RE: ANGELA RAYNER28 May 2024 18:20
Oh, she's got green eyes...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxDv_RTdLQo
The association between red hair and witchcraft dates back to medieval times and the witch trials of the 16th-18th centuries, particularly in Europe. Here are some key points from the search results:
- During the Middle Ages, people with red hair and green eyes were often accused of being vampires, werewolves, or witches and faced persecution.[3]
- In the 1400s-1600s, an estimated 60,000 women, many of them redheads, were drowned or burned at the stake during the European witch trials for allegedly practicing witchcraft.[2][3]
- In medieval Germany alone, around 45,000 women were put on trial, tortured and murdered as suspected witches, with red hair being viewed as a telltale sign of witchcraft.[2][3]
- The "Malleus Maleficarum" (Hammer of Witches), a 1486 guide for identifying witches, perpetuated the belief that witches were driven by lust, leading redheaded women to be associated with witchcraft and sorcery due to existing stereotypes of them being highly sexual.[2]
- During the Spanish Inquisition, red hair was seen as the result of "stealing fires from hell", leading many redheaded women to be branded as witches and burned at the stake.[2][4]
- In 16th-18th century Christian Europe, there was a widespread belief that redheads were affiliated with the devil, making them prime targets during witch hunts.[4]
So the perception of redheaded women as evil witches was particularly prevalent during the medieval and Renaissance periods in Europe, fueled by misogyny, existing prejudices against redheads, and religious superstitions.[2][3][4]
Citations:
[1] https://www.everythingblogel.ca/blog/history-the-salem-witch-trials
[2] https://gingerparrot.co.uk/the-history-of-redheads-and-witchcraft/
[3] https://www.poshgoth.com/blogs/posh-goth-blog/redheads-and-witchcraft
[4] https://www.howtobearedhead.com/8-historical-facts-about-redheads-and-witchcraft/
[5] https://www.themoorlander.co.uk/news/features/1228303/folkmoor-red-hair.html
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