Witchcraft in Shakespeare's Scotland (By McLean Watson) by https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02 en-us 2025-05-15 21:00:29 UTC 2025-05-15 22:04:29 UTC hello@padlet.com Perhaps one of the largest reasons as to why there was a focus on witches within Shakespeare's work, was due to the fact that King James the first, was utterly fascinated by occult and witches in particular. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453070432 2025-05-15 21:07:03 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453070432 King James in his younger years, sailed to Coppenhagen to marry a danish princess, and ended up learning about the "Destroyer" of christianity, which he discovered, was witchcraft and the occult. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453073531 2025-05-15 21:11:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453073531 It's incredibly important to note, that at the time, when Shakespeare was writing Macbeth, and while King James was infatuated with the occult, it was all taken as completely real. So both King James, and because of him, Shakespeare, thought witches were not only existent, but a serious and religious threat. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453078061 2025-05-15 21:18:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453078061 There was also some religious evidence pointing to the existence of witches in the old testament. So it's really no great suprise that Shakespeare latched onto the concept and used it for one of his narritives. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453080272 2025-05-15 21:22:38 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453080272 Unfortunately, on his way back with his danish bride, King James the first was caught up in a massive storm, and ended up blaming a Scottish noble for the accident, and claimed he had the help from a group of witches. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453089064 2025-05-15 21:38:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453089064 What followed actually ended up being the first doccumented witch hunt in Scottish history. Many were killed and even more implicated in some way. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453096536 2025-05-15 21:52:33 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453096536 Over the years after, King James would be responsible for writing a book on witches and the ways they appear to the world. An average of 30 people a year for the next century would be killed in some horrific way, in the pursuit of killing witches. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453098261 2025-05-15 21:56:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453098261 As you can imagine, Shakespeare saw all of this as wonderful material for a creative work. Because people would certianly read about something so topical and relavent to daily life in Scotland at the time. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453099598 2025-05-15 21:58:33 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453099598 Some might even argue what Shakespeare did was in bad taste, even for the time. But, he was one of the first famous writers to write creatively about an active controversy. One could even say he was an activist of debate and conversation. Especially on the topic of witchcraft. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453101310 2025-05-15 22:01:44 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453101310 One thing is certian though, witchcraft was a serious issue in Scotland, and Shakespeare does not draw a clear line in the sand when it comes to Macbeth, unlike King James, who immdietly blamed witches, and caused a centuries long domino effect of torture. mcle1000 https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453103000 2025-05-15 22:04:28 UTC https://padlet.com/mcle1000/25h18vegdnaclg02/wish/3453103000