Not Just the Tudors

The Witches of Iceland

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Episode notes

In Iceland in the 17th century, witchcraft accusations, trials and convictions occurred later than in the rest of Europe. But also unusual was the fact that 91% of "witches" executed in Iceland were men. In a country where the weather and rural life was harsh - and traditional superstitions and folk medicine still held sway - the imposed Lutheran influence of Danish rule led to hysteria and a wave of sad and shocking cases. In this edition of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more with scholar Dr. Ólína Kjerulf Þorvarðardóttir, a former Member of Iceland's Althing Parliament. If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit: https://access.historyhit.com/checkout/subscribe/purchase To download, go to Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.historyhit&hl=en_GB&gl=US or Apple store: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/history-hit/id1303668247  

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