Witchcraft Act 1604

E347701

The Witchcraft Act 1604 was an English law under King James I that strengthened penalties for witchcraft and reflected contemporary fears of sorcery and demonic practices.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

All labels observed (2)

Statements (40)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Act of Parliament of England
witchcraft law
aimedAt punishing alleged witches more severely
appliesTo subjects of the English crown
associatedWith James VI and I’s interest in demonology
country Kingdom of England
era early 17th century
followedBy Witchcraft Act 1735
hasCategory 1604 in law
James VI and I
surface form: James I of England

Witch trials in England
hasEffectOn English criminal law on witchcraft
historicalContext early modern witch hunts in England
inspiredBy contemporary fears of sorcery and demonic practices
jurisdiction England
Wales
languageOfWork Early Modern English
legalArea criminal law
legalPenalty death penalty for certain offences
imprisonment for lesser offences
legalStatus repealed
legislativeBody Parliament of England
monarchAtEnactment James VI and I
surface form: James I of England
partOf English witchcraft legislation
placeOfOrigin England
repealedBy Witchcraft Act 1735
repealReason changing attitudes toward witchcraft
replaced Witchcraft Act 1563
shortName Witchcraft Act 1604 self-link
startTime 1604
strengthened penalties for witchcraft compared to 1563 Act
subjectMatter conjuration
dealing with evil spirits
sorcery
witchcraft
timePeriod Stuart England
title Witchcraft Act 1604 self-linksurface differs
surface form: An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits
typeOfCrimeDefined capital felony for invoking evil spirits causing death
felony for covenanting with evil spirits
yearEnacted 1604

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Daemonologie influenced Witchcraft Act 1604
Pendle witch trials legalBasis Witchcraft Act 1604
Witchcraft Act 1604 title Witchcraft Act 1604 self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: An Act against Conjuration, Witchcraft and dealing with evil and wicked spirits
Witchcraft Act 1604 shortName Witchcraft Act 1604 self-link