Witch hunt

Ovaj diplomski rad bavi se tematikom progona vještica u Hrvatskoj, kao i u Europi u srednjem i početkom novog vijeka. Na početku rada definira se pojam vještice te predodžbe o njihovom djelovanju. S obzirom da je Crkva bila ta koja je pokrenula histeriju progona vještica i da se u početku jedino ona bavila tom problematikom, prikazat ćemo kako se s vremenom time počinju baviti i svjetovne vlasti. U radu su izneseni zakoni, dokumentirani zapisi, priručnici i knjige značajni za procese protiv vještica. Isto tako, daje se osvrt na djelovanje inkvizicije i sudskih postupaka protiv heretika, kao i oblike torture korištene prilikom ispitivanja optuženih. Na kraju rada osvrćemo se na prestanak progona u Hrvatskoj te zaključujemo kako je razlog masovnih progona bilo praznovjerje i ljudska zloba.This thesis deals with the persecution of witches in Croatia and Europe in the Middle Ages and the early Modern Age. The thesis begins by defining the term 'witch' and the conception of their actions. Given the fact that the Church was the one that initiated the hysteria of witch persecution, and was the only one dealing with this problem at the beginning, we will show how the secular authorities began to engage with the problem. The thesis presents laws, documentary records, manuals and books relevant to the witchcraft process. It also gives an overview of the Inquisition actions and court procedures against the heretics, as well as the forms of torture used in the investigation of the accused. At the end of the thesis we give an insight on the ending of the persecution in Croatia and we conclude that the reason for the massive persecution was superstition and human malice