Witchcraft Outlawed

During the eighth and ninth centuries, laws regulating Witchcraft became much more prevalent. Some of these laws made sense and seem reasonable by today's standards. For example, Charemagne made human sacrifice a crime punishable by death.

Other laws, however, began to undermine the customs and traditions of the common people. For example, in 743, the Synod of Rome declared it a crime to leave offerings to spirits. In 829, the Synod of Paris passed a decree proclaiming that the Church no longer tolerated Incantations and idolatry. By 900, Christian scholars were devoting much time and effort to witing about how women were supposedly being led astray by the devil. These events helped prepare the scene for the fury of the Inquisition.