how could i identify a witch in 1666?

Answer 1

Burning and drowning
If they DIDN'T burn they were a witch
If they DIDN'T drown they were a witch

Too bad that all the people they choose proved there were no witches - could have used Mythbusters back then - eh?

Answer 2

Ah the burning times, the worst attrocity ever against my kind.

So called witchfinders had various methods at their disposal. The most well known were throwing a 'witch' into a body of water. if they sank they were innocent and with god. if you floated you were a witch and were burnt at the stake/hanged. Some witches were tried simply on the word of others. Many people would claim their neighbours were witches so they could get their hands on their land etc...

The witchfinders were notorious for starving and torturing those they believed to be witches, including physical and sexual abuse, until they could no longer stand it and confessed, hoping the torture would end.

The most well know witchfinder was Matthew Hopkins, considering how many witches he put to death and how renowned he was people are often surprised by the fact that he only worked in East Anglia, not the entire country.

Well that might have been a bit more than you wanted but I do get carried away on the subject!

Answer 3

The officially accepted methods included: "swimming" her (almost always a female, BTW), by throwing her in the water. Since as a minion of Satan she had rejected baptism, the water would reject her -- she'd float. Kind of rough on the innocent, but who said life was fair? Another, feeding her a communion wafer -- witches couldn't swallow one without choking. Or make her recite the Lord's Prayer -- witches always made a mistake in reciting this. Or weigh her against the Church Bible (witches would be lighter).

Or you could just ask around. Neighbors could always be found to point out old women who kept to themselves, got cranky when hassled by kids, or had some property that you might get your hands on if they were dead. Then you ask the accused to prove she was innocent. That was the way the Inquisition did it: ask that people prove that they had _not_ committed a crime. This is the reason for the Fifth Amendment in our own Constitution, not to mention the rule about separation of Church and State.

Answer 4

I seem to remember that any woman could be accused especially if she was wise, clever, used herbs and people were jealous or scared of her. Malicious gossip could be lethal. They also thought that witches were able to corrupt men and so men who were adulterers would say they had been bewitched and the poor woman would be dragged off.

The trials, in the UK, were primarily done like this. Everyone knows that witches use magic and so can't drown so they would hold them underwater. If they drowned they weren't a witch. If by some miracle they managed to hold their breath long enough they were definitely a witch and would be burnt at the stake.

Not a good time to be a woman.

Answer 5

The big witch hunt in England and Europe was virtually over by then - it had raged during the English Civil War, especially in East Anglia where Matthew Hopkins declared himself the Wichfinder General. He wrote a book on finding witches with his accomplice who was called Stearne, I think. It's called the discovery of witches. Essentially a person was accused and Hopkins would be paid loads of dosh to visit the town or village where he tortured them through sleep deprivation and 'walking' until they told him what he wanted. Most were old women - sometimes with the symptoms of what we call dementia. They might, eg be talking to themselves. Often they were widows or old spinsters. Rarel they were men, but there was one case Hopkins had where the accused was a priest.

By the way, another book of the time which helped identify witches was MALLEUS MALEFICARUM and King James 1 also wrote about them in about 1603

Answer 6

You couldn't. You weren't alive.
seriously though, the 'witches' would be tested for where their familiers drank blood from them, by jabbing them all over with pins, until they found a place that didn't hurt them.
Or
They dunked the witch. If she was alive when they brought her back up, she was a witch, if she had drowned, then she was just another innocent old lady.
there were other methods too, but those two were the most common.

Answer 7

You cant go back in time so you couldn`t!
The question is,,,,,,," how would i have identified a witch in 1666".
Study Engilsh as well as History.

Answer 8

How will you go to 1666 ?

Answer 9

if they used herbs to cure people of minor ailments and worked closely with nature and were nice people who kept themselves recluses to the villagers. People were scared of what they didn't know or understand so they labelled them witches and evil when really they were just intelligent women who knew alot about nature and healing.

Answer 10

Didn't witches float when thrown into the water? Or maybe they sank. Bummer either way, eh, as that'd take a bite out of your day.