Editing Roman Inquisition (section)

==Historiography and witchcraft accusations==
The Inquisitions have long been one of the primary subjects in the scholarly debates regarding witchcraft accusations of the early modern period. Historian [[Henry Charles Lea]] places an emphasis on torture methods employed to force confessions from the convicted.<ref name="Connor 1990">Connor, E. (January 31, 1990). "Burning times: The inquisition's reign of terror". ''WomenWise'', 12, 5</ref> [[Carlo Ginzburg]], in ''The Night Battles'', discussed how Inquisitorial propaganda of demonology distorted popular folk beliefs.<ref>Ginzburg, Carlo. 1983.'' The Night Battles: Witchcraft & Agrarian Cults in the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries''. London; Melbourne: Routledge & Kegan Paul.</ref> In similar light, Elliott P. Currie saw the Inquisitions as one singular, ongoing phenomenon, which drove the witch-hunt to its peak. Currie argued that the methods pioneered by the Inquisition indirectly guided continental Europe to a series of persecutions motivated by profit. Second-wave feminism also saw a surge of historical interpretation of the witch-hunt.<ref>Currie, Elliott P.. 1968. "Crimes Without Criminals: Witchcraft and Its Control in Renaissance Europe". ''Law & Society Review'' 3 (1). [Wiley, Law and Society Association]: 7–32</ref> A number of 100,000 to 9,000,000 executions was given, all of which was attributed to the Inquisition. Feminist scholars Claudia Honeger and Nelly Moia saw the early modern witch-craze as a product of Inquisitorial influence, namely the ''[[Malleus Maleficarum]]''.<ref>Honegger, Claudia. 1979. "Comment on Garrett's 'women and Witches'". Signs 4 (4). University of Chicago Press: 792–798</ref><ref>Moia, Nelly. 1979. "Comment on Garrett's 'women and Witches{{'"}}. Signs 4 (4). University of Chicago Press: 798–802.</ref> Feminist writers Mary Daly, Barbara Walker, and Witch Starhawk argued that the Inquisitions were responsible for countless, "hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions", deaths, most of them women. This notion was similarly echoed by Third-wave feminist writer Elizabeth Connor, who agreed with the notion of "gynocide", or "woman hunting", inaugurated by the ''Malleus''.<ref name="Connor 1990"/> The same sentiment regarding the Inquisition's notorious reputation of torture was shared by American writer and attorney Jonathan Kirsch. In his book, ''The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God'', Kirsch argued that the Inquisition's use of torture not only applied to the witch-craze which peaked in early 17th century, but also to the [[Salem witch trials]]. This model of repressive system, Kirsch argued, was also applied in [[Nazism]], Soviet Russia, [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese internment camps]], [[McCarthyism]], and most recently, the [[War on Terror]].<ref>Kirsch, Jonathan. 2008. ''The Grand Inquisitor's Manual: A History of Terror in the Name of God''. New York: HarperOne.</ref>

Through further research and available evidence, the Roman Inquisition was seen in a different light. In contrast with feminist arguments historians like Clarke Garrett, [[Brian P. Levack]], John Tedeschi, Matteo Duni, and [[Diane Purkiss]] pointed out that most witch trials and executions were conducted by local and secular authorities.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tedeschi|first=John|year=1983|title=The Roman Inquisition and Witchcraft: An Early Seventeenth-century 'Instruction' on Correct Trial Procedure|journal=Revue de l'Histoire des Religions|volume=200|issue=2|publisher=Armand Colin|pages=163–188|doi=10.3406/rhr.1983.4520}}</ref><ref>Garrett, Clarke. 1979. "Reply to Honegger and Moia". Signs 4 (4). University of Chicago Press: 802–804.</ref><ref>Purkiss, Diane. "A Holocaust of one's own: The myth of the Burning Times". ''The Witch in History''.  Routledge, London: 1996.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Michael D. |last=Bailey. |title=Under the Devil's Spell: Witches, Sorcerers, and the Inquisition in Renaissance Italy (review) |journal=Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2009 |pages=104–107 |doi=10.1353/mrw.0.0133 |s2cid=54861464 |url=https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=history_pubs }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first=Michael D. |last=Bailey |title=The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (review) |journal=Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft |volume=2 |issue=1 |year=2007 |pages=101–103 |doi=10.1353/mrw.0.0133|s2cid=54861464 |url=https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=history_pubs }}</ref> Clarke Garrett mentioned the quick decline and insignificance of the ''Malleus Maleficarum''. In-depth historical research regarding minor details of different types of magic, theological heresies, and political climate of The Reformation further revealed that Inquisitorial procedures greatly restrained witch hunting in Italy. Scholars specializing in the Renaissance and Early Modern period such as [[Guido Ruggiero]], Christopher F. Black, and Mary O'Neil also discussed the importance of proper procedures and sparse use of torture. The low rate of torture and lawful interrogation, Black argued, means that trials tended to focus more on individual accusation, instead of groups. For the same reason, the notion of the [[Witches' Sabbath|Black Sabbath]] was much less accepted in contemporary Italian popular culture.<ref name="Black, Christopher F 2009">Black, Christopher F. 2009. The Italian Inquisition. New Haven: Yale University Press.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Ruggiero |first=Guido |title=Binding Passions: Tales of Magic, Marriage and Power at the End of the Renaissance |location=Oxford, New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Stephen |last=Haliczer |year=1986 |title=Inquisition and Society in Early Modern Europe |location=London |publisher=Croom Helm}}</ref> The Holy Office's function in the disenchantment of popular culture also helped advance rationalism by getting rid of superstitions. Jeffrey R. Watt refutes the feminist claim that the Inquisition was responsible for the death of so many women. Watt points out that in 1588 the Roman Curia stated it would only allow testimony about participation in a Sabbath by the practitioners themselves and not by outside witnesses.  Additionally, the Inquisition would eventually ban torture for the procurement of a witchcraft confession.  The Holy Office also began seeking less harsh punishment for witches and viewed witches as those who had simply lost their way and who could be redeemed, not as apostates deserving death.{{When|date=May 2017}}<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Watt|first1=Jeffrey|title=Review of The Italian Inquisition by Christopher F. Black|journal=The English Historical Review|date=2012|volume=524|page=164}}</ref>

Historians who leaned toward the witch-hunt-restraining argument were more inclined to differentiate different Inquisitions, and often drew contrast between Italy versus Central Europe. The number of executed witches is also greatly lowered, to between 45,000 and 60,000. Those who argued for the fault of the Inquisition in the witch-craze are more likely to contrast continental Europe to England, as well as seeing the Inquisitions as one singular event which lasted 600 years since its founding in the 11th or 12th century. The significance and emphasis of the ''Malleus Maleficarum'' is seen more frequently in arguments which hold the Inquisition accountable for the witch-craze.