Welcome back to Lesson Two of History of Magic. By now, you should have already set your two goals for the year’s course.
For today’s lesson, we will be touching on the beginnings of wizarding villages, particularly witch-hunting and its influence on the formation of European communities. We will not be discussing any villages in particular
Charms 602: Introduction to British Magical History
For hundreds of years, Muggles have been wary of witchcraft and magic. Witchcraft was officially banned and labelled as evil in many religions. Many followers of these religions held the view that witchcraft was sinful and wrong.
Religious leaders were not able to set the minds of average Muggles at ease as witchcraft was increasingly deemed wrong, evil, and life-threatening by the general populace and superstitions. In fact, witchcraft was blamed for bad things that happened in daily activities, such as farming failures or sudden, unexplained deaths. By the 13th century, witchcraft trials in Europe started to gain popularity and witch-hunts and burnings became a common sight by the early 14th century and lasted on for centuries.
Religious leaders were not able to set the minds of average Muggles at ease as witchcraft was increasingly deemed wrong, evil, and life-threatening by the general populace and superstitions. In fact, witchcraft was blamed for bad things that happened in daily activities, such as farming failures or sudden, unexplained deaths. By the 13th century, witchcraft trials in Europe started to gain popularity and witch-hunts and burnings became a common sight by the early 14th century and lasted on for centuries.
As may seem logical, these witch hunts had a number of ramifications on the magical population. One of which was causing many magical beings to seclude themselves in small groups away from larger, non-magical cities and towns. This is because they had to protect the young witches and wizards who were unable to gain full control over their power, and to reduce the chances of being seen when accidental magic happened. They also started to limit their social interaction with the Muggle communities in large groups.
Additionally, in 1689, the International Statute of Secrecy was signed. This Statute aimed “to protect witches and wizards globally from the fear and persecution that they faced at the hands of their Muggle counterparts.” Thus, to protect each other, they were to separate themselves and live on their own, removed from the witch-hunt hysteria, for fear their lives might be in danger
Signed by the International Confederation of Wizards, the International Statute of Secrecy was widely believed to be the best possible way to protect both Muggles and witches and wizards from future persecution. This document was used to officially recognise wizarding villages that were around, some of which had already existed over a hundred years. If the enacting of the International Statute of Secrecy interests you -- as it should as one of the most important pieces of magical legislature in history
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