SH+P4+2015+Demonologie

Audience: (Anna Gabrielsen and Emily Weatherwax) The take for Daemonologie was vast. Most of the people around at the time thought it was the right thing to do. “ Soon, the idea of identifying and prosecuting witches spread throughout the neighboring areas of northern Italy, Switzerland and southern Germany, and it was at [|Basel]  that the [|Council of Basel]  assembled from 1431 to 1437. This Church Council, which had been attended by such anti-witchcraft figures as Johann Nider and Martin Le Franc, helped to standardize the stereotype of the Satanic witch that would be propagated throughout the rest of the trials” (Witch Trials in the Early Modern Period). This started around the 1400s and was still happening in the 1500s (around the time King James I wrote Daemonologie). These were the places and cultures that he was writing for. People who already practiced witch hunting and would be receptive to it and would be invigorated and encouraged by the book. Some of the other people he was writing for would be the places that hadn’t started the practice yet. The book would likely make these places want to start witch hunting out of fear because of the message the book was trying to convey. Also, “This century saw Scotland go through a religious Reformation” (Ryynänen 2). Before the 1500s, Scotland only had about 3 witch burnings and no one really cared. When the witch burnings happened in America, the reason for doing so is that people believed the “witches” were possessed by the Devil and going against God. In the 16th century, Scotland underwent a religious reformation with the King, possibly spearheading the reformation, wrote a book on how witch hunting was good for the people of his country to read. That makes the audience the people of Scotland, but the main people really interested in it were the reformed, highly religious people and potential witch hunters.

"Witch Trials in the Early Modern Period." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. Ryynänen, Timo. "James VI: The Demonologist King Demonic Descriptions and Their Context in James VI’s Daemonologie." (2010): n. pag. University of Eastern Finland. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.

Historical: (By Isabelle Acree) The history of demonology is that of superstition and religion. Demonology itself is the study, and belief of demons or other supernatural beings. In the past, demons were slightly different than how they are perceived now. “ The original sense of "demon", from the time of Homer onward, was a benevolent being, but in English the name now holds connotations of malevolence” (“Demonology”). The idea of a spirit being evil has varied over time, and through the introduction of other religions, the idea of what is “evil” has changed based on who you ask. “Many religions - specifically Judaism and Christianity - are known to adopt the gods and goddesses of pagan cultures as demonic spirits, so what is considered "evil" or a "demon" is often subjective” (DeliriumsRealm). According to demonology of the past, demons and spirits were the ones to blame for many things people could not explain, such as emotions. Spirits in many cultures and history have been associated with the dead, often claimed to be the souls of those who died. In recent years, the connotation of demons being evil is still prevalent, mostly thanks to common religion saying anything supernatural that opposes God is ill-natured. The book itself was a book about all of this.

“Demonology: The Study of Evil Spirits." Deliriums Realm: Essays on Good and Evil. DeliriumsRealm, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

"Demonology." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Cultural (Emily Weatherwax) : There are demons in every culture. They stem from the different religions of different cultures, but they all have the same basic ideas. They are the bad bits, full of evil, in every society. Not only does every culture have a notion of demons, but there is a culture that is strongly associated with demons and that is witchcraft and the occult. According to “King James I: Demonologist”, King James I was “ a deeply superstitious man, obsessed with the occult” (Sharratt). However, his interest stemmed from hate, not love. In 1587, he wrote a book titled Daemonologie, and it was all about hunting witches. In that time period, there had been few persecutions in Scotland but witch hunting was increasingly becoming an “ respectable, moral, and highly intellectual pursuit” (“Witches and King James”). In modern culture, Daemonologie affects people because while witchcraft is no longer popular in real life, it is still largely written about in other books and shown in TV shows and movies. Supernatural is a hugely popular TV show where the main characters, Sam and Dean, hunt witches because the witches are causing harm to other people. That is how the book Daemonologie affects modern culture because the book told everyone that witch-hunting is a noble profession and witches are awful creatures. While people today don’t hunt witches anymore, people still think witches are bad and mainly just to be them as a Halloween costume. The idea of witches being bad has been perpetuated since the time Daemonologie and that book has been the reason that shunning witches and expelling every single one from society has been a cultural ideal for centuries.

Sharratt, Mary. "King James I: Demonologist." Wonders and Marvels. N.p., 31 July 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. < [|__http://www.wondersandmarvels.com/2014/07/king-james-i-demonologist.html__] >.

"Witches and King James." Internet Shakespeare Editions. University of Victoria, 4 Jan. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. .

Aim: (Anna Gabrielsen) The book Daemonologie was important in starting the practice of witch hunting. It was written by King James I. “ The book endorses the practice of witch hunting” (“Daemonologie”). He likely used fear mongering to whip people into a frenzy against the practice of witchcraft. This would not have been very difficult. People felt unsafe at that time because of the supposed threat witchcraft posed. The book only tried to make the fear grow. By writing Daemonologie, King James I increased the practice. Witch hunting was “a search for people labelled "witches" or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic or mass hysteria” (“Witch-Hunt”). THe purpose of the witch hunts were to kill all people suspected of being witches so as to rid the world of the evil they posses. By writing the book King James I was endorsing witch hunting which made people more accepting of the practice. Without the book Daemonologie it is possible the practice of witch hunting would not have reached the height that it did. People would not have been as spurred by fear without the book to rile them up. King James was trying to instill fear in people to make the witch hunting more vigorous.  The main purpose of the book Daemonologie was to increase the hunting and killing of alleged witches.

"Daemonologie." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015. "Witch-hunt." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2015.