Why was Kepler's mother accused of witchcraft?

Answer 1

1. She was a healer and herbalist

2. She had a baddispositionand was quarrelsome -according to her own son - and so fitted in with what even today we would still think of as a typical 'bad' witches personality profile

3. She lived in an era when the Church persecuted any one who had a free mind - and called them a heretic - which literally means having the ability to choose. The Chruch didn't want anyone to question their form ofsorcery

4. She lived in an era when women were marginalised in society and when successful herbal healing skills were made cheaply available to the poor people and so undermined the Church led physcian's training. Only men could train asphysiciansand charged high fees for dubious remedies which included arsenic/ lead and rarely included even seeing the patient - bit like today really when we get treated according to blood test results and urine samples - regardless of how we feel.

5. She was unfortunate enough to live during the Little Ice Age - when bad weather caused crop failures - and the farmers and afected communities wanted to blame someone for the poor weather - so descended on people marginalised insocietycalling them witches. Google "The Light was returning before Darkness: Tales of the Witch Hunt and Climate Change"for more information on this

6. She was brought up by her aunt - who was burnt at the stake for being a witch - in those days people felt witchcraft ran in families whereas in truth its more likely the independent thinking style which was common within a family and threatened the church.

7. There had been a great comet in the sky in 1577- and a few years later a lunar eclipse - both of which Kepler witnessed as a young boy. He then went on to become a famous astronomer so 'clearly' was the son of a witch - witches were thought to cause astronomical events so burn the witch!

8. Kepler refused to convert to Catholicism - so therefore his relatives would take the brunt of the Church's wrath - although in fairness the Protestants were just as vicious with their persecution of women