Work, Gender and Witchcraft in Early Modern England
Published version
Peer-reviewed
Repository URI
Repository DOI
Change log
Authors
Carter, Philippa https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7689-9022
Abstract
This article revisits a question with which historians of early modern European witchcraft have long grappled: why was the average percentage of male suspects so small (c. 10–30%), and the percentage of female suspects so large? Drawing on recent studies by economic historians, it argues that this skewed gender ratio can be explained, in part, by the gendered patterns of work which obtained in early modern Europe. Focusing on England, it shows how four key variables – gender divisions of labour, occupational hazard, contact frequency, and workplace sociability – combined to increase or decrease workers’ vulnerability to witchcraft accusation.
Description
Keywords
4303 Historical Studies, 43 History, Heritage and Archaeology
Journal Title
Gender and History
Conference Name
Journal ISSN
0953-5233
1468-0424
1468-0424
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley
Publisher DOI
Sponsorship
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge