Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. On a midsummer day in 1438, a young man from the north shore of Lake Geneva presented himself to the local church inquisitor. He ...

Belief in witchcraft grew rapidly in Europe during the late Middle Ages as religious tensions and social upheaval intensified. Church authorities increasingly viewed magical practices and folk healing ...

The Middle Ages and early modern period were not a good time for anyone, particularly women who deviated from a very limited set of expectations. Between superstition, religious hysteria, and social ...

European witch hunts of the 15 th to 17 th centuries targeted witches that were thought to be responsible for epidemics and crop failures related to declining temperatures of the Little Ice Age. A ...

Beth Skwarecki is Lifehacker’s Senior Health Editor, and holds certifications as a personal trainer and weightlifting coach. She has been writing about health for over 10 years. The medieval phenomena ...