Witch Hunters

Witch Hunters examines the people who claimed to identify, investigate and expose witches during the Renaissance and the great witch-hunting era. P. G. Maxwell-Stuart follows the careers and methods of figures including the Jesuit Martin Del Rio, the French judge Pierre de Lancre and the English witch-finder Matthew Hopkins.

The book considers how accusations were assessed through supposed rules, physical signs, medical interpretations and claims of demonic possession. It also discusses professional prickers, unwitchers and witch-finders, alongside the part played by neighbours whose suspicions could bring allegations into formal investigation. Continental examples are set beside British cases to show how authority, fear and contested evidence shaped witch-hunting practices.