The Witch Hunts & Modern Society

The Burning Times (documentary): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqRir6a3VHk

Category:

Education

Tags:

• witchhunts in europe
• feminism
• mary daly
• sexism
• gynecology
• catholic church
• witch burning
• witches
• iremythpurr

[TheMercilessEye]

Highly valuable information.  Yes, you're right: confessing typically meant that the 'witch' would earn 'forgiveness from God' but would still be killed...only the method of execution would be more 'merciful' than being burned at the stake...typically, hanging or beheading...how very considerate of the inquisition.

Are you aware of any places where midwifery was not extinguished? It would be extremely useful to ascertain if any of the old knowledge eradicated by the church still survived...

[iremythpurr]

@TheMercilessEye

Ireland seems to have maintained a semblance of midwifery but they've always had more laws which protect women's basic rights to property, divorce etc. Eastern Europe seems to have been maintained some knowledge as well but these really are pockets of knowledge and haven't been kept up as the main method women use to deal with things like reproductive health and childbirth.

[iremythpurr]

@TheMercilessEye

Its funny this is reminding me of another book I read called "when women rebel" about feminism in Peru. One of the main complaints the women had was that the catholic church had robbed them of their historical medical knowledge esp midwife knowledge and as such women were relying on the male medical system and coming up short, also having more kids than they could feed when a couple generations before it wasn't an issue.

[fruitikay]

Wow great video. I've actually been really interested in this topic ever since I was a teenager. I read a lot of books on the witch trials, and barely in any of them did it explain some of the stuff you were talking about. For some reason, it has always been difficult for me to find research on women being raped during the witch trials, If I do find somewhere were it talks about it, it's only an after-thought, but not a main issue. I think it was far more common than the research shows.

[iremythpurr]

@fruitikay

Yeah I forgot to add that it wasn't technically included as a form of torture (even though it is) so many women were tortured with that method and it was claimed that they were not.

[iremythpurr]

@fruitikay

you seriously need to get a copy of gyn/ecology. The section on the witch burnings was just so fascinating and unlike anything else I've come across.

[fruitikay]

@iremythpurr I think I will try and order a copy once my next paycheck comes in. It sounds really interesting and I'm really open to learn more.

[TheMercilessEye]

@AtheismCentral Yet another reason to bring down the capitalist system - one for which I similarly have no love or allegiance, whatsoever.

[AtheismCentral]

@TheMercilessEye

This is the cause of Capitalism. Midwives don't benifit private companies hospitals and the cash the doctors take home. If its not profitable, even if it can save lives, its goin in the trash.

[TheMercilessEye]

@AtheismCentral Hmm... Now that we've 'come full-circle', so to speak, it would be interesting to see if naturopathy or some other discipline NOT mainstream-medical would be in-the-act-of or willing to take-on the techniques formerly employed by midwifery.  I've lately come to take a rather dim view of the AMA-sanctioned variants of healthcare, in general. This is definitely worth exploration, and one of the more interesting topics into which she's delved, of late...

[AtheismCentral]

The whole idea of midwives is awesome. Not long ago, women who were giving birth would be tied down to a hospital bed, and the only pain killer was a clothe to bite on. Midwives had revolutionary systems of having women give birth, but propaganda not long ago would depict them as "voodoo women" depicting them as Afro-caribbean and etc.

[TheMercilessEye]

@iremythpurr Again, the church...and back in the primacy of Spain ascendent...it figures. I have a particular contempt for the Jesuits: among all the orders theirs was the most greedy and power-driven. I should look into rural Mexico - there may be more survivals of midwifery there.

I don't know if you've seen it, yet, but vaticancrimes has an excellent channel you'd likely appreciate - you can connect to them through this vid...a very disturbing one: watch?v=Ia36mMV-0pg

[NubianTribesman]

Very educational Video.

I have to check out the books you mentioned.