The difference in views regarding the reasons behind the female majority of accused
witches may have arisen due to the interpretations by some historians having been
influenced by their own pre-existing convictions, as asserted by Robin Briggs. 13 Similarly,
James Sharpe has argued that feminist scholars and writers have made such interpretations
‘with scant regard for historical evidence and with little idea of the broader historical
context.’ 14
A common stereotype of witches is that they were old women, often widows.
Historians have disagreed on why these women in particular were more vulnerable to
accusations of witchcraft. Alison Rowlands has addressed the suggestion by some historians
that older women were more often accused due to antisocial and hostile behaviour which
was then perceived by their neighbours as the characteristics of a witch. This behaviour may
have been caused by mental disorders as result of female old age, as suggested by Sona Rosa
Burstein, or due to the social and economic difficulties faced by older women and the
biological and psychological changes of the menopause, as suggested by Edward Bever.
Rowlands, however, argued that there is little evidence to support either theory in her own
studies of the witch-trials of Rothenburg. She argued that the records suggest the opposite,
that suspected witches often exhibited friendly and helpful behaviour towards their
neighbours, prior to being openly accused of witchcraft. Rowlands also observed that the
individuals who appeared in these trials whose described behaviour was reminiscent of
mental disorders were those making the accusations rather than the accused. 15
13 Robin Briggs , ‘Many Reasons Why: Witchcraft and the Problem of Multiple Explanation' , in Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe: Studies in Culture and Belief , Ed. Gareth Roberts, Jonathan Barry and Marianne Hester (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 49-63 14 Sharpe, p. 9 15 Alison Rowlands, 'Witchcraft and Old Women in Early Modern Germany', Past & Present , 173 (2001), pp. 50- 89
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