How the count works
The basis is court records: transcripts, verdicts, and execution bills. Where the archives have survived intact, the number is known exactly; for other regions, historians estimate it from the surviving share and apply the same proportion.
1580-1630
Number of executions by century: a wave concentrated around 1580-1630
The curve shows the main point: trials did not continue throughout the Middle Ages but clustered in a short period around the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, already in the early modern period, the age of printing and religious wars.
This overturns the familiar picture. The peak came not in the Dark Ages but during the Scientific Revolution, and accusations were often heard in ordinary secular courts, not only in church courts.
Where the millions came from
- 19th-century polemicsFigures of nine million appeared in polemical writings and were not based on archival evidence.
- Political useIn the 20th century, these figures were repeated in propaganda from different political camps, each with its own purpose.
- Archival researchSystematic counting from documents began in the second half of the 20th century and produced a very different order of magnitude.
The third point explains the discrepancy. Until anyone counted from documents, every figure rested on hearsay. Once researchers began examining records by region, estimates converged at tens of thousands.
Geography matters too. Trials were extremely unevenly distributed: in some lands, the count runs into the thousands, while in neighboring ones it is only in the single digits. The difference is explained by how the courts were structured, not by differences in beliefs.
The makeup of those accused is worth noting too. Most were women, but the share of men reached half in some regions and exceeded it in some places - the familiar picture is not true everywhere.
It is also useful to understand why inflated numbers are so persistent. They sound more impressive and work better for any accusation - against the church, science, or the state. An accurate figure in the tens of thousands is horrifying in itself, but it does not have the same effect.
It is worth remembering the quality of the data too. Some archives have been lost, so estimates for those regions are approximate. Historians debate the range, but not the order of magnitude: the disagreement is by factors of a few, not hundreds.
How many people were executed on charges of witchcraft?
When did the trials reach their peak?
Sources
- Modern estimates of the number executed on charges of witchcraft in Europe put the figure at several tens of thousands over the period from the 15th to the 18th century, with a peak around 1580-1630
- the widely circulated figures in the millions trace back to 19th-century polemics
Next in the “The Inquisition” series
2 articles in full on the site, 3 more in the app
