Unit 2: Progress poverty and putrid conditions

1) Stick in your unit overview sheet2) Write a target from the significance

assessment from last week3) Write down something you are looking

forward to learning about!

Can you guess what this medieval item was?

An Xray of the item

Guessed what it is?.....

A Witch Bottle • In medieval times there was a fear of

spirits in the air. Chimneys were a danger as they were open to these spirits. So witch bottles were put in chimneys to trap evil spirits. Witch bottles could be any type of bottle. Sometimes the outside would be decorated with a mask-like face. Inside they would contain a variety of objects and liquids e.g. urine, hair or nail clippings, thorns, nails, pins, bones, wood, scraps of material and letters and books. After the objects had been put inside the bottle it was then sealed and hidden.

It worked by....

• Tricking evil spirits that travels by a sense of smell. The spirit would be distracted by the hair and nail clippings and fooled into thinking there is a person in the bottle. Once the spirit had entered the bottle the spirit couldn’t turn around and escape. It was trapped. The sharp items in the bottle would torture it. These bottles were especially common in East Anglia.

Why did people in the 17th century believe that certain people were witches?

L/O: Investigate the impact of superstitions during the 17th Century.

Starter In your books draw your version of a witch.

Finished? Answer these below1. Why do we think of witches in this way?2. Do you think witches in the 17th century would have looked like

this?

4 mins!

Learning objective: Investigate the impact of superstitions from 15th to 17th Century.

Learning outcomes:

Level 4: Describe the factors people used to spot witches.

Level 5: Explain why people believed in these factors for spotting witches.

Level 6: Explain the cause and effect of witch hunting.

Which is a Witch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr8DIg3oHFI WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON?

How to Spot a Witch• In 1597 James I produced a book on witchcraft

entitled ‘Daemononlogie’. In the book he explained how to ‘spot’ a witch simply by looking for the following signs:

1. If the person does not know the Lord’s Prayer. 2. If they are a friend, neighbour or relative of a

witch. 3. If a person dies or has an accident after

arguing with the accused.4. If everybody who lives near the person

believes that they are a witch.

Witch TraitsThe information in James I’s book added to existing beliefs about how to find

witches. Stuart Witch Catchers Guide

• She may have a ‘familiar’ to help her in her evil work – a cat, bird, or toad.• She may have a ‘witch’s mark’ – a lump or mark on her skin where she fed

her familiar with her own blood.• She can hurt people by looking at them.• She cannot say the Lord’s Prayer without making a small mistake.• Her hair cannot be cut.• She makes curses that work.• She has no shadow.Note: Any one, or any combination, is enough to identify a witch!

- Now draw a picture of what a 17th century witch might look like. Finished? Annotate the drawing

10

MINS

Why did people believe in witches?

• Why do you think people believed in witches in the 17th century?

L/O: Investigate the impact of superstitions from 15th to 17th Century.

Activity – Group investigation5 GROUPS OF 3/4

• Each group will each be given a factor. • You must all learn the factor you’ve been given.• One person from each group must go to the next group

and find out about their factor.• That person must then return to their original group

and tell the rest of the group what they’ve learned.• Repeat the process until you fill up your sheet!

If you have finished, come up and get the extension.

20 mins

L/O: Investigate the impact of superstitions from 15th to 17th Century.

Plenary – what have you learnt?

Sum up todays lesson in 3 sentences.

5

mins