Hammer suggest about cases of lying as evidence to secure a confession? 

The Witch Hammer implicitly states that if a person is found to be lying, even if all other evidence suggests their innocence, they may be assumed guilty. This follows from the reasoning that if Satan is the father of all lies, then those who make lies must be his disciples.