The History of Witchcraft
This lecture will explore the history of witchcraft, witch beliefs, and the witch craze across the United Kingdom during the early modern period. Students will examine how fear, religion, superstition, and social tension contributed to the persecution of thousands of individuals accused of witchcraft throughout England and Scotland. Particular attention will be given to the social and political conditions that fuelled witch hunts and the ways in which accusations were often linked to gender, poverty, and local conflict.
A significant part of the course will focus on Wales and the strikingly different attitude many Welsh communities held towards witches and folk healers. Unlike other parts of Britain, many areas in Wales valued individuals accused of witchcraft for their knowledge of herbal medicine, healing practices, and traditional remedies. The lecture will investigate why some accused witches escaped persecution by moving into Welsh communities and how local customs, folklore, and practical reliance on medicinal knowledge shaped these attitudes.
Students will consider why Wales often treated alleged witches with greater tolerance and what communities gained from respecting and protecting these individuals rather than persecuting them during periods of widespread fear and hysteria.
Speaker Bio:
Gretchen Ivey is originally from the United States. She has lived and worked extensively abroad, including in Mexico, Bolivia, Switzerland, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, before making her home in England in 2002. She holds bachelor’s degrees in History and Spanish, as well as a master’s degree in Creative Writing.
Her academic and personal interests centre on the supernatural and the ways in which supernatural beliefs have shaped history, culture, folklore, and literature across different societies and historical periods. Through her research and lectures, she explores how ideas surrounding ghosts, witchcraft, hauntings, and the unexplained continue to influence cultural identity, storytelling, and collective memory.
Speaker Bio:
Gretchen Ivey is originally from the United States. She has lived and worked extensively abroad, including in Mexico, Bolivia, Switzerland, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, before making her home in England in 2002. She holds bachelor’s degrees in History and Spanish, as well as a master’s degree in Creative Writing.
Her academic and personal interests centre on the supernatural and the ways in which supernatural beliefs have shaped history, culture, folklore, and literature across different societies and historical periods. Through her research and lectures, she explores how ideas surrounding ghosts, witchcraft, hauntings, and the unexplained continue to influence cultural identity, storytelling, and collective memory.
