19 Signs You’d Be Called a Witch in the Middle Ages

[Music] ooh talk about bad luck 19 signs you'd be called a witch in the Middle Ages as if the black dress and broomstick wouldn't give you away so has it ever come to your mind that you'd make a great witch let's check whether people in the 17th century would have agreed with you these signs will show if your impersonation of Maleficent is justifiable but first of all hit the subscribe button and ring the notification bell to join us on the bright side you're a female yeah it's as simple as that during medieval times all women were closely associated with witchcraft by default during the infamous witch trials in Salem Massachusetts which lasted from 1692 to 1690 314 women and only five men were convicted for engaging in witchcraft but in general throughout history there were many more women prosecuted for witchery than men during all the medieval witch trials not just the ones in Salem more than 85% of all the convicted were women [Music] number 18 you're a woman and you're too rich for your own good [Music] so that makes you a what a rich witch if you're an adult independent woman and don't have any additional financial support this would have qualified you as a witch several centuries ago if there were rumors that a woman was leading a comfortable life without a man's help or supervision hmm this instantly raised an alarm not only did these women become isolated they could also be arrested and taken to court number 17 dear to poor well it wasn't recommended for a single woman specifically to be too well-off in the 17th century it was considered a bad sign for both men and women to be too poor homeless people and beggars were often accused of being witches anybody who didn't like people wandering around the neighborhood asking for food and money could rat them out to the authorities as witches Wow number 16 you're too young now very young girls were often believed to be witches when interrogated and put under enough pressure these young people who confessed often said that they got their witchy abilities from a parent and then the whole family would be charged boy wait till dad gets a hold of you children as young as four years old we're kept in jail due to false accusations of witchcraft number 15 well you're too old okay I'm starting to see a pattern here a respectable wise age couldn't protect a woman either quite the contrary older women whether they were married or not were extremely vulnerable to accusations it was believed that evil forces help these women reach such an old age number 14 you're a married woman with too many kids according to popular opinion back then only dark magic could provide a woman with an extremely fertile womb and if there was a young couple in the neighborhood that had problems conceiving or giving birth to a baby what else is she gonna give birth to a raccoon well this was a clear sign that a mother with too many children stole their potential kids from them plus there was no doubt that she was a witch number 13 you're a married woman with no kids ah come on now you're kidding right if you were a married woman but had too few kids or no children at all those around you believed that you had been cursed with infertility on top of that if a family with many kids that live nearby had any problems it was of course 100% your fault it must have been you who hex their household out of jealousy yeah right number 12 you have more than one female friend now if you were a woman who had several female friends and you gathered together without a male presence you could be suspected of witchcraft one of the infamous witch hunters Matthew Hopkins actually started this whole business after overhearing several women just hanging out they were talking about things that in his opinion were connected with witchery number eleven you're a woman who has argued with a friend or a neighbor witch hunters held such power in the community and were feared so much that many people used it to their advantage and accuse their enemies of witchery this approach helped them to take revenge on someone they'd had an argument with at some point or another number 10 you have a rebellious character if people characterize you as a stubborn straightforward or short-tempered person chances are you would have been convicted as a witch in the 17th century a rebellious attitude losing your temper and backtalk would have convinced everybody around of your witchy nature and if any of your threats had come true well it wouldn't have ended nicely for you number 9 you can swim most of us nowadays learn how to swim when we're kids and we have fun doing it our whole lives but several centuries ago people believed that only witches could swim that's why women suspected of witchery were lowered into water if they didn't manage to get out they were innocent not that this helped them at all but if a woman reached the surface it meant evil forces were on her side authorities needed no more evidence that she was a witch number eight you're a married woman having an affair well this was the worst thing a woman could be involved in if her adultery was caught there was no way at all to avoid being convicted as a witch she had no chances of survival in this case number seven you try to predict your future husband's identity you know those games kids play that tell you the name of your future husband or wife where you'll live how many kids you'll have and what not innocent child's play right well not during medieval times a woman named Tituba encourage girls to fortune tell the names of their future husbands as a result she became the first woman in Salem who was convicted as a witch number six you're a midwife [Music] unfortunately midwives who help other women during pregnancy and labor were considered witches in the 17th century authorities believe that their knowledge of herbs and ancient medicine was connected with evil forces not to mention people thought that this profession was demeaning and unclean and that's why helpful and useful midwives were targeted Wow still longing for the good old days number five do you have a habit of talking to yourself if you occasionally mutter something to yourself be it a shopping list or an earworm you must be a witch at least that's what people in the 17th century believed for example in 1692 during the Salem trials a woman named Sarah Goode was accused of practicing witchcraft she happened to have a little habit of talking to herself and she'd often do this as she was leaving her neighbor's houses and wellgood claimed that she was reciting Psalms accuser stated that she was casting spells and thus she was convicted number four you aren't good at public speaking now if you lose heart every time you have to speak in public you would have been at risk for being called a witch during the Middle Ages Wow Dale Carnegie where are you at that time people believe that witches couldn't read the Bible out loud that's why one way to test a person was to make them read from it in front of a crowd if the suspect couldn't read it aloud or stumbled this meant that they practice witchery yeah I get the connection as you see nobody cared about the fact that most people during those times were either illiterate or felt uneasy speaking in public besides all of them were utterly terrified I mean wouldn't you be too if you were accused and standing in front of a crowd of angry people trying to prove your innocence holy Margaret Hamilton she's the witch from The Wizard of Oz number three milk or butter has gone bad in your fridge um since when do they have refrigerators back in the 17th century well during the Salem witch trials several people testified that dairy products often spoiled in the presence of a witch well you better check the expiration dates of the milk and other dairy foods in your fridge who knows what your neighbors might think number two you have a pet [Music] blackcats magic witchcraft you probably know this association but even if your pet isn't black and doesn't belong to the feline family you'd still have higher chances of being called a witch in those days almost any pet was considered a familiar and if you had a familiar in its animal form it was a sure sign that you were a witch such animals were supposed to assist their masters in practicing magic number one you have a mall or birthmark moles and birth marks were seen as sure signs that a woman was marked and practiced witchcraft back then people believed that a mole or birthmark was the place where the witch's familiar such as a snake a cat or a dog could bite her and drink her blood so if a woman was accused of witchcraft all her body hair was removed until a mark was found and show me one person who doesn't have a single mole or birthmark on their body well so how many signs have proven your witchy nature let us know about it in the comments remember give this video a like share it with your friends and click subscribe to stay on the bright side of life and stay off that broomstick [Music]

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 1,364,009

Rating: 4.6827321 out of 5

Keywords: middle ages, witchcraft, withes, dark ages, being a witch, ancient medicine, evil forces, adultery, witchery

Id: HDOWBEhC5js

Length: 11min 54sec (714 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 08 2018