Although accusations of witchcraft seem to have been most commonly made against older women who lived on the margins of society and who may have become socially troublesome, there is also evidence that women who were too powerful could become targets as well. Joan of Arc is one famous example of a woman who achieved a great deal but was then burned as a witch for her trouble.
Joan of Arc, who has become the patron saint of France, was a peasant girl who experienced mystical visions of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret during the Hundred Years War which convinced her that she was destined by God to lead the French to victory over the English invaders.
In 1429 she convinced the dauphin Charles VII to let her demonstrate that she had the ability to match her ambitions and she led French forces to liberate the city of Orleans from an English siege. She was eventually taken prisoner by the Burgundians, allies of England, and turned over to the English who burned her at the stake as a witch on the argument that her claims of direct communication with God were heretical and an act of disobedience to the Church.
Not until June 16, 1456, did Pope Callistus III declare Joan of Arc to be innocent on the charges of heresy and witchcraft. It can be difficult for powerful institutions to admit error of any sort, but especially when the errors involve grave injustices that cause the suffering and death of innocent people. Everyone likes to think of themselves are pure of heart and doing good work, even when they are hurting others. Sometimes the need to justify one's actions leads one to justifications of brutality, cruelty, and violence in general -- and thus a betrayal of whatever moral principles they thought they held to begin with.
Books You Might Enjoy:
Paul Huson - Mastering Witchcraft
Gabor Klaniczay - Witchcraft Mythologies And Persecutions
John Yarker - The Anglo Saxon Chronicle
Marian Green - A Witch Alone
