All About History

All About History is the stunningly realised new magazine from the makers of How It Works and All About Space. Featuring beautiful illustrations, photos and graphics depicting everything from ancient civilisations to the Cold War, All About History is accessible and entertaining to all and makes history fun for the whole family.

Welcome to HISTORY WITCHCRAFT

WITCH HUNTING • The witch-hunters of early modern Europe and America saw thousands tortured and sentenced to death, but what was a witch-hunt and why did this notorious practice happen?

WITCH HUNTING WORLDWIDE

Who Were the Witch-Hunters?

The Salem Witch Trials

The Dawn of the Witch • In the ancient world magic was a part of everyday life, but as cultures grew and new religions emerged, the idea of witchcraft and those who practised it became twisted and demonic

Hecate: Goddess of Witches

MAGIC IN THE ANCIENT WORLD • Magic has been present since the earliest human cultures

15 Most Notorious Witches • Meet the individuals whose status of witch – whether true or not – have helped shape the folklore of witches

The witches that inspired film and TV • As well as offering a valuable social insight to the past, witches and witch trials have also inspired characters and plots in modern entertainment

Lighting the Pyre • How medieval Europe went from disbelieving in the power of witches to fearing a sinister secret society bent on subverting the masses

From Templars to Trials

Gunnhild, Mother of Kings • Her legend steeped in witchcraft, power and intrigue, Gunnhild’s story marks the moment where fact and fantasy blur

Power and Sex in the Sagas • Gunnhild takes a lover, yet ends it with a curse

Magic of the Finnar • The dark northern magic of Gunnhild

Joan of Navarre, the Royal Witch • Explore the life of Joan of Navarre, Queen of England, the treasonous witchcraft accusations against her and how not all was as it seemed

The Reputation of Queen Joan • What did contemporaries think of her?

Betrayal of the Knights Templar • In seven years the Order was hunted, dismantled and executed. Was this justice for their sacrilegious practices, or were they the victims of a twisted plot?

KEY FIGURES • The men who destroyed the Order, and those who fought to defend it

TEMPLAR HIERARCHY • Although they’re remembered as knights, the Templars were a slick organisation, and each man had his role to play to keep it operating

IN NUMBERS 20,000

The Templars Across Europe • When the pope ordered Christian monarchs across Europe to arrest Templars, not all were willing

Guilty or Innocent? • Was there any truth to the crimes the Templars burned for?

Downfall of a Duchess • Eleanor Cobham was almost Queen of England, but accusations of witchcraft left her publicly humiliated and locked up for life

History's royal witches • Eleanor Cobham wasn’t the first – or last – royal woman to be accused of using witchcraft

The Fate of Condemned Witches • If found guilty, women could suffer agonising deaths, but repentance might save a life

Elizabeth Woodville, White Queen & Black Magic • Was witchcraft behind the fairy-tale marriage of Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville?

The price of love • Just what might you find in a Medieval love spell?

James VI and the Witches • After personal experience of black magic – or so he thought – James VI of Scotland waged a vigorous war against witchcraft

The King's Idol • Meet the man who James VI saw as his intellectual equal

A Continent Gripped by Conspiracy • Scotland wasn’t unique in the persecution of witches, but the role played by the crown was without equal

The...