In 500-600 words, argue that real witches did exist and needed to be dealt with. The arguments can be based on the Inquisitors perspective, or on historians who claim folk magic and witches did indeed exist in Europe.
It is recommended that you read the historians (below) and become familiar with their (sometimes conflicting) theories. You are encouraged to investigate other sources, but dont get mixed up in the Salem Witch Trials (different historical period).
Walter Stephens, Demon Lovers; Witchcraft, Sex & the Crisis of Belief. 2002. (Chapters One and Two, Pp. 14-57, available online under the book’s Preview: https://books.google.ca/books/about/Demon_Lovers.html?id=JPSoPGmNW50C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Hugh Trevor-Roper, The European Witch-craze of the 16th & 17th Centuries,1969.
(This book is not an E-book, but I cover it in my Power Point and you can read Trevor-Ropers long essay, an earlier version of his book of the same name, The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century. Scroll Down and on the left under “Table of Contents you will find Essay 3 “The European Witch Craze…” with six chapters.
https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/roper-the-crisis-of-the-seventeenth-century#lf6114_label_095
Norman Cohn, Europes Inner Demons, 1975. Read Chapter Two, “Changing Views of the Devil” (abridged) https://archive.org/details/europesinnerdemo00cohn
Robin Briggs, Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft, 1996.
This valuable book is out of print and is not an E-book in the library, but it is covered in my Power Point and you can read the excellent informative book review by Euan Cameron: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b75a/b510aa1f095d73e6aae92e5b70f0690b7a82.pdf
Feel free to use other source material but be careful to cite what you use your essay!
