This is a primary sources analysis. using the references below, please answer the following questions. Please include in-text citations.
1. What is the name of the person who writes this source? Who were they and/or what was their
occupation? If there is no author specified, where does this source come from?
2. What type of source is this? Try to be as specific as possible. (Ex: a letter to a family member,
interpretation of religious scripture)
3. When was this source created? Be as specific as you can. Hint: this can usually be found in the
introduction to the source in your textbook.
4. What significant events or religious/social/political developments were happening around this
time that may have influenced the creation of this source?
5. For whom was this source originally created? How do you know?
6. Why was this source written/created? What did the author want to achieve? How do you know?
7. What is the topic of this source? Does the author discuss (or depict) witches or witchcraft
specifically, OR do they write more generally about magic, the influence of the devil, heresy, or
something else entirely?
8. Why is it important to know if the source is specifically about witches/witchcraft? How could a
source about the influence of the devil (i.e., not specifically about witchcraft) be useful for a
paper about the history of the witch hunts in Europe?
9. Does this source reflect the ideas of the elite or of “ordinary” people? Explain.
10. Re-read your source carefully. What does this source have to say about witchcraft/magic/the
influence of the devil, or heresy? Explain with details from the source.
11. According to this source, why is witchcraft/magic/the devil dangerous? (Remember to be precise
about what the source is describingsee question 8). How does one avoid the consequences?
Support your answer with evidence from your source.
12. Imagine you are writing a paper and using this source as evidence to support a point. Choose an
important or key quote from your source that you believe captures the author’s main / most
important point (or an important scene in Ziarnko’s woodcut image) to analyze closely in the
following questions. This quote should be at least 5 lines but not more than 10. Type/paste the
selection (or insert the cropped image) in the space provided for this question. Include quotation
marks (if/where appropriate) and an in-text citation
13. What is the author arguing/telling us/suggesting in this quotation? Explain both the implicit and
explicit meaning. How do you know?
14. Examine the author’s use of language/phrasing/visual elements in this quotation. Look up any
words that are unfamiliar or used in a different context than you are used to. How does the
author’s choice of language (or visual details) make a difference to your understanding of this
quotation? Explain using quotations from your source (or a description of the details in the
image).
15. How does this source fit into the larger historical context of the European witch hunts? OR Why
is this a useful or important source for a student who is studying the history of the European
witch hunts? Explain.
16. What are the benefits of using this type of source in a paper about the witch-hunts? Explain.
17. What are the limitations of this source? Explain.
18. What is one other source that you have encountered so far could help to supplement or explain
the information in this source? Explain.
19. give the complete bibliographic citation for your primary source and any other
sources that you consulted in this assignment. If you have used information from Martha
Rampton’s introduction, make sure to cite it as a separate source. Do not forget to format your
citation with a hanging indent and if you include more than one source, please alphabetize your
citations.
references
The Role of Law, State, and the Church
72. Jean Bodin, On the Demon-Mania of Witches, Book 4, pp. 371-377
