Superstition

Mitchell Maier Mr. Ulmer Period 6 English June 6, 2010 // Superstition // The Elizabethan Era, ranging from 1550 to 1650, was an important part of England’s history. Many new ideas and much artwork were created during this time. Also, the people of the Elizabethan Era had many odd and unique traditions and ideas. They were very superstitious and also fearful of witchcraft.

Superstitions played a large part of the culture in the Elizabethan Era. The townsfolk were quite uneducated compared to the average citizen today. The townsfolk had many unanswered questions, and they gladly accepted superstitions as the answers to their questions. For example, when things went missing, fairies would be blamed for the mischief. The people also began traditions that still continue today. Such as, saying god bless you after a sneeze, this was done because the devil entered your mouth while you were sneezing, it was unlucky for a black cat to cross your path, (Andrews, 167) and touching wood was good luck because wood was believed to be magical. (Elizabethan Superstitions) Fairies Elizabethans widely believed in fairies. The townsfolk thought that fairies lived in the countryside. The fairies sometimes visited there favorite moral but when they entered town, mischief usually followed. Fairy culture also impacted writers such as Shakespeare. A genre of poetry known as Fairy Poetry arose. This type of poetry soon died out as the idea of fairies dwindled. (Weatherly, 83) Witchcraft The most well-known superstition, witchcraft influenced the average citizen's life in many ways. Sorcery (witchcraft) was looked upon with fear and hatred by almost everyone during the Elizabethan Era. This was mostly because sorcery was considered heresy. (Lee, 246) Witches were able to communicate with good and evil spirits in the super natural world and were even said to summon satin himself. (Andrews, 167) Witches could be young or old but were almost always women. They were believed to have the power to transform shape, and they could also teleport. (Ross, 19) There were many different reasons a woman could be accused of being a witch. Such reasons included, having a pet animal, particularly a cat or mouse, being physically or mentally impaired. She could be widow, (Ross, 18-19) or someone had a grudge against her and accused her of practicing magic. (Olsen, 677) The reason witches were so feared was because they were known to cause crop failures, storms, and epidemics. (Olsen, 677) Witches were hated so much that when a cat was seen, people would beat it with sticks in the hope it was a witch. (Olsen, 679)

If a woman was suspected of being a witch, she had many obstacles to overcome to survive. She would be interrogated, tortured, observed to find if she could recite Lord’s Prayer without stammering, and searched for the “devil’s mark” by a professional group of witch finders. The devil’s mark could be a blemish or even a completely unmarked part of the skin. This mark was thought to be numb the whole way down to the bone. (Olsen, 678) Another popular way to test if a woman was a witch was to dunk her head in water, and if she didn’t drown she was a witch and was burned. Unfortunately for her, if she did drown she wasn’t considered a witch. If the woman was accused of minor sorcery such as casting love spells, the witch was put in prison. Most of the prisoners died before their sentences ended because of the horrible conditions in the cells. (Lee, 247) Some accused of more serious practices were put through excruciatingly painful procedures until they confessed to being a witch; others were sleep deprived. When a witch finally confessed she was executed. It is likely some women even confessed to using witchcraft just to be the center of attention, even if it meant death.

Oddly the church was the main push behind keeping witchcraft alive. By constantly executing witches, the church kept the townsfolk fearful and with the fear came respect. The Elizabethans would stay loyal to the church because if they didn’t, they would probably be accused of being a witch.



The people of the Elizabethan Era were uneducated and to fill their knowledge gaps, they created superstitions. These superstitions grew and took hold of the entire country. The effects were so great some superstitions even continue today. A major superstition was fairies, which influenced writers such as Shakespeare to begin a genre of poetry known as Fairy Poetry. (Weatherly, 83) Although there were a vast number of superstitions during this time the most well known was Witchcraft. Sorcery became a very serious crime, but witches themselves were deeply feared. The church kept witchcraft alive by constantly killing witches. As the human race began to discover more truth and people became better educated the need for superstitions began to die out. Although they still exist, their impact on culture isn’t as significant.



Work Cited For Pictures: Fine Art America. //Fairies in my Garden//. N.d. //Fine Art America//. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2010. . Robertson. Halloween. 2009. //rrstar.com//. Web. 7 June 2010. .

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