Witchcraft Acts (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! In England, Scotland, and Ireland a succession of Witchcraft Acts have governed witchcraft and provided penalties for its practice, or (in later years) for pretending to practice it. It was not until the 16th century that religious tensions resulted in serious penalties for witchcraft in England. Henry VIII's Act of 1542 was the first to define witchcraft as a felony, a crime punishable by death and the forfeiture of the convicted felon's goods and chattels.