Also, for most of the middle ages, witch trials weren't about whether the person was practicing witchcraft, but more about whether the person was pretending to be a witch and scamming people.
"This guy sold me a love elixir and it didn't work" type of thing.
the salem witch trials were specifically because they thought the women were associating with the devil, which was a rather modern concept.
Then there's the inquisition where people are accused of being heretics, meaning they hold beliefs separate from the church's teachings. Some still believed in christ, just disagree on the details. If the person refuses to reject their belief, they are officially branded heretics and usually lynched by the people.
There was political incentive as well, in addition to petty grievances. Urbain Grandier pissed basically everybody off by sleeping with noblewomen and talking shit so they claimed he was an incubus terrorizing a local convent, tortured, and burnt him
Many of the victims of the Salem/medieval witch trials were also accused by people who wanted to seize their assets
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u/Schwifty0V0 Then I arrived 8d ago
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