Assess the role of gender in early modern witch hunts. In the early modern period, Europe experienced a phase of vicious prosecutions of those accused of the crime of "witchcraft." These witch hunts are estimated to have resulted in up to 50,000 deaths, although exact figures are unknown. What is known is that overall, 75 to 80 percent of defendants were women, although this varies by state. In this essay, I will discuss the role of gender in witchcraft and why the majority of people executed as witches were women. Different historians have given varying explanations for why the majority of accused witches were women. One of the first models regarding witchcraft and gender to be produced was the idea of ​​the "witch cult". This theory was developed by Margaret Murray in the early 20th century and revolved around the idea that witchcraft was a true pre-Christian religion. This female-based pagan religion centered around the "Horned God" who, from the Christian perspective, was Satan. Murray writes that “the God of the old religion becomes the devil of the new.” This religion concerned women to the extent that it was repressed by the Christian Church which was a male-dominated organization with an exclusively male hierarchy. In fact, the whole witch-hunting thing was a persecution of women by men, both of whom were polar opposites, even religiously. Murray's thesis proved very popular with radical feminists from the 1960s onwards, providing the feminist movement with a sort of rallying point, further exaggerating the gender-specific elements in the Murray model. Murray's thesis however was attacked from day one and continues to be discredited to this day due to the lack of supporting evidence and the middle of the article......or and Stuart England:A regional and comparative study' United Kingdom: Routledge, 1999.McAuliffe, Mary. “Gender, history and witchcraft in early modern Ireland: a rereading of the trial of Florence Newton” IN: Mary Ann Gialenella Valiulis ed. Gender and Power in Irish History. Dublin, 2009. Pp 39-58. Murray, Margaret A. Blackmask Online “The God of Witches,” 2001. Ram, Arnon. “The “Other” Witches: The Male Wizard of Modern Europe” Beer Sheva: Ben-Gurion University, 2006. Roberts, Keith A. “The Conflict Perspective: Witch Hunts and the Roles of Women” Cengage Learning, 1994. Roper , Lyndal. “Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany” UK: MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall, 2004. Toivo, Raisa M. “Women at Play.” Interpretations of the Role of Women in Witchcraft and Hunting to witches from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day' Australia: University of New South Wales, 2005.