Q 01/05

Roughly how many people were executed for witchcraft in Europe and its colonies, 1400–1775?

A) 40,000 to 60,000

B) 100,000 to 150,000

C) 400,000 to 600,000

D) About 9 million

Answer · why

A) 40,000 to 60,000

About 100,000 were prosecuted; the nine million figure is a 19th-century invention.

Q 02/05

Roughly what share of those convicted of witchcraft in early modern Europe were women?

A) 95%

B) 80%

C) 65%

D) 50%

Answer · why

B) 80%

Most were over 40, and the accusers were usually neighbours of both sexes.

Q 03/05

Witch prosecutions in Europe peaked during which period?

A) 1400 to 1450

B) 1480 to 1520

C) 1560 to 1630

D) 1690 to 1720

Answer · why

C) 1560 to 1630

That coincided with the Counter-Reformation and the wars of religion, hitting the Holy Roman Empire hardest.

Q 04/05

The Malleus Maleficarum is usually translated into English as what?

A) The Book of Witches

B) The Hammer of Witches

C) The Scourge of Witches

D) The Mirror of Witches

Answer · why

B) The Hammer of Witches

It is the best-known treatise on witchcraft and was first printed in Speyer in 1486.

Q 05/05

Who wrote the Malleus Maleficarum?

A) Friedrich Spee

B) Jakob Sprenger

C) Heinrich Kramer

D) Johann Weyer

Answer · why

C) Heinrich Kramer

The German Dominican published under the Latin name Henricus Institor and claimed to speak for the Church.