Satan & the sabbath: witchhunting in the Basque Country
Description
Satanic sabbaths, magic potions and demonic toads – in the early 17th century, the Basque Country was convulsed by strange accusations of supernatural activities. A new book by Jan Machielsen explores why fears of witchcraft gained such traction in this isolated region on the French-Spanish border. He tells Ellie Cawthorne more about how overexcited judges, frightened children and geographical factors all played a role in fuelling the panic.
(Ad) Jan Machielsen is the author of The Basque Witch-Hunt: A Secret History (Bloomsbury Academic, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Basque-Witch-Hunt-Secret-History/dp/1350441503/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
Malcolm Gaskill discusses a little-known 17th-century witchcraft case: https://link.chtbl.com/5etfOMPo.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices